I bet you never knew how much of a sentimental fool I am. WunderWife and I lived in a rundown apartment complex for the first three years of our marriage. I was still in school and money was tight. It was such a nice place that we were robbed twice in 6 months. Anyway, I finally graduated college and got a paying job, so we decided to move to a much nicer place. We packed up and said goodbye to our humble home and moved on up. But not before I went through the place one last time. Over there was where we first got our kitten, there was where we had fought, there was where we had made up, there was where we played Scrabble because we could not afford cable, and on and on and on. By the time I made it to the car, I was in tears. WunderWife just looked at me and shook her head. That is just one of many examples of my sentimental nature.

One big area that gets me every time is when one of our children takes their first steps. Well, last night WunderKid 3 took her first 5 steps to daddy’s waiting arms. It brought a tear to my eye and it does so as I type. I remember each of the other two children and how I felt but last night was a little bit different.

WunderKid 3 was born with a clubbed left foot. I have written about her progress many times (see here, here, here, here and here). Seeing her walk made me think of how I felt the day she was born. We had no idea about her foot until they put her on the warming table to clean her up. The nurse casually said, “We have a clubbed left foot”. I was floored. What did that mean? Then I saw it! Oh my. Would she ever walk? Was it fixable? What was involved in fixing her foot? How long would it take? So many questions. WunderWife was wheeled to recovery only knowing her foot was clubbed. She wanted to know if everything else was ok, but being a bass-ackward hospital, she was in recovery for over an hour. I was alone with WunderKid 3 all that time. I held her and looked at her face. I never looked at her foot. It did not matter, she was perfect to me. I know a clubbed foot is not a “big deal” in the scheme of things, but it threw me for a loop. But as I held her and showed her off to the family, I knew I was going to have to tell them. We have video of me holding her before I told the family. Looking at it now you can see the pain and worry written all over my face. As I looked down at my beautiful daughter, I thought of a million ways to tell everyone. I knew all their questions, I had the same ones. But I had no answers.

The next day they came and put a tiny cast on her foot. We were told by the doctor that a series of casts would be required and even a surgery would be required. All in all, he said that by the time she was a year to a year and a half, she should be up and walking.

We then started with weekly casts. That changed to one every other week. We did this for the first three months of her life. It was a hard thing to go through. They would have to twist her foot to hyper-extend it. That hurt and she would cry so much she would be sweating by the time we were done. It was the hardest thing I have ever had to watch. Then they stopped the casts and tried shoes. That did not work and we were left looking for a better alternative. That was when we were referred to the Shriners Hospital in Tampa. They began treating her and we began going to Tampa every two weeks starting in March. It is a 640 mile round trip. After some more casts, she underwent a surgery to lengthen her tendon. After that, one more cast followed by the bar shoes. She has now been in the bar shoes for over 6 weeks. She is in them for 23 hours a day. Her most recent appointment was this past week. The doctor is very pleased with her foot and pronounced that she only has 6 more weeks left in them. She will still have to wear them at night, but she will be out of them during the day.

It was after all the above that she took her first steps last night. It has been a long road, but we have been tremendously blessed. The Shriners are top notch and they have really taken care of my baby girl. She is a tough little thing and has shown that she can adapt to anything you toss her way. I love her so much.

So after a long year of ups and downs, I finally have an answer to the question I asked the day she was born, “Will she ever walk?” I can say with all confidence and proof that my baby can walk! She may have to be in the evil shoes for a little longer, but I know she can walk and I cannot wipe the smile or the tears off my face.