Her New Kicks

Vada and I picked up her SMO's today. They came just as we requested, hot pink for Jasmines favorite color, neon green for Kiliegh's and multi-colored cushions --just because. 

Pretty cute, huh?

The only problem... finding shoes to fit these hunky chunks.

Our first stop was at Kohl's where we found several cute pairs of shoes...

...only none of them fit properly.

Our next stop was at one of my fav's, Tar-jay aka Target. We had the same problem here, in fact I didn't even try a single shoe on Vada, I already knew they wouldn't do.

Then we went to Gordman's.  Tons of c.u.t.e. shoes that she could rock but none that would rock the orthesis.

Our final stop was at a little shop called Rogan's Shoes. They had a couple of shoes to select from and one fit just right!

She was wiped out from all the store hopping.

Vada went from a shoe size of a  4 1/2-5 to a size 7 1/2, if that tells you how bulky the orthoses (sp?) are.  I love that I found NB's for her that are both cute and that actually match the green and pink of the orthoses. But im not overly thrilled with the velcro. I was so excited that I had found a shoe that fit that I overlooked the fact that I had really wanted a shoe with laces. Rogan's has a no wear and return policy and rightfully so. So these are what Vada gets. I'll keep my eyes open for more ideas for the next pair and be happy that it only took four stores this time to find shoes! 

SMO's

SMO is the acronym for Supra-Malleolar Orthosis and it gets it name from the area for which it encompasses. An SMO supports the leg just above the ankle bone.

This was copied from Google photos and is just an example of how her ankles kind of look and how the SMO's may look. This is not a photo of Vada's feet.

Today, Vada had a double casting done for a pair of her very own SMO's. I was a little nervous that the appoinment would be difficult because V doesn't care too much for new people touching her but she did a great job and Lennie, the guy who did V's casting was fantastic as well, so that helped a lot!

Vada has flatter feet than typical, that turn inward ever so slightly. Kind of like the top photo. Her left big toe also turns under a bit.

I am really hopeful that these will help Vada feel more confident in her walking abilities because SMO's help support the arches of a foot as well as help with standing and balance and I think that these are just the areas that may be holding he back from walking one hundred percent of the time. 

Vada's SMO's will be a white plastic,

 Unfortunately Vada's SMO's does not come in decorative colors like the top photo shows but we did "personalize" the padding as well as the straps... but you'll just have to wait until they've been made to see what hers look like. 

Does your child wear SMO's? How any sizes in shoes did they have to go up to? What brands have worked for you and which have not?