Hello and welcome
@Jzeb
I’m so sorry to hear about your son and how overwhelmed and worried you are for him.
Unfortunately Charcot seems to be misdiagnosed too often or diagnosed late once damage has occurred. It does mimic other conditions such as cellulitis, sprain, infection & that can make diagnosis challenging. It is a long term complication that can really stop you in your tracks. Being in a cast long term on crutches is a struggle and waiting for Charcot to settle down takes patience. It can be managed successfully and have a good outcome with time ,please don’t despair.
It can happen in both feet so your Son needs to seek help about that asap. My right foot and ankle are very damaged and badly misshapen and still in a cast today after many years. My other foot has fractured multiple times & is held together with metal but thankfully hasn’t changed shape & is my ‘good’ foot.
I hope your son has access to a good multi disciplinary team & clinic looking after him - orthopaedics, podiatry etc as well as care from his diabetes team. It really helps to get blood glucose in good stable range as well as blood pressure, cholesterol & all the normal diabetes stuff we juggle. Charcot can settle down given time and good monitoring but damaged feet remain very high risk and vulnerable to ulcers & skin breakdown due to altered weight distribution through the feet.
Surgery can be done if necessary once the initial flare up & bone destruction has settled and there are good results from surgery. Other options are air boots/braces & custom shoes & insoles. There is some current research on using artificial bone to stabilise joints.
There was an article on Charcot foot recently in Balance magazine with new research etc. I’ll find it & post tomorrow hopefully.
I hope you and your Son are doing ok. Charcot foot is a real shock & challenge but there is hope for a positive outlook. Wishing you both well .
