Holiday Travel for Amputees

The holidays are always filled with traveling. Whether you are traveling to and from stores or to and from family members homes, getting around can be tricky with all the added traffic - especially with a disability. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, over 49 million Americans — nearly 20 percent of the population — are living with a disability. And of these 49 million Americans, 1.7 million are amputees. Here are some great tips for traveling over this holiday season.

What to do before your trip:

Check to make sure that your prosthesis is in good working condition, is clean and is working properly. The last thing that you want is for something to go wrong with your prosthesis while traveling. Make sure to clean the socket before heading out and check the liner to assure that there are no rips or tears before traveling.

Remember to pack these items:

• Extra prosthetic socks and socket liners
• A spare suction valve
• Duct and filament tape to repair straps or buckles
• Plastic bags to protect your prosthesis if you wear it around water or sand
• Phone numbers of specialists in the areas you will be traveling

The holidays are a wonderful time of year to be visiting family and you will want to avoid any unexpected hassles. If you have any other questions about traveling over the holidays visit greatstepsop.com.

Lauren's American Girl Doll Wear's AFO's Too!

Lauren first came to Great Steps Orthotics & Prosthetics (Great Steps) at 10 months old when she received her first pair of AFO’s (ankle foot orthoses) from Josie Johnson, CP/BOCO. With the help of the AFO’s, Lauren was able to begin crawling and at 18 months, she took her first steps on her own. Lauren’s mom and dad had never been so proud of their little girl. Over the years, Great Steps has created many AFO’s for Lauren, but this Christmas, Lauren received something special from Great Steps.

This Christmas, Lauren’s Nana and Bopa gave her an American Girl Doll named Ruthie. Ruthie is a very special American Girl Doll however, because she too now wears AFO’s. The AFO’s were the first thing Lauren noticed when she opened Ruthie and her first comment regarding the doll was, “look, she has braces just like me.” 

Lauren began noticing differences in herself and other children at about age 4. Both that she wears AFO’s and that others have unique qualities as well (i.e., a friend that uses a wheelchair). To help celebrate her unique qualities, Lauren’s mom and dad thought of this great idea. They had always appreciated the quality moral stories that American Girl Dolls promoted and they felt like they celebrated differences as well (i.e., you can purchase wheel chairs, hearing aids, etc. for the dolls). With this in mind and recognizing that the small AFO’s that Lauren used to wear looked like they may be able to be put on a doll, this inspired them to ask Great Steps staff if they would be willing to make an AFO for their little girl’s American Girl Doll. 

Since then, Lauren’s Nana has made the Ruthie doll her very own hospital gown as Lauren had surgery in January 2014. They used Ruthie as both a comfort item and somewhat of a teaching tool.

“I think definitely, anytime that a child has a difference, and that difference can be celebrated by someone who can relate, even if it is a doll, it helps to make the differences the norm. We encourage Laruen to ‘check out the cool design on friends AFO’s as well” stated Lauren’s mom.

Stories like Lauren’s are what make working in the O&P industry so rewarding! We hope her story inspires those with children that have disabilities to embrace and celebrate their unique qualities as well.

**NOTE: Anyone interested in a custom device made for their child’s American Girl Doll can contact Heidi at Great Steps by phone: 320-258-0115 ext. 31