Shoe Lift Appt and Noah the NF Bear

Noah the NF Bear arrived at our house on Monday afternoon. Noah and his sister, Nora, travel across the US and world to visit kids with NF for a week. Noah's stop at our house was a surprise for Travis. T took Noah to his shoe lift appointment at Shriners Monday afternoon.

Noah the NF Bear ready to pick up T from school

T and Noah before T's shoe lift appt at Shriners

The orthodics person that made T's last 2 braces and and lifts moved away, so we ended up with a head guy of the dept, very knowledgeable. We discussed why T was in for a new lift and the amount that Mark from PT estimated needed to be added (T hasn't had standing x-rays to measure discrepancy for a while). Rich placed the inch board under T's right foot with the current lift and T was able to stand fairly straight. T's shorts were long, yet Rich was able to see the valgus deformation (left knee deformity). He asked the plan regarding the knee and other questions to better understand how NF affects T. You could tell that he was amazed at how well Travis gets around given the medical circumstance and how he's having to think outside the box from several angles to make sure the aspects of T's situation are addressed. We decided it would be the best for T to pick up his lift immediately before T's next PT appt so Mark can help T adjust to the new height. That will be 2 weeks from yesterday (Monday).

When T gets his new shoe and lift, he will have 8.5 cm of lift compared to the 6 cm of lift he has now. From what I gathered, he has one of the bigger lift amounts Rich has seen for kids T's age. *sigh* This additional amount for the lift has taken a harder toll on me than I would have guessed. I'm tired of being strong, yet I know I have to be to help T through this next step (literally). Sometimes I feel shaken to the core, almost like when we found out about his plexiform. We had a new garage put in the past few months since the former one was broken by the snow. This new garage is stronger than our previous one ever could be, yet it had to be taken apart to the foundation to be rebuilt even stronger. Sometimes I feel like I'm being taken down to my foundation, yet I know He will make me stronger in the end. For now, prayers.