Hannah’s Surestep Orthotics fitting today!

30 May by Mommy


I took Hannah to her orthotics fitting this afternoon.  Now that I am aware of her constantly rolling her ankles because of weakness (hypotonia), I can see why it will be a good idea for her.  The procedure itself was incredibly easy.  The orthotics specialist just took about 9 measurements on each foot and that was it.  Hannah did great, and she only squirmed during the last measurement!

We still don’t know if the insurance company will cover it, but they will let us know when they process the paperwork.  Keeping my fingers crossed there. 

samples2006He gave me a choice of patterns, and I chose the “blossom” pattern.  My reasoning?  I thought Abigail would like it the best out of all of them.  You know, my girly girl.  Cute little pink and purple flowers with butterflies. 

 The orthotics specialist told us that he would probably give me a call in about 3 weeks to bring Hannah in to test the fit.  Also, he made the comment that it is more difficult to find shoes that will fit over the orthotic braces at her age, but you know me, I will take on that challenge.

It is kind of bittersweet though.  Until now, Hannah hasn’t needed any “outward” assistive devices.  To everyone on the street, she just looks like a normal happy baby.   This will be the first assistive device that she will have to have.  I know, it is stupid because a lot of kids have these, and it could be SO much worse.  

But it is nice being able to be in denial every once in a while…

~ Filed Under: Hannah's Fight Tagged With: , , ,

Physical Therapy, SureStep, and Supramalleolar Orthosis

14 May by Mommy

We started physical therapy at TCH yesterday. During her assessment last week, she was found to have “scattered skills,” meaning that her skills ranged from the 4-month level to the 8-month level. She has incredible upper boddy chest strength but incredibly poor abdominal and trunk strength, which is what is possibly causing most of her skill setbacks because she is using the wrong part of her body to do certain tasks.

Common sense tells us that because her abdomen was so huge that she compensated by using her upper body and her shoulders to get done what she wanted to do. Explains why she can sit, but she can’t get to a sitting position or crawl.

Today, Pam, her therapist, also noticed that she has low tone in her lower legs and ankles as well as no arches in her feet. When she stands, she rolls her ankles or angles out her feet to try and balance.

Mommy and Hannah’s homework:  The homework for this week is:  1) positioning Hannah in sitting with her hips leveled with or slightly higher than her knees to facilitate weight bearing through her legs ; 2) encouraging Hannah to lean her trunk forward when moving into the stance position so that her body weight is shifted anteriorly onto her forefoot, bilaterally, instead of her heels; and 3) encouraging Hannah to stand while holding on to facilitate balance reactions in the stance position.

So, she wants Hannah to get orthopedic high-top shoes called Supramalleolar Orthosis (SMOs) from SureStep.  They are similar to the picture on the left.   “The SureStep system is designed around the child with low muscle tone. It is a truly remarkable early intervention tool to help stabilize and align the lower extremities of children with hypotonia.”

The cost of these custom-fitting orthotics?  $1300 A PAIR (made by a local company because they are “custom”)!  And she would probably need a new pair EVERY 6 WEEKS until she figures it out on her own.  I hope our insurance company will cover it because there is no way we can afford these.  Pam is going to write a medical letter of necessity and ask Dr. B., our pediatrician, to write a prescription for them.

We’ll see how that works out…

~ Filed Under: Hannah's Fight Tagged With: , ,