Orthotics

Ryan saw Dr J in Long Island today for a check on his orthotics. Hes been refusing to walk in the walker for a few weeks now, and keeps pulling at his braces and shoes, giving me the sad face look. His AFO's are 9 months old so it makes sense they may need to be adjusted for size. I love this guy as hes very thorough and really knows his stuff but how did I end up with an orthotist 2 hours away? So we were leaving the house 6am for a 9am appointment (cant take any chances with the GW Bridge in NY traffic).

It was worth it though as I did learn quite abit at the appointment

- Ive been worried about Ryans ring fingers developing contractures as they dont seem to straighten fully, but he assured me they still had full range of motion so not to worry

- He noticed Ryans left thumb was still abducted alot but he felt it may be a symton of his loose ligaments more than a brain problem, eg the thumbs have more of a range of motion than they should so they will naturally fall into the most stable position, and its also to do with muscle memory as they have become habit to be in the palms when resting.

- M, Ryans PT wanted to ask him about hinged afos as hes now doing more supported walking. Dr J was totally against this idea as he feels the material they use for the braces is flexible for that purpose. Actually the first thing he said when he examined the braces was "oh good, hes using his ankles correctly". At the ankle joints the plastic has turned white showing they have been bending while hes been walking in his walker.

Luckily Dr J's orthotist was able to alter the braces and exchange the velcro etc to make fit without having to totally redo. I was so not relishing the thought of having to pay another $2000 for new braces so this little break was a godsend.