Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Have You Seen These Feet?

My friend Shawna and I both have children with severe epilepsy syndromes.

Strangely enough, her son Cody and my Michaela also have another thing in common:

Weird Toes.

Case in Point:






As you can see, the second toe sits higher on the foot than the other toes. This setup makes it look like the kids only have 4 toes if you look at the bottom of their feet. Michaela's feet have grown so that it's not as obvious, but it used to be very prominent when she was younger.

If you, or anyone you know, have toes that look like this, please PLEASE let me know. We're trying to see if there's a connection between the toes and the brain issues. We're very likely barking up the wrong tree, but it never hurts to search it out!

8 comments:

Catherine said...

Don't think it has any connection as I have known folks with this 2nd toe crossover who have not had the issues that Michaela and your friend's child have. Podiatrist friend told me it's fairly common and not considered a problem except in trying to cram feet in shoes that do not accomodate. In mild cases, correcting the problem is more of a pain than living with it. Go to http://www.podiatrytoday.com/article/671 to get more info on the subject.

Cath Young

Carolyn said...

My daughter has i.s., and her toes are "normal" (thank goodness), but MY toes look like your kids! Possible connection? :)

Kelly said...

Hmmm...Carolyn....

Now I'm REALLY curious....:D

Feel free to email me. And send a pic if you can!

Mir said...

Oh wouldn't it be cool to find out that there was a connection?? I've never seen toes like that before until I broke mine cycling last spring. Now, I have one toe that healed and crosses over the others. Kinda gross, but it gives me an excuse for saying why I hate shoes (as opposed to the first 27 years when I had no excuse!!).

Kelly said...

Now see, Mir, this is USUALLY what happens. It's a condition called "hallux valgus" and it's usually associated with wearing pointy shoes or injury IN ADULTS. There IS a condition called "juvenile hallux valgus," but the jury is still out as to whether or not it can be congenital. I'm still waiting to hear from a podiatry friend on that....:)

If so, we may not have found a neurological link, but we MAY be finding a local podiatrist!

JSmith5780 said...

Ok, now I need to go home and look at Austin's feet tonight! I'll let you know.

Don't you just love that Cody... he's such a cutie!

Jennifer said...

My daughter hasIS and she has one toe that has been that way since birth. It is her toe next to her pinkie toe on her left side....we always thought it was weird.

Jes said...

My daughter Madison has toes like that baby you posted - I always thought it was cute.