Re: HELP!!! How to keep screws on bar?!?!

[Guest guest]

Darby,

If you're taking the shoes off the bar to put it on this probably won't be

an option but you can use a wrench to tighten them up and they shouldn't

come loose very often if at all. Darbi just got a new bar (the red

adjustable one Angel gave us broke, at the sole plate) and it's a gold

*medium* with three holes in the end (each hole makes the bar length go up

by 2 " ) and it's loose every morning ever since too. I didn't really have

this problem with the old gold bars, which have the same mounting nut so

I'm not sure why this one is doing it but I'm going to have to tighten it

with a wrench too. We stopped taking the shoes off the bar when she was

very little (as compared to her massive 2 year old'ness lol) so tightening

it with a wrench is just fine for us but if I was taking her shoes off to

apply them every night it would not be an option.

The only other thing I can think of is to hand tighten them as tight as you

can and then perhaps make a padded bar cover that kind of cups over the

ends of the bar so it makes it more difficult for her to get to the

nuts. You'd have to get a little bit tape happy with the cupped ends but I

think if you put enough tape on it that it'd be stiff enough that she

wouldn't be able to get to them very easy. The reason I say this is that

when they brought Darb's new gold bar out the other orthotist had made a

very nice bar pad (yes, out of pipe foam and tape lol) and she'd done that

at the ends for some reason. It was rather stiff there and I liked

it. Unfortunately they'd brought out a straight bar and as we all know, it

needs to be bent 10-15 degrees to get the dorsiflexion and I had to send it

back to be bent so that pad was removed. I felt bad because the orthotist

really had worked hard to make a nice cover for her but I don't have a good

vice here and I felt they could bend it a lot easier than I could so I did

send it back. She used black electrical tape all over the darn thing,

yeah... she got a little tape happy lol! I use black cloth athletic tape

and it is nowhere near as stiff as the electrical tape was so I noticed the

difference. If you still think she might tear into them, maybe you could

tape the ends of the pad directly to the soles of the shoes so she can't

even get to the nuts. I know you said no tape, but maybe if it's sticky

enough and as seamless as possible she won't notice?

If you're not taking the shoes off the bar, there's always lock tite. I've

never tried it on the bar, but it does work for many other screws that come

loose in other applications. Might be worth a try.

If you're taking the shoes off, I suppose the only option (assuming that

taking them off works well for you right now and you want to continue doing

it) would be the padded bar or to check her shoes often and

re-tighten. And tell her to keep her little fingies off the darn thing lol!

Good luck! I didn't realize she was already out of casts after her surgery

but I haven't been able to read much lately, I often read just the last

post I see and that's all the time I get borrowing dh's puter all the

time. I hope her feet are nice and happy now and she's wearing the bar

with no issues other than curious fingies.

Kori

At 07:43 PM 4/24/2005, you wrote:

>Livi is back in the FAB- she has figured out how to unscrew the bar

>from her shoes. She wears the markells with a 10 " gold bar. It also

>loosens itself when she's wearing it and crawling/cruising around the

>house.

>

>Any suggestions on keeping them on tight? Don't say tape - it just

>intrigues her more! HELP!!!!!

>

>Darby

>Livi 3/15/04 bi cf

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Thanks Kori! It is so hard for us to get her shoes on while the bar

is attached - maybe once we get better at it we'll be able to. I

think I'll try to figure out a good way to make a bar pad that covers

it. I bet my dad can make it! I keep telling her not to touch the

screws, but no doesn't mean too much to her yet!

Unfortunately Livi is having a tough time being back in the shoes.

I'm at a loss for what to do - her tenotomy didn't really give her

the correction we were hoping, and already her left foot is again

slipping out of the shoe She's dragging it when she crawls, and

seems to be having a tougher time cruising around the furniture than

she did before the tenotomy.

I'm finally going to email Dr. Ponseti as soon as I can get some foot

pics and see what he says. I've also put in a call to Dr. Schmale to

see what he says.

Darby

Livi 3/15/04

EDD #2 5/12/05 (3 weeks to go!!!)

>

>

> >Livi is back in the FAB- she has figured out how to unscrew the bar

> >from her shoes. She wears the markells with a 10 " gold bar. It

also

> >loosens itself when she's wearing it and crawling/cruising around

the

> >house.

> >

> >Any suggestions on keeping them on tight? Don't say tape - it just

> >intrigues her more! HELP!!!!!

> >

> >Darby

> >Livi 3/15/04 bi cf

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

i'm sorry you are having so many problems... and i really hope that Dr P will

have some great news for you when you send those pictures... good luck...

mommy to Grace 12-03-03 BCF Dobb's Brace 16/7

Darby dabrennan@...> wrote:

Thanks Kori! It is so hard for us to get her shoes on while the bar

is attached - maybe once we get better at it we'll be able to. I

think I'll try to figure out a good way to make a bar pad that covers

it. I bet my dad can make it! I keep telling her not to touch the

screws, but no doesn't mean too much to her yet!

Unfortunately Livi is having a tough time being back in the shoes.

I'm at a loss for what to do - her tenotomy didn't really give her

the correction we were hoping, and already her left foot is again

slipping out of the shoe She's dragging it when she crawls, and

seems to be having a tougher time cruising around the furniture than

she did before the tenotomy.

I'm finally going to email Dr. Ponseti as soon as I can get some foot

pics and see what he says. I've also put in a call to Dr. Schmale to

see what he says.

Darby

Livi 3/15/04

EDD #2 5/12/05 (3 weeks to go!!!)

love, lisa

before i made you in the womb, i knew you... love God.

