Chronicle of a Prosthetic Limb....PART FOUR

January 23, 2013  Today Dennis had the Venture foot attached to the test socket along with the adjustment jig. He also brought along my Echelon foot and when he held it up to the socket, I was able to see just how close it is going to be to fit it onto the base of the socket.

Venture foot with adjustment jig

In the picture on the right, you can see that the top of the ankle unit on the Echelon foot (in front) comes just to the base of the socket.

Today, I am walking with the Venture foot. When we have the liner, stocking and socket applied, first I try just standing to see how the height feels. It is pretty close, just a bit long on the prosthetic side which throws me a little to my left. Dennis makes a quick adjustment. The liner feels very comfortable even at the distal end, which has typically given me problems when trying out a new prosthesis. I'm feeling no discomfort distally or at my knee.

Making an adjustment

Walking feels really awesome! With the motion at the ankle, my steps are very smooth. My current Seattle foot causes my knee to be thrust forward with each step, giving me a clunky gait. The "clunk" I feel at each step is transferred to my knee, causing banging and friction which over the miles and the years is tearing up my knee. Walking with this new foot, I'm starting to think about some things I've been wishing I could do with the kids.....OK, but let's not get too far ahead of the horse. Let's try a hill. They happen to have a pretty good hill outside the office and when I give that a try it's amazing. Walking on a significant incline really feels no different than walking on a level surface. Normally I limp down hills, sometimes even turning to descend sideways in order to avoid pain. With this foot, I can descend with an even gait, going forward step over step and then ascend again the same way. I am noticing a little fatigue in my right quadriceps (thigh) muscles, but that is good, because I know that means my right leg is working along with my left. I also try walking in the grass to see how an uneven surface feels. No problem. The motion is occurring in the ankle, so my knee is happy.

Old prosthesis with Seattle foot

New test socket with Venture foot

Because of my particular birth defect, I have quite a lot of valgus at my knee, which is basically my right knee "bending" in toward my left knee. That's just the way my knee is, so we have to work around that. When Dennis adjusts the jig, he is able to compensate a bit for the valgus in my knee. So, with the adjustments made, he will take the Venture foot off and before my next appointment he will apply the Echelon foot. I will get to try it out on Friday. As good as the Venture foot felt today, I can't wait to try the Echelon foot to see how the hydraulics will improve my gait. I'm very excited! I do not remember ever having the first weight-bearing fitting go so well as it did today. When I try out the prosthesis on Friday, I will be bringing it home to use for a week or so to see how it works under stress.