Hi everyone! I forgot to mention this before, but I have never been to New York, so I apologize if things are inaccurate. I tried to do as much research as I could, but obviously this doesn't beat out experience!
I still hope that you enjoy this chapter!
Thank you for reading!
Crying_Happiness 💛
Edited: 11/15/23
May 6, 2011
The rest of my shift, I couldn't stop thinking about that manila envelope and what was inside- or the man that had passed it on to me. It had caused so much unease within him, which still unsettles me.
Getting ready to go home, I slip the pad of word searches in my bag and slip out of my heels. Since they added difficulty walking around the city, their home was here at work in the bottom locked drawer of my desk. The sneakers that carry me to and from work rest next to the drawers. With my AFO, or leg brace, stuck within the left shoe it's impossible to fit them in the same drawer during the day.
The AFO, or ankle-foot orthotic, is made from a thick plastic. It's custom made to fit my leg and is kept in place by two, thick straps of velcro. A foam filled the inside of the calf to provide some additional comfort, but wearing long sports socks helped as well.
I've worn leg braces off and on my whole life. The purpose when I first started to wear them is very different from the reason now. When I was younger, my leg muscles were so weak that my leg always turned inwards. It made it hard to walk and I found myself falling constantly. The brace helped keep my foot straight, which not only helped strengthen the correct muscles, but also retrained my brain and leg to work together.
Now, the brace's purpose was to give my ankle support. Since I live in New York City and walked pretty much everywhere I wanted to go, the brace was a necessity that I couldn't do without.
Walking without the brace could strain the foot and I could start to potentially drag it along, scraping my toes. I could also trip and fall flat on my face, which would be embarrassing with a sidewalk full of strangers.
I secure my brace to my leg, making sure the straps are tight enough before I pull my pant leg down over it- covering it up. I'm not ashamed of the piece of plastic that I wear. It has given me so much freedom that I have come to adore the thing as one of my own. No matter how many stares it gathers.
The brace is a part of me, just like the leg that it attaches to.
When my brace is covered, most people don't realize that I have a disability. Mine isn't glaringly obvious, or textbook to what a physical disability looks like, so I go under the radar a majority of the time. It had its perks- as well as its downfalls.
Let's also not forget that my leg isn't the only thing that is affected. My left hand and arm are too.
I can move my arm just like any regular arm, even though my elbow doesn't straighten all the way. I don't have the motor skills to move my fingers individually, so they open and close all at the same time. I have no grip control either. Or strength to do much of anything with said arm or hand.
My right foot slips into its shoe without a problem and it's easy to adjust the velcro so it doesn't fall off my foot. Most people don't realize how much we depend on the sensation of touch. For shoes, the feeling of how tight it is is so normal that our brains process it without too much effort and we adjust accordingly. My right foot feels how tight the shoe is.
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