‘The Buddy’ needs a new pair of shoes

Sept. 19, 2010

I admit it, I’m a bad parent. While other parents were out buying all the items their kids need to go back to school, I waited until we got “the list” and if it wasn’t on the list, I didn’t buy it. Growing up my parents always made sure I had everything that I needed, but the one thing I was always most proud of was new shoes. Most of the time they weren’t anything overly special, but I always felt I ran faster, jumped higher and played harder in new shoes.

With Nathan, new shoes are a novel concept. For so long his shoes always looked new. He’d get a decent amount of time in his shoes, but they’d never show it. All the time he wasn’t walking, he wasn’t weight-bearing on his feet, playing in dirt, out in the rain, or skidding on the gym floor.

When we participated (and I use that phrase very loosely) in the LiteGait study, Nathan did wear out his Crocs, but that was on top not the bottom. As he would “hang-out” over the treadmill with his feet dragging behind him, the belt acted like a sander burning holes through both of them. Croc-like shoes, we’ve found fit over his braces well and don’t stick under his feet as his ankles sometimes scissor behind him.

We’ve been so excited with Nathan’s progress, especially with his walking, that he’s spending more and more time in his AFOs doing all the things he never did before. This past week, I was holding one of his shoes, as Abbi was stretching his legs and putting the braces on, and looked down to see a slit forming on the underside. Of course, the first thought is the need to go out and buy a new pair, but we’re waiting little bit as new AFOs are coming soon. We don’t want to buy new shoes only to have them only last a few weeks. (Not that I ever wore holes in my shoes that fast growing up.)

I know it’s weird, but I’m excited for the little things like; the need for new shoes, having to wash mud off the tires of the walker, patching the padding around the front. Like any special-needs family, we’re not rolling in money or looking for more ways to spend money we don’t have. But for the little signs that he’s working hard, trying new things, and making big strides, there’s no doubt he’s worth it.

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