Orthotics in Action

Today I had the extreme pleasure of seeing the rubber hit the road, or more specifically the orthosis hit the patient. My clinical rotation today was with the PT clinic at Atlanta's VA Hospital, and after lunch a patient came in by wheelchair. I immediately noticed that he was wearing custom orthoses on both legs, so I wandered over to listen in on his appointment. As it turned out, he had been wearing those orthoses for 2 years and was going down the hall after his PT appointment to pick up a new set of custom orthoses. His devices started at the foot and went all the way up to his thigh, known as a Knee-Ankle-Foot-Orthosis, or KAFO. As I was talking to this young man and finding out about his injury (a gunshot wound), I realized that he was really motivated to learn to walk with his orthoses on. I commented to him about his motivation, and he explained that he had become more motivated recently because his wife left him. Apparently, in his mind, or maybe she actually told him this, he wasn't getting better fast enough. I couldn't believe this, though I know it must not be all that uncommon. Thankfully, this guy had a pretty good attitude, though he was obviously hurt by being left. Instead of sinking further, he was working hard to improve and make the most of his potential with a spinal cord injury. When he put on his new orthoses later that afternoon, the smile on his face and renewed hope in his eyes were enough to keep me motivated for long time.