Where to buy shoes when your feet are two different sizes

One of the questions I’ve been asked a few times is whether I’ve heard of any resources for people who need two differently sized shoes due to two differently sized feet. I’d heard rumor that Nordstrom will sell two different sizes shoes, so I went investigating. And guess what? It’s TRUE! And you know what? […]

A fabulous day for clothes & shoes!

When I think of all challenges we’ve faced over the last 4 years, the two that rear their ugly heads over and over again are clothes and shoes. Clothes: Over AFOs & twister cables Every day when I pick out Lily’s clothes, my mind is running scenarios. “Hmmm… I know these pants fit over her braces, but […]

How to “Hack” Shoes for AFOs #2: A Coat of Armor to Extend Shoe Life

As my girl has gotten stronger and more capable with her walker, she has also gotten more creative with her walking. The recommended “heel-toe” walking gait (which I’m pulling my hair out trying to get her back to) just seems to frustrate her because it’s not getting her where she wants to go fast enough. […]

How to “Hack” Cute Shoes for AFOs #1: Remove the Tongue

One of the most frustrating things about having a child who wears AFOs is how hard it is to find shoes to fit. My daughter started wearing AFOs at 3 months old. For the first year, she simply did not wear shoes. However, when she started pulling to stand I knew I needed to tackle the […]

How Spina Bifida influences how I dress & shop for my daughter

At the beginning of summer, I realized my son had grown out of his 18-24 month clothes, and it was time to upgrade to the next size. Shopping for him was surreal. What is this uber-easy experience of walking into a store, looking for a size, seeing something I like, and… buying it? Good-ness. SO. SIMPLE. When gifting […]

Deep thoughts about dancing…

This Mother’s Day weekend, I kept finding my mind flittering back to our 20 week ultrasound with Lily, and the time before she was born. The ultrasound tech mentioned Lily’s long legs and pointed toes, and my husband made a comment like, “maybe she will be a ballerina!” I remember seeing a look flutter across […]

Zubits – Adapting Shoe Laces – Open & close with magnets!

Tonight I came across a new product that I think could be life changing for many people who have trouble with their fine motor skills, or who have to wiggle and squish bulky braces (AFOs, etc.) into shoes. My daughter has challenges in both of these areas, so I’m super excited (and hopeful) about this new […]

AFO Resources

The questions I hear from parents most frequently have to do with AFOs, SMOs, KAFOs, etc. Finding shoes and socks is an especially fun challenge (especially in small toddler sizes where finding an extra wide sized shoes or knee high socks is like happening upon a rare diamond)! To help with this, I’ve started to capture all […]

ReelAbilities Cincy: “If you shovel the ramp, we can ALL get in!”

On Tuesday, I attended the LivABLE Luncheon as part of the Cincinnati ReelAbilities Film Festival. This session featured a short film called The Commute  about a man’s attempt to travel across New York City in his wheelchair. The film was followed by a group discussion about solving the everyday challenges facing people with disabilities as […]

Tripped up by good intentions and imperfect visions

Being a parent to a child with a disability can be a very humbling experience. Last year about this time, one of my biggest worries was getting Lily set up in a “big girl” bedroom before our new baby arrived in April. We hit road block after road block getting this seemingly simple task accomplished. My […]