First AFOs

  • Post category:Equipment
  • Reading time:2 mins read

A few weeks ago, on September 8th, James was fitted for his first pair of AFOs. An AFO, or ankle-foot orthotic, is basically a foot & ankle brace. I was trying to find a good picture of his feet and the picture below is the best recent picture that I could find. In the picture you will notice that his feet point downwards. This is because of his cerebral palsy and muscle tone abnormalities. Even though James doesn’t walk, and probably never will, the AFOs will hopefully help keep his feet in proper alignment.

 

James lying on a pillow and blanket on a carpeted floor, wearing plaid shorts with a Mic-Key g-tube button visible in the abdomen and a pulse ox monitoring probe on his left foot. The scene documents a quiet moment of rest with visible medical devices used for daily care.

 

Today he went with mommy to pick them up. Stacy described them to me, but I really didn’t know what to expect. Hopefully these AFOs should help James keep his ankles and feet in correct alignment. There are different types of AFOs depending on a person’s mobility, but since James will not be able to walk, he got a pair of rigid (or solid) AFOs. If he was able to walk, we would have gone with something that would have allowed some movement in his ankles, like hinged AFOs.

Here are a few pics of James’ AFOs:

 

James lying on a colorful quilted mat wearing glasses, a blue bib, and an Elmhurst College onesie, with orthopedic braces secured to both feet. A pillow supports his head as he rests on a carpeted floor, capturing a calm moment of daily care with visible mobility supports.

 

Close‑up of James' lower legs and feet wearing translucent ankle‑foot orthoses (AFOs) secured with white straps over blue‑and‑white socks, resting on a colorful quilt with monkey patterns. The image highlights pediatric mobility supports used in daily care.

 

Although James’ theme has always been monkeys, I guess that wasn’t an option, so Stacy chose giraffes on the back of the AFOs:

 

James rests on a quilt decorated with playful monkey designs. Stacy gently holds up his leg to show the colorful giraffe‑patterned ankle‑foot orthoses (AFOs) that his is wearing. The scene highlights pediatric mobility supports and attentive daily care.