Tuesday, March 17, 2009

They are HERE!



Leah got fitted for her braces today! YAY! Finally!

She was great during the fitting, a little fussy...but she had only had a 45 minute nap prior, so that was to be expected! The braces turned out so adorable! They are so cute and little! We learned that the shoes we just bought will not work with the braces (of course, just my luck!). So, tomorrow we will go pick out some new shoes at Stride Rite! Leah had both braces on and took off! She has been walking so much anyways, but having them on she just started walking all over. Even though she shouldn't be in them without shoes.

Liz the physical therapist who did the braces, mentioned that Leah's heel cord was very tight today, which I thought was very interesting. Leah's heel is always the tightest part of her leg, but I was surprised to hear how tight Liz thought it was. Nadine, our weekly PT, hasn't mentioned it being that tight in a long time--if ever. I'm wondering if it's because of the new shoes and all the walking she has been doing that she is becoming tighter. Anyway, Liz mentioned that she thinks we should probably get Leah a strap for the top of the AFO (the bigger brace) to ensure that her heel stays down in the brace. She said that shouldn't take long to get and Leah can still wear the braces how they are for now. She also mentioned that we might want to think about Leah wearing the AFO at night to stretch her heel out. These are all things that need to be discussed with our PT.

So, our schedule is to start wearing the braces for a half hour tomorrow, then an hour the next day and to build up to 5 hours a day. Again, we need to discuss with our PT, but this is what Liz recommends.

Aren't they so cute!?!


3 comments:

Popcorn House said...

So cute! I love the pink and the heart strap. Now is this an articulating AFO or is it solid in the back?

That is wonderful that she is taking it so well. Sammy cried and cried when we put his on when he got his first AFO. But he got used to it fairly soon. Now his SMO he doesn't even notice anymore.

Sammy gets tighter when he is going through a growth spurt, maybe that is what is going on. Sammy's AFO did have the top strap on his though.

Good luck. Let us know what PT says!

Anonymous said...

CUTE! Addie's has the same heart strap, but the rest is all pink. Love them.

Sounds like she is doing great with them, so it should be an easy transition for her.

Barbara said...

Very cute! Bennett adjusted very quickly to his - I don't think he even notices it anymore.