Scans identified problems with Elliot Baker's tiny feet while he was still in the womb.
Halfway through his mum Emma's pregnancy, an ultrasound revealed her baby's feet were twisted out of shape — a severely disabling and painful condition if left untreated.
But life-changing treatment has transformed Elliot's life, enabling him to play sport like other children his age.
Elliot was just weeks old when treatment began at the Mater Children's Private Hospital — weekly plasters on both legs to start manipulating the bones in his deformed feet like moulding plasticine, straightening them bit by bit over time.
Once the plaster treatment ended when he was about four months old, he spent between 12 and 23 hours a day wearing boots strapped to what looks like a tiny snowboard — a device which kept his feet straight — until his fifth birthday.
Elliot, who turns seven in December, no longer goes to bed wearing the "boots and bar" contraption and is an active little boy, despite being born with a severe case of what's known as "club feet", or talipes, occurring in about one in 1,000 births.
"He's doing really well. He swims, he's done gymnastics, he's done little athletics. He's a very fast runner," proud dad, James, said.
"He's playing rugby at the moment.
"It's been a long haul for the little guy but he's taken it in his stride. He's never complained."
Elliot's feet show little sign of the intensive treatment he's endured at the Mater's Clubfoot Service which sees between 50 to 100 new children annually, including some from Pacific Island nations and remote Queensland Aboriginal communities.
'Almost the textbook outcome'
His orthopaedic surgeon David Bade said Elliot's feet were corrected using a therapy, known as the Ponseti method, named after American Ignacio Ponseti, who developed it.
Dr Bade said Elliot required minor surgery on his left foot — a procedure known as a tenotomy to cut the Achilles tendon, allowing better movement.
Otherwise, his feet were straightened using non-invasive physiotherapy techniques without the need for surgery.
"He's running around with his mates. He has normal-looking feet, but most importantly — they're perfectly functional and they have no pain," Dr Bade said.
The cause of Elliot's club feet remains a mystery with no known history of club feet on either side of his family.
Dr Bade said most cases were believed to be caused by a combination of genetic and environmental influences.
While 95 per cent of children with the condition can be treated successfully using the Ponseti method, some require more extensive surgery and may need to wear specially made braces on their legs.
"The natural history of club feet if it's not treated is that it's a debilitating condition where you can't actually walk comfortably, you get a terrible foot deformity that will end up causing both pain and great disability," Dr Bade said.
Mrs Baker admits to being "shocked and upset" when the 20-week ultrasound, while she was pregnant with Elliot, revealed his deformed feet.
Although further testing failed to identify any other problems, and despite reassurances from doctors about treatment, she remained nervous leading up to his birth.
All that dissolved after Elliot's delivery.
"When he was born, to be honest, it didn't really matter because he was our baby and all of that stress immediately went away," she said.
"He was perfectly healthy and beautiful.
"Given the severity of his feet at birth, we had almost the textbook outcome. I'm just really grateful we got the outcome we did. It doesn't affect his life now in any way."
Elliot, who has a younger sister, Clara, 4, crawled at eight months and walked unassisted soon after his first birthday.
Physiotherapist Tracey Bulow said the Mater Clubfoot Service performed 594 consultations in 2021, including 74 new patients.
