My Splints & Braced Life

Chapter 1

The first time I remember using braces was when I was four and a half year old young boy, I have Muscular Dystrophy, and I'm sitting on a mat in the physio room at the special school I attended, I was warring black leather boots attached to the boots with a thick leather strap were two steel bars which went up my leg and finished just below my knees, the bars stuck into the boots and then the leather strap held the steel into the boot, at the top of the bars was thick leather straps to hold them to my legs, this strap had velcro sewn on it to fasten it up, I remember my physiotherapist saying " I hate the sound of velcro" so I found it funny to rip open and close the straps just to see her face and to hear her moans, we both laughed about what I'd done to make her cringe. Thinking back she may have liked the noise as much as me! I wore these low leg irons until I was seven, then one day I was seeing my Doctor at the hospital and he told my parents he thought it would benefit me if I could stand and even walk a few steps, to do this I would require full leg splints which would need to be made from a plaster casts, I had no idea at the time what they were talking about but when they finally asked me if I'd like to walk naturally I said yes. My parents dropped me off at school after my hospital appointment; we went to the physio room to tell my physio what had been decided about my new leg splints. She said "oh no not more velcro to tease me with" and we both laughed. When my parents went I asked what my new leg splints would be like? My physiotherapist said "now it's my turn to tease, you wait and see".

A week went by and no one mentioned my new splints, then I was called out of class and told to go to the physio room, witch I did. when I went in the room there was a man standing by my physiotherapist (jenny), said "This is Mike and he's an orthotics engineer, he's going to make your legs splints" I just went red and said Hello, Mike told me to slip off my trousers and sit on some polyethylene he'd placed on a mat. I was then put in two white stockings witch went from my thighs to my toes, then plaster was wrapped around my leg and my leg pressed straight until the plaster was hard, then the cast was removed and the same was done to my other leg, then Mike said "I need to take your casts with me and I'll be back in two weeks with your leg splints" I said that's fine" and he took them as he left. My legs were washed clean, I got dressed and was lifted back into my wheelchair, there I sat disappointed I hadn't got my new splints and still strapped in my old heavy irons. Jenny noticed my face and said "don't worry your new ones would be ready in no time" and she explained they would be a type of plastic with plenty of velcro on them. I just laughed...

Two weeks went by slowly as I kept thinking what my new splints would feel and look like, then Jenny called me out of class and as I entered the physio room I could see Mike but no splints, Mike told me my splints had got lost, then jenny pulled out a box from behind a screen and in it were my two leg splints in a clear polyethylene bag, also in the box was a pair of shoes the same size as my boots. I was lifted onto a bed and unstrapped my old leg irons and took them off for the last time. Mike opened up the bag and took out one off my new leg splints, let me explain how to put it on" he said as he rolled up my trouser leg, as he placed the splint on my leg he said" they are made of a plastic type material and as you see they don't bend at the knee, when the leg is flat fasten this kneepad first" he threaded the for straps of the kneepad through the four strap loop holders which were riveted on the splint and pulled them tight, as he did my skin went onto the plastic and it felt great!! then at the top of my leg was a two inch white leather strap and another across my calf, " how's does it feel" said Jenny, I said it felt good" then the other splint was strapped to my leg, and as I looked down at my legs in the splints I liked the look and feel of the white plastic and leather on my skin and I new I would ware them as much as I could. Mike then got out my new shoes and placed them on my feet, now it was time to stand up for the first time. Jenny and Mike both helped me to my feet and I stood up holding onto the bed, I felt 10 feet tall and very proud of myself. Jenny got the big mirror so I could see how I looked standing, It was now time to walk a few steps Jenny got a walking aid with two wheels at the front and two rubber ends on the back, I walked a few steps with no problems, then I walked back to my classroom, it was a struggle to sit down with my legs straight but I did manage it alone. Jenny left the splints on me but came back an hour later to take them off as it was home time and she thought it best to take them off for the taxi ride home.

The ride home takes about 1 1/2 hours as we have to pick up other children on the way to take them home, we'd picked up a few older boys then we picked up a girl called Sandra who was 13, she noticed me holding my splits, she took them off me and laughed, "Are these stupid things yours?" she said I went red with embarrassment, she then started to undo the straps, I tried to take them off her but she got the other boys to hold me down while she strapped them on my legs I felt humiliated but good at the same time, she laughed as I sat there waiting for her help to take them off luckily she did before she got home. Every time for the next two years Sandra got in the taxi she strapped me in the splints, then one day she told the older boys to hold me still rolled up my sleeves and put my arm in the leg splint, she strapped the shin strap around y wrist and worked her way up my arm until my arm was rigid in the splint, then told the boys to do the other arm the same, so My arms were splinted and It felt amazing although I couldn't show I liked it. I knew she was a bully but little did she know how much I enjoyed her forcing me into my splints...

Part 2 coming soon