Watching Hannah move through different stages of development, these little things pop up now and again that remind me of just how much of an impact her CP has on every aspect of her (and our) life. And a lot of the time, it's these little things that can really get me down much more so than the big picture.
The big one lately is shoes. Shoes are a MAJOR issue in our house. First of all, finding shoes that can fit over orthotics is no small feat. And then there's the fact that sometimes very independent four year olds don't WANT to wear their orthotics. So it's nice to have a pair or two around that can work without them, for those hanging around the house days when we just want to take a break from strapping her feet into the hard plastic forms. But that's another feat of the feet because Hannah's are so narrow and small, and because when she walks, she doesn't plant her feet firmly on the ground and they just kind of float in space sometimes. So if a shoe is not totally snug on her foot it falls off. And if it doesn't have a good tread on the bottom she slides all over the place. So most slippers are out.
When you look around at the average preschooler (at least in our neck of the woods, anyway) one of the most popular shoes are those really cute kiddie mud boots with fun prints of animals or other cool things on them. So what does Hannah want to wear? Without her orthotics, they are a total no-go because they fall off. And with orthotics, she can't fit into mud boots at all. So in the land of "mud season" we are very ill-equipped.
Then there's dress-up shoes. All kids love to play dress up and tromp around in their parents' shoes. Hannah just can't do it. She tries, oh she tries. She has tried on almost every pair of my shoes in an effort to find one that will stay on so she can walk around in them like Isabelle does. But she can't keep them on her feet long enough to give it a try. We also have a box of plastic dress shoes B got at a yard sale. Silly, fun high heeled shoes that are made for kids to play with. Again, Hannah can't keep a single pair on her feet. Thankfully in this box of shoes is also a pair of red sparkly buckle shoes just like Dorothy's in the Wizard of Oz. Without orthotics they fall off, but with orthotics they fit well enough that she can stomp around the house.
She is NOT happy at all at having to wear her orthotics with these sparkly dress up shoes. I don't blame her. It sort of defeats the purpose. Dress up is all about becoming someone else and leaving your regular orthotic wearing self behind. But today I convinced her that the best way to experience the magic of these shoes and keep them on her feet was to wear her orthotics, and how wonderful that the shoes fit with them on. She begrudgingly agreed and now wants to have them on 24/7.
Today it's shoes, tomorrow it will be something else. These little things are hard in a big way.
4 comments:
makes me sad. -daddy
You share a very real problem.
For the boots - can you find a real shoe repairman? I'm thinking a 'door' can be cut into the back of the boots (with hinge and a means of 'locking').
Consider engaging her PT with your concerns.
There is an online brand of shoes made just for children who wear orthotics - called Hatchbacks. But if you google that word you get - cars! Just be sure to combine the search with the word shoes.
Best, Barbara
I hate every season that brings me shoes shopping. Winter I dread because snow boots are impossible to find with AFO's. Summer sucks as sandals are another mission impossible. Rain boots are the worst ever as they will not give enough to get the AFO's in. We have the same problem we try with no AFO but the boot stays on the ground and Elizabeth is stomping sick feet in puddles which she does not mind. Elizabeth has a real shoe fetis as well and loves shoes especially the girly ones and I feel so bad at depriving her of them.
Can I also add I the time it takes to get the damn things on and in their shoes/boots? It is also totally thwarts her independance as I have to put them on her as it is too hard for her.
I agree with every word you wrote.
I was just searching for places to find shoes that fit with AFOs and came across your blog from Google. It is amazing how similar our stories are. I have twin girls (although only 19 months right now) who were born at 27 weeks. Adleigh is completely on target for everything, but Liana had a grade IV brain bleed and they basically thought she would be a vegetable and offered to take her off life support. However, she is amazing and super smart. The only real setback we have right now is some difficulty is using her right hand and preferring to put her weight in her left side, but she is walking (slightly Frankenstein like)!
Anyway, your blog encouraged me and it is always so nice to see other moms with twin girls!
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