Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Grey's new gear...

Today, Grey got his very first pair of KAFOs (knee ankle foot orthoses). These are braces that go above his knee and can be locked so that the knee has complete support when standing. I spent many nights worrying and debating weather or not we should stick with his GRAFOS (ground-reaction ankle foot orthoses) or take the leap and go with KAFOs. So far I am THRILLED with our decision! Grey's quads are extremely weak and it is nearly impossible for him to stand for any length of time without some sort of support for his knees, and trying to walk...forget about it. His knees would just buckle. We have been using knee immobilizers for months and for standing and walking they have been working pretty well, although they were getting much too small and we knew we didn't have much time left with them.

Grey with his knee immobilizers on

So, I went in to talk with Gabe...the most amazing orthotics guy around and he showed me something that I didn't even know existed. It's a KAFO that can turn back into a GRAFO...amazing.

See how it attaches near the ankle? Awesome.

At that point, it was a no-brainer. We knew that these were the braces for Grey! Before I show you what his new braces look like, I thought that we could take a stroll down memory lane and reminisce a little about his past AFOs...

Can you even handle this picture? I can't.

Grey got his first teensy tiny pair when he was just 3 months old. He had a curve to his foot, that if left untreated...would just get "curvier" so we strapped these bad boys on for about 20-22 hours a day and voila! his feet were (and still are) straight and beautiful!

I'm not sure what's cuter...the tiny AFOs or those chubby little legs!
Next came a pair that he only wore at night. This pair was to help with his plantar flexion (basically they pointed his foot down).

Here we are putting them on

and here he is just being cute. :)

Next he got his "standing AFOs" this was the first pair to help with standing.

Who is this kid?

snacks are always a good motivator
He also figured out how to take this pair off

His next pair were GRAFOS....they give a bit more support at the knee, you can tell in these pictures that there is an insert that goes above his knee in the front.


Next, it was time for the casting of his new KAFOs...here is Gabe doing what he does best...

Grey's just keeping himself busy with the IPOD


And there you have it!!

How did we get from so little to...so big...so fast???

Grey at therapy...standing so tall!

Grey with his brand spakin' new KAFOs!!

17 comments:

Stefanie said...

oh he is adorable!

Holli said...

Loved the story line ALMOST as much as I love the Rocky shirt!!! The AFO's all lined up? soooo ADORABLE. He's come such a long way!!! and only gets cuter!

Meinhardt Family said...

Seriously? When did he grow up? Man, I can't believe those baby pics. He's getting so big and handsome. I love that guy!!!

Cassie said...

Those new braces are so cool! I've never even heard of something like that. And I just want to eat those chubby legs...Caleb had adorable yummy rolls just like that!

Chuck and Heather said...

Thank you for sharing all of Grey's braces. We are thinking about trying something new and I hadn't seen some of the braces you described before. That's why I love reading these blogs. It definitely helps me know what to expect. Thank you! :)

Mariann said...

what a rockstar! Love it :)

Our family said...

Great post! Love the pics of all the AFO's. Grey is the cutest thing and such an inspiration to our family! :)

Colleen said...

Look how big he's standing at his walker!

Jamie said...

He is adorable! Congrats!!

Joanna said...

It's ridiculous how much I adore this little guy. This was almost too much for me - but not. lol. I LOVE HIM SO MUCH!! What a little cutie-pie-darling-boy-dream-boat-sweet-pea!!! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE!

Sarah Hull said...

Aweee, look at that sweet boy! Welcome to the KAFO club! I really had a hard time with those at first... but now we love them b/c it stabilizes katie so much and she is walking ALLLLL over the place now! Hooray! AND Hooray for sweet Grey!

For the record, I can't handle that picture for ONE second of all those cute little AFO's lined up like that! Just melt my heart!

Scasmflops said...

Oh Leigh. I am bubbling with excitement and yes, it was too much for me. I am going to reference this post quite a bit in the next year or so.... I Hope!!! Let's get out of this hip brace and get going. :) Love the pic of the Rocky tee and his walker. Oh I LOVE IT!!!!!!! Praying for you and cheering on your strong lil man. Love ya girl!

tharker said...

Oh Leigh, these new KAFO'S are so perfect! I'm so glad they are working so well for your little guy.

We had something similar a few years ago for Jake, but they went up to his hips and caused him so much pain, that he refused to wear them. He was absolutely miserable. But these...oh my, they just might be the right thing for Jake. I'm definitely going to talk to his Orthotist to see if they would be a possibility! Thank you so much for sharing.

Oh, and the line up pictures of all of his AFO's is so adorable!

The Santinis said...

We go to Gabe as well! They are great there! We just got DAFO's from them. That was the second time we have gotten braces from them and they were perfect the first time. Gray looks amazing. I love watching him grow.

Summers Family said...

Wow - great stuff Leigh! I am SO happy for Grey. Theses look like they are going to be awesome for him. I can not even believe how much he is growing. You have a big boy on your hands now and a darn handsome one at that.

Miss you guys! Hugs from CA.

Coleman and Lauren said...

Those KAFOs are so cool! And the picture of the braces all lined up... too stinking cute!

ali said...

Thank you so much for the idea of the immobilizers on his knees. This worked perfect for Cannon's KAFO's. We didn't get the hinges that lock. By the way...I'm so proud at how good Grey is doing!