Braces have always made shoe shopping difficult. We actually had it easy for a few years, three years to be exact. Three years out of his 15 years wearing braces we were able to go to the Mall and grab sneakers, any sneakers he wanted. Now we are back to these huge braces that cause him to need shoes 3 times bigger than his actual size, and sadly no I am not exaggerating. I measured him at the store! This year he happens to be in the most difficult size. He measured a 7 Men's with the braces on which is also a 9 in Youth but I am not sure they even make 9 Youth because we couldn't find anything. Apparently size 7 in Men's is almost non existent as well. Not only do we need size 7 but we need a size 7 in at least an X Wide. This should be fun! I know he needs ankle support but I don't think the AFO's nor GRAFO's are going to help his crouching. I have always thought the more rigid and higher braces in the end cause him weakness. The orthopedic and orthotist see him crouch while walking and talk me into these huge braces. I am really irritated at the moment and need to leave this house on my own, braces in hand and hunt down some sneakers! Lugging him in and out of stores isn't fun, especially in the Winter.
We finally hired another PASS worker. It has been a few years and I think we forgot how nice it is to have some help. He gets him off of the bus a few times a week and helps him settle and get a snack. He has been learning to get him into his stander, which is still a work in progress and has him go into his (new Freedom Concepts) Chill out Chair to stretch those legs a bit. He takes him to the bathroom and showers him every time he works. Brendan loves to shower daily and we only say yes every other day since he needs full assistance. Brendan loves being able to shower more often with his new aide. While it is always odd to have someone in our house, the extra help is amazing! I am not running to his bedroom 5x while making dinner and feel much less stressed out. I am loving him going into his stander and into his chill out chair multiple times a week. I don't feel as guilty not having the time to do everything that I want him to do and that alone is worth having someone else in my home. We need to get used to it as it will become the norm after he turns 18.
Is it Spring yet? We just had two beautiful days after a few weeks of extremely cold weather. Today was in the 50's and made me want Spring to arrive so badly. I have already been itching for Winter to be over and it feels like it just started. At least the ground hog didn't see his shadow this year, that has got to mean something, right?! I am ready to go camping again and finish our pool area and go on walks with the kids. Brendan has actually been riding his bike all Winter except for the last few weeks due to insane cold temperatures. He was riding with temps in the 30's and I love it! He got a larger bike this year from Freedom Concepts since he outgrew his last one.
42 more days and counting until Spring arrives!
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