A year and a half ago I was diagnosed with drop foot. My prescription was a steel brace attached to my right shoe. I wondered how I could pretty it up, but didn't want to glue anything to the brace in case I got tired of it and then couldn't remove it. So I saw these flowers at Pinterest and wondered if I had something here at home that would make something similar in my stash and yep, I did have something.
I have no idea what I saved these pieces of Velcro from, but I measured the circumference of both my cane and my brace and I found two pieces that would work!
If you want to make some Velcro pieces like mine, overlap two pieces of Velcro about 3/4" inch so that the join is in the middle (mine have a stitched on tag board piece over the join which you don't have to have) with the loops on one side facing towards the back and the fabric that the loops attach to faces towards the front. The whole length for the brace is 3 1/4" (inches) long and the piece for the cane is 4 1/2" (inches) long. You can stitch or hot glue the Velcro pieces together.
Next I found some flowers that were attached to wires.
I punched two holes in the cardboard with this teeny-tiny diameter hole punch . . .
and threaded the two wires through and pulled it tight. Then I twisted the wires closed and pushed them down into a spiral against the back of the Velcro strap, wrapped it around both my cane and brace to see how they fit and Viola! Almost instant bling!
One flower. . .
Or many! I could almost skip through a garden in these, don't you think? 😊
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20 Aug 2018
My cane flower didn't last long as it got knocked around too much, but I get compliments on my brace one frequently. I decided now that I'm using two canes because of vertigo and hip pain, I needed a station to park them at during the night. My husband found these Command - brand broom grippers at Walmart and I attached them to this cabinet next to my nightstand, so they are within easy reach when I get out of bed. And yes, I'll have to open both doors to get into the top cabinet if the canes are still attached, but that's no problem to me.
Two tips I wanted to mention -- since January, I've been using a C-Pap machine for sleep apnea. (I also have a nebulizer for asthma). That's my c-pap up on my nightstand. I have a case for it and I take it when traveling as both are medical devices that I need. I purchased an extension cord and that little stepping stool at Walmart in the children's department for $10.00 and poured some of the distilled water into a plastic water bottle with a tight fitting lid to take with us. The little stepping stool pops out as a little stand for my c-pap during the night if I sleep on the side of a motel bed without a nightstand.
Also, the black cane's foam handle was beginning to split from wear and tear and we could not find a replacement. I saw a video at YouTube in which a lady had used tennis racket handle tape on her baby's stroller handle and yep, Walmart carries it back in the sporting goods department. I used a little daisy decorative duct tape to fasten the end down and I'll tell you, the tennis tape makes a most comfortable handle over the top of the foam.
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21 May 2022
A lot of water has gone under the bridge since I wrote last. I no longer wear the brace, but do wear a built up shoe on the same side as I wore the brace. The built up shoe is as stiff as the brace was, but that's okay because now my hips are even and my back doesn't hurt as much as it used to. My right leg is about 1/2 inch shorter than the left leg.
And I've graduated to forearm crutches because, not only were the canes wearing out, but I also got tired of the canes falling over when I had to grab something. And since I had to bend over to pick them up, I hoped that vertigo didn't strike me at the same time and I go splat! I love the forearm crutches (I call them my pogo sticks 'cause they have spring shocks in the legs) and I just purchased a bicycle flashlight for one of them. They stay on my arms like a bracelet when I let go to grab something. I've also gone to wearing a backpack. Had to try many on before I found one that fit me since I'm a BBW (big beautiful woman). I wore a cross-body purse for many years, but the left crutch kept bumping it as I took a step and knocking me off-balance. So had to get my thinking cap on and problem solve it.
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