Watch video for background.
It's not that I necessarily need to know how to skin and cook potatoes without a potato peeler (because pizza is always my go to carb) or how to separate eggs using only the laws of surface tension and a recycled plastic bottle (because that old-fashioned shell to shell shimmy is just so wonderful and messy).
My life was changed by the 'how to microwave two bowls at once' one though and, oddly, the 'how to use that metal bit on the end of a measuring tape' one which is just mesmerizing.
It just calms me knowing there's always another way to do something, even when you think you've exhausted all options. Try it yourself- here's someone else's written list of the best ones.
Seriously though, those little videos are really what having a disability is all about. Except on the macro scale. Doing anything with a disability is usually just one big life hack.
Instead of subverting common day tools to make getting dressed or cooking a little faster, it takes subversion of whole public policies and paradigm shifts in science just for people with disabilities to get to use, say, multi-floor buildings.
Lifts and escalators- the most gigantic of life hacks! Entirely and unfairly made scapegoats for the obesity epidemic. I think people should shout about the positives instead: 'whoah what a life-hack and superb use of engineering lifts are for the wheelchair user' or 'wow, that escalator really saved you a joint-crunching stair climb person with cerebral palsy, I'm really glad that escalators exist.'
That's not to mention my friends in their wheelchairs, the ones who will always choose an escalator over a lift. They grab hold of either side of the moving rails and then seem to ascend with mostly mind control and a little bit of menace, just so they can have that extra bit of swag to their name (and cos it's faster). This isn't really relevant to the argument but I just love a good health and safety offence in favour of fun and/or gangster reputation.
Also, it's not just lifts! Facebook messenger and Whatsapp: everyone moans about the newest generation of non-communicative teenagers only talking through iPhone messages. Next time you can feel a grump coming on, say instead 'oh what a life hack Facebook messenger is- now people with severe speech difficulties can have a casual chat with their school pals, how cool'.
Anywayyyy....
The Main Topic
Where to find shoes that will fit your AFOs. By the way, AFOs are the ultimate life hack to get loads of people who can't easily walk, walking(video by a brilliant undergrad team at Napier Uni).
WITH AFOs
This life hack didn't come immediately and I think it could be useful to everyone because if you wear high heels on every night out, you'll eventually end up with feet like mine anyway.
I've been in splints/AFOs my whole life. By AFOs I don't mean UFOs. Although throughout my formative years I believed the plastic and velcro from just below both knees to the tips of my toes would blast me off to another planet. I would then return; the long-lost adventurer, the NHS style Hermes, to my alien kin. They would be a species heavily influenced by Earthan Greek mythology, with big plastic immovable legs and the innate idea that the one style of granny shoe that they could fit into, from the 'Type-2-Diabetes-extra-wide' shoe shop, was incredibly fashionable.
Although my story turned out more like Forrest Gump- I became strong enough, with the crutch of my Motability car, to be able to walk short distances without my AFOs. I didn't exactly 'run myself out of them' and escape them completely. In fact that scene with calipers (that Forrest wears) is highly misleading and not how one should be encouraged to start running... which should be on a RaceRunner with fewer bullies.
Instead of holding me back- like they did Forrest- they take me further. Still...it's the only film I can think of where leg supports get so much screen time!
I still sink into my AFOs a couple times a week, the pain leaving my legs as they are positioned in a way that minimises the stresses on my leg joints and it makes my walking a lot more graceful. In fact I put some on whenever I cycle, too.
Here are two handy links for shoes that go with AFOs that come in more styles than the NHS list of suitable footwear options.
1. The site that I always rely on is this one- they do ladies and men's shoes. Pick your style and sizing and then see if you can find it sold cheaper on another site...
2. Nike now does a style (the FlyEase) that caters to people with motor difficulties and who have inflexible plastic to fit in there. The UK site only does a kid's shoe, sizes up to a 6 though (which is my size.. but no good for the men I'd assume)... should someone tell them that people with physical disabilities live to old age nowadays...you could send them a wee note saying 'please include an adult Nike Flyease' here.
3. Depth of shoe was always my problem because, to combat my equinus gate pattern I was always given wedges on the bottom of my splints. I only later found out that weight lifting shoes have perfect wedges and are easy to get into and hold your foot well...
There are ones with synthetic plastic wedges in a wider colour/style range but I might as well be known as a human shoe shredder so the sturdier the better. These ones with wooden wedges are my fav.
WITHOUT AFOs
So there I was, 13 years old and my orthotist (splint builder), said with the glee of a clinician looking at a medical anomaly (all too familiar to me by this point) 'you look like you're 50 and have been wearing high heels all your life!'
I assumed he was not referring to my face but the bone structure of the foot he was holding. Mine, and the eyes of the Bugs Bunny emblazoned on my splint, widened in horror. Did the air-hostesses and all those other professional women imprisoned by their company-policy-dress-code know what was coming for them? I had to warn them!
No pain, no gain, I guess. My gain was walking, instead of a fashion statement and I could handle that. I had odd shaped feet, even without the AFOs. So, even when I began walking without them I still couldn't pick any old shoes that I wanted. The width of a shoe's last was my enemy.
Here's what I've learnt (the hard way)
1. British cycling used to be sponsored by Adidas. Their shoes have the narrowest last (which I was told by a certified podiatrist but also know first hand by trying to fit my feet in them). The Paralympics is still sponsored by Adidas and this is ironic because, I, and all the other Paralympians who have a delightfully rebellious (if pathological) foot shape, had to get an official sign off for the fact we were allowed to wear other brands (but this included the official agreement that were were not allowed to be filmed if we made it to the podium for a medal).
What brands...if not Adidas?
1. Nike has a very wide last out of the popular trainers.
2. So do skateboarder style Vans but they're really hard to find now that Vans cater to the wider market (pun not intended, they actually cater to a narrower market in terms of shoe last, these days...just beware of their slip ons...). The closest style I can find are the ones here:
3. I actually use these in the gym as non-slip shoes when I do tricky exercises, too:
*StrengthShop gave me one free pair after my old ones (which I bought myself) were melted- the shoes were victims of thieves who stole my car and potentially used it as a gang war pyre not noticing all the specialist kit that was inside it...including my Rio trike (for another blog)...
CYCLING AFOs
I have these amazing cycling AFOs that prevent excessive joint pain when I complete my long distance rides and high intensity races. They don't give me any extra power, they might actually take away a fraction from my performance but they give me joint stability and make my appearance a little less like a twisty pretzel on wheels (I was actually referencing one of my fav not-for-the-kids film moments there). They are very expensive so I just had one to begin with but with two I am the most comfortable I have been on the trike.
Not being on the NHS these aren't the bog-standard, sweaty plastic but ultra-lightweight carbon things that stealthily blend in with long black socks and look very chic, if I say so myself.
I got mine from Impact Orthotics who have been brilliant, right from the start. This professional picture (that I could request from British Cycling's media team- I don't actually know who took it) shows me still smiling, even though the pain of my Rio Paralympic effort is bringing me to tears behind those dark glasses, because TJ and Naomi of Impact Orthotics were so lovely to work with.
Ooh if you don't know what that sport is above- apart from AFO modelling- see last week's blog. Look at that beautiful unmelted frame...at least it didn't melt while I sped to 5th place!
