Hi everyone, My name is Mitchell and I’m an 18 year old who has clubfoot. I was born in 1999, and born with a right clubfoot.
I had a surgery when I was an infant and again at around 6 or 7 years old. I had casting and went through a lot of physiotherapy. Growing up in a family that loved sports, I of course came to love sports as well, specifically soccer. I played soccer a lot as a kid but often struggled with my foot. I experienced a lot of pain after playing and often tripped during games and things like that.
My physiotherapist once told me I wouldn’t be able to play soccer at any level above recreational. Me being stubborn, I took this and did the opposite, I worked hard to get my foot/leg to the work the best it can and eventually I went from being a recreational soccer player to playing on the 2nd best team for my age in Ontario. I played for many years until I unfortunately tore my ACL and MCL in the same year.
Now I workout and can squat more weight most people without any problems can’t do. Of course I still have problems sometimes such as stiffness, but rarely. The biggest problem is the size difference in my calves.
My reason for this story is not to be full of pride, but is to show people that anything is possible and problems like clubfoot can slow you down but if you work hard enough can overcome it. Don’t let clubfoot control you and your life, you control the clubfoot. I hope everyone who has this issue can somehow overcome it and not let it negatively affect them in anyway.
Great to hear your story Ruth, similar story here I loved football as a child and wanted to join the army, unfortunately I was void from both long term, however instead I took other opportunities trek across the himilayas in my 20s, and now in my mid 30s started doing triathlons, some thing I would never imagined at your age, as I thought it would be impossible “because of club foot”. I found the more you use your legs sensibly the less pain you get.
the size difference in calves was probably the problem the problem I spent most of my life concerend about, only in my 30s did I finally feel comfortable wearing shorts, I changed my mindset,mianly from observing sports people who wear prosthetic s limbs like there is nothing there.