BIO
I am an endurance athlete living and training with bilateral clubfoot deformity. I have completed numerous triathlons, half marathons, marathons, several Ironman 70.3's and in November 2012 completed my biggest race, Ironman Arizona. It is my goal and desire to network with other athletes born with cluboot in hopes to inspire a generation of fellow club footers and others with disabilities to engage in an active lifestyle. I seek to educate parents on the positive outcomes of children born with clubfoot using myself as an example.
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WOW! I can not believe I found your web site. I am so thankful!
ReplyDeleteI am 44 years old. I was born with clubfoot in both my left and right foot. I was put in casts and corrective braces and finally when I was 5 years old I had the corrective surgery. The surgeons told my family that I probably would not walk normally and I started kindergarten using a wheelchair.
I am currently training for my 7th HALF MARATHON. Remarkably I have been running most of my adult life without pain. Recently however I have noticed more pain in my ankle diagnosed as peroneal tendonitis. I would love to have an open dialog with you regarding your training and how you got through the pain. You are an inspiration and give others hope THANK YOU for starting this web site
So glad I found your site too! My son is 10 years old and was born with clubfoot. We both train in Taekwondo and are working towards Blackbelt.
ReplyDeleteI want to provide him with role models like you and the best shoes, diet and anything else I can do to help improve his esteeem and performance!
God Bless!
Taekwondo Kid, Thant is great news. It awesome to see that you and him have found a sport you both enjoy! MY son also was born with CF and as parents its important to show them anything is possible. Please feel free to check out my FB fan page to join in on the conversation. We have resources, parents, teen and adults with clubfoot supporting one another.
ReplyDeleteThanks very much for reaching out and if you have any other questions feel free to contact me.
Tony
www.facebook.com/clubfootathlete
hi tony, i just wanted to say a huge thank you. For all your doing and for being a huge role model. im so happy and beyond proud that i have some one like you i can show my 2 year old son as hes growing older. to show him no matter what, you can be and do anything you want. :) thank you for being my sons first role model for club feet. you will always be special to this house hold :) and we live all the way in new zealand! good luck for the upcoming races. we are all behind you cheering you on :)
ReplyDeletexoxox
riley and his very proud mummy
Dear Tony,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your inspiring story! I am a worried/anxious mother of a fiery spirited 16 month old who was born with bilateral clubfeet as well. As a mother, I naturally want my child to go through life without a hitch and be as healthy as possible. I will always encourage him to be active and participate in sports, but I worry that with the pain he will inevitably face and negative thoughts about the way God made him he will be discouraged. I can see with your story, that my son can and will be able to do whatever he wants! He'll have to want it bad enough, which I am sure you can testify to, but he can do it! Thank you again for your story, and for also reaching out to the clubfoot page on Facebook!
Gratefully,
Nicole, Colorado Springs, CO
I hope you all are getting my responses to your comments via email. I am not sure though.
ReplyDeletehi tony,
Deletei havent recieved any email, although i would be ecstatic to. hopefully all is well and e can hear of your exciting news soon :). hopefully all your hiccups get sorted out.
all our well wishes for you and your up and coming races
Riley & Letitia Stock - New Zealand
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ReplyDeleteTony I'm glad I found your site. I was born with a right partial clubfoot that was corrected in infancy. I find that when I try to run any distance my ankle gives me fits. I try to stay active by doing activities that don't involve long distance running, like sprinting, but would love to be able to do even a 5K. Can you lend any advice?
ReplyDeleteHi Tony,
ReplyDeleteI sent a greeting on here a few days ago introducing myself. I'm a 33 yr old ultra runner with a club foot and was excited to find your page and was looking forward to hearing from you. Anyhow , here's hoping this message doesn't get lost. Glad to find someone else out there with a club foot who does so silly stuff and enjoying reading your blog.
Best wishes,
Mike
I have three boys with clubfoot, two bilateral and one unilateral. After lots of walking they are very sore, limping, barely walking. What would be the best treatment you've found for this? Heat? Ice? Stretching? Massage? A combo of all? I don't know what to do for them but need to find something to help them at school the next day when their teachers are concerned because they can't walk independently. We love following your blog... inspiration for them all!
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Jenny
Hi Jenny, great question and one I get very often..First I have to say I am not a doctor so any advice should be run by your doctor. Now, with that out of the way here is what I do. As you mentioned I do lots of heat, Ice and massage as well and an ocassional stiff beer. However, what you suggested is pretty much the norm with dealing with Clubfoot pain. So it sounds like you and I are thinking the same. Let me know how things go!
ReplyDeleteTony, I have been following your blog for a while now with great interest. I am 36 and was also born with bi-lateral club feet which were corrected by tendon release and lenghthening. I have been doing well in my adulthood and just completed a marathon, but I'm looking into ways to build calf strength. My calfs are very small and it appears that no amount of weight lifting will help. Have you had this issue, and if so, have you found any ways to improve the strength?
