Why the delay?

April 22, 2013     At last check, Dennis was back in the workshop fabricating a second permanent socket with the goal of making it more lightweight than the first one (which I am currently using). I need to back up a bit and explain another ongoing issue I've been experiencing. As I've shown, this prosthetic system has 3 parts, 1) the gel liner which is applied over the limb, 2) the socket that goes on next and to which the foot is attached, and 3) the knee sleeve, applied over the top of all which is the final 'lock' on the suspension. I will be receiving 2 gel liners and 2 knee sleeves, one to wear and one to wash, so that I always have a clean set. The first gel liner I was given worked perfectly with not a single problem with the fit or any skin issues. When we were sure the liner was working, the second one was fabricated from the same mold as the first. So, no problem. Well, not exactly. For some reason, the second liner was too tight. After a few minutes of wear, it felt as though it was strangling my leg and my leg felt tingly and began to become numb. Sure enough, when I removed the liner, my leg was bright red and I felt 'pins and needles' for about 15 minutes. After discussing this with Dennis a new, second liner was made. I have had this one since April 2, nearly three weeks. This one is not as tight as the one that was replaced, but I did continue to have some milder tingling and tightness, making it difficult to wear for longer than 4 or 5 hours. After talking to Dennis, we came up with an idea to relieve this problem. We drilled a 1/4" hole at the base of the socket. This allows air to escape as I slide my leg into the socket, relieving some of the tightness of the liner. This has made the difference and I am now able to wear the second gel liner comfortably all day.

A tiny change that made a huge difference.

Dennis needed to wait until we solved the liner problem before starting the new socket because the alternative would have been to start from square one with a new original cast/mold. We are both extremely happy that we did not have to go there.

I received a call today that the newest socket is ready for a fitting, so next week I will give that a try.