My name is Kennedy! I was born with bilateral club feet and my first two fingers on my right hand were fused together. I also don’t have fully developed toes and no big toes. I have a severe form of bilateral club feet and Streeter’s Dysplasia (a rare disorder affecting 1 in 15,000 live births). As a baby I had full leg serial casting and my parents made weekly trips to Fargo to have my feet stretched and casts changed. At 8 weeks old, I underwent my first surgery where my achilles tendons were clipped. I wore a 23-hour wear boot (with the Ponseti boot and bar) until I was 14 months old. At 4 months old I underwent my second surgery to separate my fingers. At 2 years old I underwent my 2nd hand surgery to deepen the V between my 1st and 2nd fingers. At 2.5 years old, I got my first set of SMO braces with a pad to act as my big toe. About a week later, I walked for the first time! My 4th surgery was a tendon transfer surgery. The surgeons transferred the tendons from the inside of my foot and moved it to the outside, clipped the plantar tendon on the bottom of my foot, and clipped the achilles tendons. They also sewed what they call a “button” on the bottom of the foot to stabilize the transfer of the tendons. They did this on both feet. After this, they stretched the foot out into almost a 90 degree angle away from my body and put me in full leg casts.
In 2023, my orthopedic doctor commented that my right foot was turning inwards and I was struggling to walk with my foot being flat on the ground. After X-rays we found that my right ankle bones were flat. I underwent my 5th surgery to put a growth plate on my ankle. The hope is that the metal plate will deform the bone enough that it’s able to move as a typical foot should. I now wear a hinged AFO brace on my right foot. The hope is that this brace will support my ankle while reminding my toes and foot that it’s supposed to be straight.
Although I have been through so much, I don’t let my struggles hold me down! My family says I am truly a genuinely happy kid; I’m sassy, strong-willed, and always ready to crack a joke. I love jumping on the trampoline! My butterfly is pink and blue to represent bilateral club awareness colors.
Perfect Through and Through 