Well last week was certainly a very positive one! 😄

After 11 months using the Cunningham Brace/DTKAFO and having various check-ups with various people, my husband and I decided to make the most of our daughter’s half-term school holiday to travel across the Atlantic to Maine and get a full check-up of Jonas’s foot and brace.

Just 2 weeks before, after many trials and tribulations, we’d (finally!) managed to get X-rays to check on how well the brace modification we’d made at the end of July had worked to correct Jonas’s flat foot.

I got the X-ray back just a few days before our flight and was soooooo excited to see that the changes I’d felt in his foot over the last 2.5-3 months were so visible that even I noticed them! I couldn’t wait to get to our check-up and have confirmation that Jonas is well on track!

The trip went well and we got to our appointment with 3 minutes to spare (which is a massive improvement, as I was late for all 3 of our appointments last year 😂). 

We were as happy to see Jerald as he was to see us. We went straight in and he started his check-up, measuring Jonas’s foot, checking his dorsiflexion, etc. He measured his dorsiflexion at 35°! I couldn’t believe my eyes! 

He then went on to examining the brace to which all modifications up until now had been made by my husband under his instructions and decided to tweak it slightly. He replaced the spring steel (apparently hubby had used a bit too much force on it and it might not have survived another adjustment), added extra support for the heel area, changed the straps and added a curved pad over the foot to try and redistribute/slowly erase the puffiness we’ve still got left over from the BNB.

He also made an insole for Jonas’s shoe in order to prevent any stress on his forming plantar arch when out and about.

Since we started using the Cunningham brace 5 months later than suggested and since Jonas doesn’t mind it in the slightest, we’ve discussed getting an extra brace when Jonas outgrows this one. Jerald Cunningham is happy with the thought and we’ll go over it again when the time comes to see whether it is necessary or not.

After the appointment, I wondered how Jonas would do with his insole, but he didn’t seem to notice it. Any kind of adjustment to the brace brings a question mark as to whether it will bother him or not, but once again, he didn’t notice!

That’s us all set on the right path, happy and comforted in the idea that we made the right decision for our son. 😄

Needless to say that we made good use of those perfect feet during our little American escapade!