Update on Rory’s Story

Remember Rory?

 

We’re pleased to report that we’ve finished building his pair of custom orthotics and they’ve already made their way across the pond to Drs. Bloom and Greenfield at Stanfield Chiropractic outside of London, England. Rory and his family will come back to the clinic soon to pick up his new orthotics and make sure they’re just right (they live several hours away), and we’ll keep you posted when they do!

Here’s Tammy on our team holding Rory’s new custom orthotics before we shipped them out.

We hope Rory enjoys his new orthotics, and that they’ll help him grow into a stronger, healthier young man. You can give to support Rory’s recovery here.

 

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.

 

 

Dr. Kris, Signing Off for Now (Farewell, Australia!)

A “farewell (for now) Australia!” message from Dr. Kristina Petrocco-Napuli, expert on women’s wellness and Chiropractic care–not to mention a Foot Levelers’ Speaker Extraordinaire! Dr. Kris has been traveling through Oz with our Country Manager for Australia, Angelica Gaunt, speaking to Chiropractors on women’s health, treating the female athlete, and caring for the pediatric foot, among other exciting Chiropractic topics. Did you know? Foot Levelers has a Team Australia, based just outside of Sydney. “Oz” is just one of the more than 70 countries  we serve! 

Brisbane! We made it! This is our last stop on our Australian tour and we will be spending the next couple of days at the Australian Research Dynamic Growth Conference. Brisbane is the capital of Queensland and one of the oldest cities in Australia.

The booth was very busy at the conference we had a lot of visits from docs, C.A.s and students that were interested in many of the awesome Foot Levelers products.

Angelica and I at the Foot Levelers’ booth at the Dynamic Growth conference

At the conference I met many new friends and colleagues as well as some old! There were two Chiropractic colleges that were present and I was able to meet and spend time talking with some of their faculty and administrators about the curriculum and contributions to the profession. I was also surprised to find that many students attend this conference as well as new graduates.

As Saturday began, Angelica and I were busy at the booth following the opening plenary session. I then headed to my presentation location to find that an old friend and colleague would be my moderator. At this conference my topic was Demystifying the Pediatric Foot, which was a bit of a shift from the women’s health topics earlier in the week.

A tribute to Dr. Monte, Foot Levelers’ late founder.

At the beginning of the presentation I took some time to talk about Foot Levelers’ founder, Dr. Monte Greenawalt, and his perspective on pediatric care. In addition, I was able to discuss some of the history of the profession related to Chiropractic education at Lincoln Chiropractic College and how the founding principles may have guided Dr. Greenawalt since he was an alum of Lincoln Chiropractic College.

After my presentation I had some very nice conversations with many students (as there were a lot present) and some of the local practitioners.

This was the last stop on our tour…. And incredibly bitter sweet. I had the best work companion that anyone could have asked for…thank you Angelica!

Dr. Irum Tahir and I, a fellow speaker at the DG conference, and both NYCC Alums! Dr. Tahir’s practice is based in Syracuse, New York

Throughout this trip I learned so much from all of the practitioners about practice in Australia and some of the struggles the profession is currently experiencing here as well as some of the opportunities that are developing…such as a new Chiropractic School in Adelaide.

I am incredibly grateful for this opportunity and cannot thank Foot Levelers enough for a once in a lifetime professional journey.

To my new friends and wonderful hosts: so long for now! And with a final thought… Where Have Your Orthotics Taken You? For me, to Australia and back!

Angelica and I

Koala, Lone Pine Sanctuary

Nap time!

New friend at Lone Pine Sanctuary