New AFOs for Vineet !! (Blog dated 13th February 2020)

Hello everyone!
Happy New Year!!
I know I know I'm late as always😜but since this is my first post for the year, better late than never 😊
I wonder if I've ever made a post about Vin's AFOs  Nevertheless, here goes...

So the first pair AFOs that Vineet got was in April 2007 when he was 8 years old. Before that , at the age of 5, he was put on 'Dennis Brown Splint' to cure his slightly clubbed feet and to rotate his hips inwards at the prescription of the only proper Orthotist we have here in Asansol.

Dennis Brown Splint no. 1

Dennis Brown Splint no. 2

No, I'm not going to refer him to anyone as he's ridiculously expensive even though he may be good. Good part of the story is that he was the one who referred us to "Mobility India"  in Kolkata. That place was very good and reasonable and we went there twice for Vineet's AFOs as he grew older until in 2018 when he outgrew the 2nd pair .We wanted to get him new ones but  came to know that that place had shut down for repair and construction works. In that emergency, we went to our old Orthotist who gave us highly (read 'ridiculously high') priced options and we never went back.

AFOs no. 1

AFOs no. 2

In short, the material for AFOs are of various types and designs. Some patients who can walk also need AFOs and theirs is different from the ones Vineet wears as he has no walking needs. I won't go into the details here

To the rescue - AMAZON !

I was so proud of myself when I got a pair of  AFOs online from Amazon for a very reasonable price  (Rupees Two Thousand four hundred for a pair).But later I realized, these wouldn't work as a lifetime option as the foot part was generalised and had no 'Left' or 'Right' ankle option... I began noticing a slight bend in Vineet's big toes and I stopped making him wear them immediately.

AFOs from Amazon

Moving on...

     I did some online research and after reading reviews and pricing, we zeroed in on " Ottobock". We took an appointment on 20th December 2019 for the measurements in Kolkata. We were impressed by the clinicians who took the measurements in a very professional way and they did not take much time at all! We opted for a real snazzy pattern chosen by Vin from the many options given.

                              

We were asked to come for a trial fitting after about a month , the date they would let us know later.


                               Fast forward to August 2020

We still have not collected the AFOs (as of today, 26th August 2020) :(

Well actually, we had gotten a call from Ottobock Kolkata that the AFO was ready for trial in January 2020,  but PROCRASTINATION has its evils. And we are stuck with one of them. Grrrrr...... 

No, COVID 19 is not to be blamed here in anyway ! :P 

Here's hoping one day we will finally be able to collect the AFOs, will update in the comments when that happens.
Till then, 
#StayHomeStaySafe

UPDATE!!

So on 12th January 2021 we finally made that trip to Kolkata and collected Vineet’s newest AFOs. We had to wait for around 2 hours for the final finishing, but nevertheless, here they are! 

They look smashing I must say ! 😍 

Now Here's my 'Mommy Tip' for parents with kids who use #AFO s 

and people who use them-

I had been meaning to tell the Orthotist at Ottobock to not paste the silicone attachment to Vineet's AFO but (inevitably) forgot 🤦🏻‍♀️ I had in mind since long that I would use that attachment separately to be used for "Normal" stylish shoes as its difficult to insert the whole AFO with the silicone attachment, into them. So by the time I remembered this, we were home after a 4 hour car journey from Kolkata. But as some of you know me, I never give up on 'trying'. So guess what I did? I tried removing them myself using a blunt knife (which I didn't need thankfully!) It came off little by little and I was relieved to see it was not melted and pasted, rather there was a very very sticky tape kind of thing, so it came off neatly. And Walla! I had both the silicone attachments as a separate thing just the way I wanted ! 😎

So even though it was 11 p.m. at night, I excitedly tried them on Vineet's latest Red 🤩 Christmas shoes and they slid in so neatly !! No more red, bloated big toes due to inward folding inside shoes which did not have a zipper as in #BillyFootwear shoes 👍✌️

Billy Footwear not closing in with the AFO

Billy Footwear neatly closing with AFO silicone attachment only

Adidas shoes neatly fitting in with AFO silicone attachment only

SO now he wears the whole piece at home and we will use only the silicone part for outings 😎

Thankyou for going through🥰 Please let me know your thoughts in the comments about my tip though 🤓

Disclaimer - Vineet is totally Non- ambulatory , so this adaption works for him 😌
Also tagging @adidas to request them to make #adaptible shoes like the others