The Kurowski family enjoyed a special Disney vacation in 2024.
Martin Joseph Kurowski – or Marty Joe – has been through a lot. With a team of specialists and determined parents, nothing slows down the toddler who was born with clubfeet, a cleft lip and cleft palate.
A shocking diagnosis
Marty was diagnosed in-utero with clubfeet and a cleft lip. “You want the best for your baby, and there’s so much anticipation,” Marty’s mom, Cortney, said. “When you find out something is wrong, it’s stressful. I felt guilty – like I did something wrong – and was in a negative space for a while.”
Cortney found Dr. Mark Adamczyk, orthopedic surgeon and director of the Akron Children’s Clubfoot Clinic, recommended by a clubfoot group online. She also discovered Dr. Ananth Murthy, craniofacial surgeon and director of pediatric plastic and reconstructive surgery.
Cortney and her husband, Andrew, live in Oberlin. While Cleveland facilities offered closer-to-home convenience, they chose Akron for Marty’s care. “From my online research, Akron Children’s was where we wanted to go,” Cortney shared. “We were confident in the orthopedic and plastic surgery teams.”
Clubfoot care
Marty entered the world on June 10, 2023. At 3 days old, he had his first appointment with Dr. Adamczyk. Casting and bracing – called the Ponseti Method – are the standard methods of treatment. Casting gently and gradually moves the foot to the correct position, and bracing keeps the foot in the right spot.
Marty got his first set of foot casts at 17 days old. “Kids with clubfeet get new casts every week,” Dr. Adamczyk said. “Marty’s feet were flexible enough that he only needed two sets of casts to correct the positioning.”
In July 2023, Marty moved to bracing with a horizontal bar connected to special boots. Despite having to wear the bar and boots for 23 hours a day, he started pulling himself up at 6 months. He started walking at 14 months.
The Kurowskis send holiday-themed footprints of Marty Joe to Dr. Adamczyk and team.
As Marty has progressed through casting and bracing, Cortney credits her husband for helping them through it. “I have a husband like no other,” she said. “I’m so grateful for Andrew; he’s a rock star. He can function on very little sleep and can fall right back to sleep, so he takes the night shift with Marty.”
As for January 2025, Marty only has to wear the bracing to bed. He’ll need to do that every night until his fourth birthday. “Clubfoot care is a sprint and a marathon,” Dr. Adamczyk offered. “The sprint is the casting. The marathon is the daily grind of bracing, but parents stick with it because they don’t want to interfere with their child’s progress.”
Cleft-repairing surgeries
While Dr. Adamczyk and team cared for Marty’s clubfeet, Dr. Murthy got to work on Marty’s cleft lip and palate. Marty had an incomplete bilateral cleft, meaning both sides of the lip. The cleft palate only affected the soft portion – the back part of the roof of Marty’s mouth – and not the whole palate.
Marty with his boots and bar, before the cleft lip and palate surgery.
“Marty is one of those rare patients where I’ve repaired the lip and palate at the same time, because he didn’t need anything done for the hard palate,” Dr. Murthy explained. “We performed the surgery at 5 months, and that way, we didn’t have to put Marty to sleep twice. We got it all done in one surgery, and it went great.”
Cortney calls Dr. Murthy a magician. “You’d never know Marty had a cleft lip and palate,” she said. “I see other kids in the online forums, and their outcomes aren’t as good. I wish every child could have a Dr. Murthy.”
A bright future
Marty attends Craniofacial Clinic in the Akron Children’s Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Center. It’s a parade of providers – including nursing; social work, speech therapy; feeding and nutrition; audiology; ear, nose and throat; orthodontia; and genetics – to check on Marty’s progress. “Kids born with a cleft lip and palate will need treatment throughout childhood and adolescence as they grow,” Dr. Murthy said. “It’s important to monitor their development as a team.”
For Marty’s clubfeet, the risk of recurrence is low. “His parents did so well with him,” Dr. Adamczyk said. “If you would see him running around today, you wouldn’t even know he had clubfoot.”
Marty Joe is an active, happy toddler.
Now that the darkest days are behind them, Cortney said it’s empowering to look back. “Some minutes and days are slow, but the time goes so much faster than you think,” she said. “I’m proud of all Marty has overcome and so grateful for the Akron Children’s teams we’ve worked with.
“By sharing Marty’s story, I want to encourage other families going through a hard time. You’re not alone. It’s not your fault. It’s going to be hard, but you’re stronger than you think.”
Want to learn more? Watch these videos about cleft lip and palate and clubfoot.
