DIY Orthotics

[tagonist]

The other day, while running, I heard something snap and my foot hurt. A lot. I was wearing shoes- how often am I ever wearing shoes?- and I don't know exactly what it was I stepped on, or whether it was my foot or the unknown object that made the noise, but it felt like a ridge, more or less parallel with my foot, that hit around my second and

Comments

[aisa0]

A member of our household is a nurse in training, and he and one other person in the community have a similar goal of being able to do this kind of work in and around the money economy.

Thank you for writing this up, it's a good dose of reality for me today.

[tagonist]

Its more woodworking confidence than medical confidence. I once spent a long transport with a guy who was a shop foreman in the Army's ortho-tech division after Korea, and then in Haiti I worked with a physical therapist who was testing this sand-and-beans system of custom-forming socket molds in the field (the sockets themselves were traditional fibreglass.) The point is, these guys are very skilled craftspeople. They turn out a number of highly-functioning devices every week, each of which will last the recipient for years and years. Making one splint in an afternoon, even when I have to do work on the floor, is nothing.

Other links:

http://openprosthetics.org/

http://www.gizmowatch.com/entry/need-a-helping-hand-make-way-for-stelarcs-third-arm/

[mat_defiler]

um, yeah, well, did i expect any less? the answer would be no.

[mat_defiler]

also, sweetie? what's this about sweetie?

[tagonist]

Um yeah, so where have you been for... damn, like seven and a half months? Actually, where have you been. Want to call me?

A