The shoes that keep on giving, the angel of PT, and why I blog anonymously

These shoes came to Utah from Virginia, courtesy of sweet Oia, who uses a right AFO and is a year older than Hannah. Don't they look cute? Hannah loves her new shoes - I think they are much lighter and more flexible than those we got with the AFO, and suddenly the size fives were just a little small. Voila! We broke out these, which were sent to us months ago by Mo, and just waiting for Hannah to fluff up and need them. I had to modify the strap on the left since at the time Oia wore these she had a left AFO too, but I started the job and stuffed the toe with cotton (Hannah stuffs it with wood chips every day at school) then where I messed up the strap I took it to Eric at Shriners' who fixed it up in three minutes with a cushiony strap on the bottom that takes up some of the extra room in the shoe, and we are off and flying. Mo, you did right by us! Maybe we can work out something where every now and then I buy you a new pair and you keep sending me your right AFO modified older sets? Now, got any snow boots? The Angel of PT says they way I keep Hannah going gangbusters in winter is to carve out snow steps and have her climb up to get to slide down.

Observe the shoes in action.



I think I've mentioned before that our most influential PT, the one who we met first when our CP journey began, who created the Bamboo Brace that I think has been enormously beneficial in Hannah's development, should properly be referred to as The Angel of PT. Not only does he work privately as a PT (how I got him), takes Early Intervention cases (he moved me to his caseload when another child aged out, saving me mucho dinero), runs the Spina Bifida clinic at the local pediatric hospital, and is a wheelchair fitting specialist, but he also works for Ability Found, a non profit organization bringing people and assistive equipment together. I mentioned to Michael that my mother was in poor health and having decided to stay in her home of 37 years, she needed two power chairs, one for each level of her house. He offered to see her and help determine what needs she had and what chair would best suit her and her environment, and that he could help her find a gently used chair at much less cost than a new piece of equipment, or if what they really wanted was not yet available he'd loan her a chair until he got he what she really wanted. Like many querulous old folk, she wanted help NOW and with him being busy (he is) and her being busy (being retired and old) he told her if she insisted that she had to see him on Thursday morning last week, he could only do so by bumping my Hannah's appointment. She didn't bat an eye and said yes, she'd take Hannah's slot. And she never called to thank me for giving up Hannah's spot so she could pursue her own needs.

You can be like Mo, who sends her daughter's shoes to a stranger from the Internet, you can be like the Angel of PT who runs himself ragged being all things to all people and making a huge difference in literally hundreds of people's lives, particularly for my family, or you can be my mom, whose needs are always the most important.

The video you see above is of Hannah, playing in the park in Oia's old shoes after our make up visit with Mike that he squeezed into his Friday schedule because he felt bad bumping Hannah for my batty old mother. He was too nice to say anything other than that he had a nice time meeting my parents. I said she was an old bat for not even feeling bad about bumping my baby's PT time. And that, my friends, is why I blog anonymously. I will be less bitter and annoyed later, but as Nanci Griffith sings "Maybe tomorrow, but not today!!"