Hope everyone is doing fine with spring around the corner.
Went yesterday to see about getting a splint fitted. Nice chap! Got fitted with a cuff that goes round my calf fixed together with Velcro and another fitted round foot where the two bits click together. Does that make sense?
Anyway when I was there he said maybe in about 18 months or so I would need a more substantial one made of plastic and to be honest it does not look the most comfortable of things. So I asked him about FES and he thought I would make a good candidate for one.
My question is how do I get referred for one and would I have to fund it myself?
In the meantime I will persevere with this cuff. It’s early days yet so not sure if its going to make any difference to my walking but it doesn’t do anything in the fashion stakes. Lol!!
Yeah it looks like its foot drop. Don’t you just love ms. My fashion icon days are well and truly over.
When I gave up heels, I started buying blingy flats but now it’s been suggested I wear shoes with Velcro fastening. Somebody up there is having a laugh.
You notice I’m still hanging on to my vanity, just.
I have been using one these brilliant devices for thirteen years and would not be walking today without it, so definitely worth getting assessed. Unlike a traditional splint where the muscles just waste, these help to build strength over time.
Mags don’t worry, you’re not on your own. I keep getting inflammation in the tendons in my feet and have to wear lovely arches in my shoes, so mine have to be sturdy, closed and just the right height. This means that some of my shoes are very attractive and would suit my grandma very well. Not a very fashionable look either. Blast this stupid illness. " At least I’m mobile," is my mantra when I decide what I’m wearing every day.
Together we should start designing attractive sturdy shoes, there’s probably a market for them! I’ll do the sturdy bit and you can add the bling!
I’ve just received a copy of a letter my neuro physio has written to her boss asking for her to make a request to the health commission to fund a dual FES for me,my physio has been getting me used to one in my sessions it makes a massive difference, walking normally again with this on feels so alien. However I get an awful sting with it as it only works on me at the higher setting. No pain no gain I guess.
I got my m.s. nurse to refer me to a rehabilitation consultant for an assessment for an f.e.s., and he recommended that I would be a prime candidate and also applied for funding. I obtained the funding and was referred to a neuro physio who fitted the device. All this was 18 months ago and has been a godsend I can now walk without a stick when not wearing the f.e.s… 6 months after it was fitted I had a timed walk and a heart monitor to test the effort required to walk, the results were walking 25% quicker and 30% less effort required to walk.