June 4, 2012
Today is a great day – everyone works the day through like a well-oiled machine. We are picking up orthotic pediatric patients every day. We had two more today for night splints, and one of the children was a little girl. She was nine-years-old, but about the size of a four-year-old. She was a sweet child with nothing but smiles.
One of our prosthetic practitioners, Alex, hurt his back at home. I believe it to be compression fracture of the lumbar (lower spine). He saw a doctor at the hospital and he said to brace it and don’t lift anything for a few weeks. This was a perfect time for him to learn about custom lumbar sacral orthosis (LSO). We all got together and casted Alex for his LSO. We filled, modified it, and instructed the whole way through the process using a broken branch from a tree, two pieces of a ½ round rasp and electrical tape. The guys learned the basics of bracing, above and below the injury. Then we pulled the LSO and trimmed it out to fit Alex. I only explained what and why we were doing the steps but the technicians did all the measurement, modifications, fabrication and fitting. The LSO fit very well and Alex is pleased and very proud of the work.
