"Leah, who was born with Down syndrome, stands behind a doorway and peers around it mischievously. Her blonde hair is held back by barrettes, and her smile is wide. She is playing hide-and-seek with her older brother, Luke. When he catches her looking around the doorway, Leah collapses into a fit of giggles at being ‘caught,’ then scampers away to hide once more."
Continue readingToday I had the honor of delivering a pair of PNF kicks to super-kid Tommy. Being a shoe fairy is hands down the most rewarding, humbling thing i have ever experienced. PNF is an amazing organization with an amazing mission, and i am so honored to be able to help spread some of their love. Just seeing tommy's smile when he saw his new shoes made my whole week. I am so thankful to Madison for allowing me to spread some PNF joy to these amazing, adorable children!
Continue readingPeach's Neet Feet team :
I would like to Thank you all for all that you do. You have brought priceless smiles to my children and I thank you from the bottom of my heart . I know my husband thanks you from heaven as well . Their father fought cancer for five years and after a long ,exhausting fight, his body gave in. Our boys were the center of his world . Logan was born with lower limb abnormalities and both of his legs were amputated at the knee this past August. He has made significant progress and I credit his dad for showing him how to be independent . His older brother Dominic has Autism /PDD and has had a very hard time dealing with the loss of their father . Your Neet Feet shoes brought so much joy to them and to me. I am able to see their little faces light up when they wear their shoes and they gladly show them to anyone who will listen .
Thank you so very much , you all have brought some happiness to our little family.
Much Love,
Mike, Teri, Dominic & Logan <3
Our little Fally, our sweet little Zebra Princess. It started when she was born prematurely. She was quite healthy for an early birth minus some jaundice but otherwise she was complication free. To see her as a newborn you wouldn't have a clue that anything was wrong. None of her physician's picked up on anything. As a newborn she was diagnosed that she had acid reflux, easy no big deal and it resolved when she could sit up on her own. She was diagnosed with Torticollis, again, easy no big deal some adjustments here and there and she was fine after a couple of months. Other than those 2 little bumps in the road, the first year of her life was pretty uneventful. She was speaking early and very well at that. Her Fine Motor skills were impeccable. She could pincher grasp grains of rice at 9 months old. However, her gross motor skills were quite lacking. Her pediatricians brushed it off saying that not all children excel at all areas and she may just be slower on her mobility than she was with everything else. Just give it time.
That was not a reasonable answer for me. I knew in my gut something was not right. I pushed and pushed until we were referred to a Podiatrist. We were told she had severe flat feet and floppy ankles. She would need to have her feet broken and reset in order to correct the problem. Yeah not happening, I ran as fast as I could back to home to research. Prior to being a stay at home mom to Fally, I worked in the medical field for nearly 14 years in Dermatology. I KNEW that just was not correct. I made an appointment with her Pediatrician again and explained no way on this earth was I allowing someone to break both of my 18 month old daughter's feet. I urged him to give us an Orthopedic Consult referral. Being an active duty military family, we are at the mercy of our great referral system to see any specialists. Luckily he obliged and off to Ortho we go. We were told Fal had ligamentous dyslaxity (fancy term for really loose and painful joints). She was sent to get AFOs (leg and ankle braces) to help support her ankles. Something in my gut just told me this wasn't correct. As her mother, this was not fitting all the pieces of the puzzle.
We got the new AFO's which opened up a whole host of new issues. She started walking with her feet turned in, her hips started clicking terribly when you held her. You could feel all of her joints when you touch them click and rub and make actual sounds. It was frightening. I honestly was constantly saying to myself Oh My God what is happening. Fal started complaining about having boo boo knees and asking for someone to rub her legs or her back. She started getting horrendous nose bleeds at night and bruising on her legs very easily and deeply.
We took her back to the Doctor's office and they cauterized her nose for bleeding, referred us back to the Orthopedic Surgeon at Children's Hospital where I asked if we could please see a Genetic Specialist. Through my months of research (My little girl at this point is now 2 years old), I kept stumbling upon a rare syndrome that fit her symptoms but also a whole slew of issues I HAD sporatically throughout my life. Something greater was going on here than just loose joints. Through a gamet of testing all of which my brave little girl, never cried or showed fear. At the most she would quietly say, OUCH. With Xrays and blood work, echocardiograms and all the things that run in between, we had an answer. Not one that we were prepared for in the slightest. We waited, held our breath and hoped to god everything was going to be ok..............It's not.
Continue readingOn Monday, Lucas received his special PNF shoes. His shoe fairy is a dear friend of mine from my hometown, and I feel blessed to have her be a part of my project and to get to meet such an AMAZING young boy and his family. Thanks Sherrie!
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