Since Jonathan was in ICU a little over 2 years ago, he has had some sort of brace for his feet/ankles. While in the hospital they were pretty basic, just green with some Velcro. After coming home, they were a bit more involved. The braces are called AFO's (ankle-foot orthotics). The purpose is to keep his foot/ankle in proper alignment so that he can learn to take proper steps. Without the orthotics on, he pronates pretty severely while standing (ankle rolls inward, standing on the inside of his foot/ankle rather than flat), and points his left foot almost all the time while not standing.
AFOs are custom fit (using a cast to create mold) and generally will last from 6 months to 1 year because he is growing so fast. His most recent set are articulating (I hope I spelled that right), meaning that there is a joint at the ankle and he has a slight range of motion allowing for a more proper/natural step. His previous pairs were solid and the step was more of a stomping motion (which is how baby's step when learning to walk).
Since Jonathan is on his 3rd set of AFO's, we decided to show a progression on how much he has grown since the first pair that he got when he was 14 months old).
Newest ones...articulating (2 1/2 yrs old)
From the left...
- October 2008 (14 months old)...look how fat his calves were!
- August 2009 (2 years)...legs haven't grown much in length, but they have leaned out a bit.
- March 2010 (2 1/2 years)... the foot part is actually about 1 cm longer than his actual foot and his ankle really isn't that wide...the joints make it look that way.
As of his last PM&R appointment (physical medicine & rehab), we will likely be doing some botox treatments to help several of his muscle groups....inner thighs to help minimize scissoring (crossing legs over each other while walking), left calf (to help the left foot not be pointed at all times) and left forearm (to help learn proper grasp with his left hand, get more of a functional use out of it). If all goes well...schedules and insurance approvals, he will likely get the injections in late April, and will last anywhere from 3 to 6 months.
1 comment:
That is really interesting Brig. Thanks for taking the time to share that! I think that is so neat that this pair actually moves a bit with him!
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