Podiatrist - March 3, 2015

Because Shawano is small, there are virtually no specialists around, so you have to drive.  The podiatrist was in Wausau, which is an hour's drive from us.  And of course, it was snowing; a lot. The drive there was not nice at all.

The podiatrist looked at Lily's foot. She noted that her right foot had extreme "pes cavus" (high arch) and her left food was flat-footed. Dr. pushed on it, pulled on it, and determined that it was neurological, and her muscles were weak.  She did not take any x-rays either.

We were told she could have some form of muscular dystrophy, or she could have a pinched muscle or nerve, or there could be a mass somewhere.  But she couldn't help.  Orthotics, at least at this point, would hurt more than help.  She also said an orthopedic surgeon would probably be required for some form of surgery. We were referred to a pediatric neurologist (PN) for further diagnostics.  

These specialists are even farther from us.  Madison and Milwaukee (2.5-3 hours) are the closest, although I did find one in Green Bay, which is only about 40 minutes from us.  Unfortunately, the referral receptionist was out of the office for lunch.

When she got ahold of us, she explained that the PN in Green Bay would need to review her file first, and then determine if he felt he could help her.  After that, an appointment could be set up, which would be a wait of  about 2-3 weeks. They would call when the PN had looked it over.