New AFO's (foot braces)

On Friday May 25th, Julia's orthopedic doctor came to the house and fitted her for new AFO's.  AFO stands for "Ankle-Foot Orthosis".  It is so great that Orthologix comes to the house to mold and fit Julia for her AFO's.  If anyone ever needs someone for braces I highly recommend Orthologix, they are great.  Julia wanted hot pink with hearts for her new braces. It is amazing how much Julia has grown since her last pair of braces.  Mr. Gregg from Orthologix said in October when she was fitted for her first pair of braces that Julia was 29 lbs, now she is 36 lbs.  Julia has grown a lot taller and her feet have gotten a lot bigger since October.

Mr. Gregg made Julia's AFO's a little different this time and he curved out the back of Julia's braces a little. He did this to help her bring her knees up when walking.  Julia wears the braces to help her with her foot drop.  Foot drop is a gait abnormality in which the dropping of the forefoot happens due to weakness.  Julia's dystonia causes Julia to have foot drop and the AFO's really help Julia pick up her toes and not drag them on the ground.  

Shoes are a huge issue for Julia when she wears her AFO's.  For some reason, Julia's right ankle is very high.  It is very challenging to find shoes that can properly fit with her AFO's on her feet.  So far, I have found only 1 pair of hot pink sparkly shoes to fit with them.  Julia loves her new shoes and we hope we can find more shoes to fit with her braces.  

Julia is all Smiles with her New AFO's.