ReplyDeleteThanks
Hi Tony,
ReplyDeleteI am a seventh grade teacher with a student who has bilateral club feet. He also has some pretty significant emotional and learning difficulties. Any tips on how to work with him and talk to him on how he's handling the physical and emotional side of this issue?
Tony,
ReplyDeleteExcellent story and resources!
I am a parent of a 13 year old young man born with bilateral clubfoot. He recently underwent 2 surgeries (6 total) on his feet. Osteotomy and tenotomy on both feet. Not at the same time however.
As you know the condition does not allow a great deal of range of movement in the ankle, so after much consideration we (and he) chose hockey as his sport of choice. The constrictive skate was a good choice! He started when he was 5 years old and played non stop through several procedures up until this season when he was sidelined due to the extreme nature of the surgeries.
You might enjoy this article about him.
http://www.hockeybiomechanics.com/our-warrior/
Just found your blog, Tony. I am 36 with bilateral clubfoot. My right foot was surgically "treated" (11 operations, each complicating the situation) and my left foot was only "treated" by proxy in my Dennis Brown Bar. I have completed a couple of sprint distance triathlons, but have only been able to walk the 'run' portion. I've talked to my surgeon and been told I would be a candidate for amputation, but in light of the things that people like yourself are achieving, I wonder whether you can suggest a training regime to get to a run for someone with clubfoot?
ReplyDeleteI have bilateral club foot - in high school I was a able to run track and cross country and it was my way of beating this. However now I am 30 and I seem to not be able to even run half a mile without incurring excruciating pain. Do you have resources for how to start training in a way that is gradual and healthy. It would be a dream at this point even to be able to run 5k or 10k again. I am so tired of the eliptical and want to do something to push myself physically - your suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thanks!
ReplyDeleteHello, I was born with a clubfoot, I know it's not as bad as I have seen in others. My problem is finding a comfortable tennis shoe, I have tried every brand out there. My left foot is the clubfoot, it turns out so I need something that won't let my foot turn out. I also have bone on bone, with spurs as well. Any suggestions on a good pair of tennis shoes?
ReplyDeleteI'm so happy to have found your website, I'm pregnant and today we had our 20 week scan and was told that our baby boy has clubfoot in his right foot and I felt so sad and what's so utterly bizarre is that the recurring thought I had was that our boy would never be an athlete, which is crazy because neither myself or my husband is an athlete nor is athletics something I've ever really been into (although I do love running) and then by chance searching about clubfoot I found your site and I can't stop smiling. What an incredible thing you are doing in sharing your story and being a role model for others. Thank you so much!
ReplyDeleteTony,
ReplyDeleteSo proud of all that you're doing to raise awareness and provide hope and encouragement across the globe.
I am 42 years old, born with bilateral clubfeet with the right foot worse than the left (two surgical procedures versus one). Doctors told my parents that I would be highly introverted, self conscious and disinterested in playing sports. I ended up participating in both basketball and baseball through high school and played NCAA college baseball; I believe my clubfoot deformity provided additional motivation to work harder than most others, both on and off the field. Today I am a healthcare executive who's trying to stay active, but the past few years have been especially rough on my right foot. I was told that I have osteoarthritis in my foot/ankle and that my only options were to rely on pain meds or have ankle fusion. Needless to say, I am finally seeking other opinions, but in large part feel like I've been flying solo on a "clubfoot island" for most of my life. Thanks to daily doses of bone broth & turmeric, a diet full of veggies and lean proteins, and moving from Upstate NY to Florida (warmer weather definitely helps) more than six years ago, I've been able to persevere and manage through what you have so accurately described as "phantom pain" that comes & goes in waves.
While I am interested in learning more about how active adults are both coping and thriving, I am also interested in contributing my time to this cause, to help families understand that the future can be incredibly bright for their children, and that beating various odds and tackling multiple obstacles makes it that much more rewarding in school, sports, career social life, etc.
Appreciate the opportunity to learn & collaborate...
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteTony, Awesome Job!! I too have bilateral club feet and am an endurance athlete having finished 3 Full Marathons, 3 Half Marathons, IronMan Wisconsin 2012 (in September so I have you beat there!!) and 3 Half IronMans!!
ReplyDeleteI thought I was the only one!!
P.S. Id like to get in touch to learn more about you, my email is nbm0290@gmail.com
Hi Tony,
ReplyDeleteI was wondering if there is a possibility you could reach out to me as I am a parkour instructor and I have a student who is starting soon with a club foot and I would love to be able to ask you some questions in regarding thoughts on movement and what if any dangers you would suggest staying away from.
Thank you so much and my email is Kdolbear@fusionparkour.com
Hi Tony,
ReplyDeleteMy son Leo is 5 months old with isolated left atypical club foot. We are struggling with this and is trying to raise him up strong body strong mind. We want to give him the world and that he can do anything he set his mind to. Your story definitely inspired us! Do you suggest living in a warmer climate in order to spend more time outside? Do you have any advice as parents? We don’t have anyone else that has a child with CF. We don’t want our child to feel alone? We want him to have as much support and opportunities as possible. Thank you for sharing your stor. We will slowly incorporate a vegan lifestyle into our household as well.