Rory’s Story (and The Case of the Missing Orthotic)

The most rewarding part of working for Foot Levelers? Helping patients–no question.

And Rory’s story is one of our favorites.

Earlier this month, our gal Tammy, who works in our Sales & Service Department, read about the plight of an adorable little guy all the way across the pond in Lancashire, England. Six-year-old Rory was born four months premature, leaving him with sensory, physical, and neurological issues. He’s unable to walk, but with ongoing therapy his parents hope that one day he will.

To stand, Rory wears a special support frame plus custom orthotics custom-made at a U.S. lab. From a special vest that helps Rory breathe, to ongoing therapies, tests, and nutritional supplements, Rory’s care is incredibly expensive.

Rory with his mom Sally and dad Henry

One of Rory’s shoes fell off on a trip to visit his father’s family. The special insole was inside, so the family went to the media with a plea: help us find our son’s shoe.

Tammy was moved as she read about Rory.

“Losing Rory’s shoe is a huge blow as the insole costs many hundreds of pounds and was made exactly to fit his feet,” said Rory’s dad in the story posted on CornwallLive. Rory “relies on his insoles” to help him get the support he needs to be able to stand.

He added: “One day we hope that he will be able to walk, but for now he relies on his insoles to hold his feet in the correct position when standing in his support frame.”

The moment Tammy finished the story, she reached out to our friends  Dr. James Bloom and Dr. Adam Greenfield at Stanmore Chiropractic Clinic near London. Without hesitation, they agreed to help Rory any way they could.

Rory’s shoe with his special insole. The match went missing during a family vacation, and the family asked the public’s help in finding it.

This week, Rory’s family made the 200-mile trip to London so that Dr. Bloom and Dr. Greenfield could take scans and imprints of Rory’s feet.

Dr. Adam Greenfield (left) and Dr. James Bloom with Rory earlier this week

Once Rory’s imprints arrive here in Roanoke, Virginia, we’ll make a pair of custom orthotics just for Rory at no charge to the family.

We’re excited for Rory to get his new custom orthotics, which should be arriving soon. You can read more about Rory’s story by liking his page on Facebook.  If you would like to give to support this little boy’s ongoing care, click here.

Because Rory’s case is complicated, the doctors took several foam impressions of his feet in addition to scanning his feet with the Foot Levelers 3D BodyView. The impressions and 3D images will be used to build Rory’s new pair of custom orthotics at our Roanoke, Virginia headquarters.