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

Can you switch to the red bar that isn't removable?

Darby dabrennan@...> wrote:

Livi is back in the FAB- she has figured out how to unscrew the bar

from her shoes. She wears the markells with a 10 " gold bar. It also

loosens itself when she's wearing it and crawling/cruising around the

house.

Any suggestions on keeping them on tight? Don't say tape - it just

intrigues her more! HELP!!!!!

Darby

Livi 3/15/04 bi cf

[Guest guest]

That's an interesting idea. I've never actually seen a red bar

except in pictures so I don't know much about it. I'll ask the

orthotics folks.

Thanks!

Darby

> Livi is back in the FAB- she has figured out how to unscrew the

bar

> from her shoes. She wears the markells with a 10 " gold bar. It

also

> loosens itself when she's wearing it and crawling/cruising around

the

> house.

>

> Any suggestions on keeping them on tight? Don't say tape - it

just

> intrigues her more! HELP!!!!!

>

> Darby

> Livi 3/15/04 bi cf

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Duh! I didn't even think of that, but after reading your reply I see

you're still taking the shoes off the bar which I don't suggest you stop

doing just yet. Especially with her feet not cooperating still. Which is

pretty difficult with the red bar, but doable if you've got 4 hands to work

with lol. If you do get the red bar, have dh help you put it on because

it's not very easy once the foot is in the shoe to get that screw in. It's

a screw with a large hex head rather than a nut, so exactly the opposite of

the gold bar with the bolt coming out of the sole plate. I never figured

out how to do it myself but by the time we started using the red bar I

wasn't taking the shoes off anymore anyway. Last night Darbi's shoes didn't

come loose, and I'm starting to recall that in fact I do remember this

problem with the gold bars but only at first. I think I remember that they

were loose for a while but eventually after screwing them on tightly a

number of times they seem to seat better and stay tighter longer. I

think... It's aluminum so it stands to reason that it's somewhat maleable.

I wonder if her feet will be better served with the Ponseti/

brace? I'm wondering, if you can keep her feet in the shoes, perhaps she

can further stretch that tendon as she stands and improve the dorsiflexion

on that stubborn foot? Also, have you pulled that tongue down so it's

*below* or right at the top of the boot or is it still up high on her ankle

(cut the tongue keeper slit)? With that foot pulling out, perhaps try that

and don't use the top hole for the laces but tie them off in the second to

the top hole instead if it improves how tight you can get the ankle

are. Something else to look into is perhaps the brace is dorsiflexed too

much for her on that side. If it's at the full 15 degrees maybe they'd

consider reducing that a little for a few months so her foot will stay

in. And then maybe bend it back to the 15 degree point once her foot is

stabilized at the lesser degree. Maybe she needs less than 10 degrees on

that side for a little while? Also, if she's mobile in it, maybe you could

put some kind of wedge or block on the toes so that when she does stand in

it that she doesn't wobble back and forth pointing her toes down on the

floor but keeps her feet flat so that they're always dorsiflexed when she

stands. I know Darbi often stands with her toes pointing down touching the

floor rather than the opposite and I kinda worry about that but it's not

seeming to cause any problems so far. I would worry more however if her

foot was not coming up like Livi's is though so I thought I'd throw that

observation out there for ya.

I'm sorry to hear it didn't work out like you wanted it to, and I support

your wanting to consult with Dr. P. on this. I wonder if I wouldn't just

want to take a little road trip to be 100% sure. Nothing like the present

time to take advantage of having those hands on your child's feet in case

it might do the trick. Sadly it's something which won't be available to us

forever. At least you could say that you've had the " Ultimate Second

Opinion " and exhausted all your options. I don't doubt the docs up north

there, we know they're good ones. However I still think I'd be planning on

taking her to Iowa if Dr. P. thinks she should come.

Big hugs to you! I KNOW you're about ready to deliver that babe of yours

so take care of yourself and have a wonderful birth. Can't wait to hear

all about the new little one!

Kori

At 08:01 PM 4/25/2005, you wrote:

>That's an interesting idea. I've never actually seen a red bar

>except in pictures so I don't know much about it. I'll ask the

>orthotics folks.

>

>Thanks!

>

>Darby

>

>

> > Livi is back in the FAB- she has figured out how to unscrew the

>bar

> > from her shoes. She wears the markells with a 10 " gold bar. It

>also

> > loosens itself when she's wearing it and crawling/cruising around

>the

> > house.

> >

> > Any suggestions on keeping them on tight? Don't say tape - it

>just

> > intrigues her more! HELP!!!!!

> >

> > Darby

> > Livi 3/15/04 bi cf

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

I have a question about the screws on the bottom of the Markell shoes.

Anyone else have a problem with these screws constantly loosening up?

Seems like every day I am getting out the screw driver to tighten the

screws that hold the plates on the bottom of Sammy's shoes. Any

suggestions?

Thanks,

> > > Livi is back in the FAB- she has figured out how to unscrew the

> >bar

> > > from her shoes. She wears the markells with a 10 " gold bar. It

> >also

> > > loosens itself when she's wearing it and crawling/cruising around

> >the

> > > house.

> > >

> > > Any suggestions on keeping them on tight? Don't say tape - it

> >just

> > > intrigues her more! HELP!!!!!

> > >

> > > Darby

> > > Livi 3/15/04 bi cf

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

[Guest guest]

Are you talking about the screw that keeps the shoe on the bar - or

the peice that is actually attached to the shoe? If you're talking

about the peice that is attached to the shoe itself, you may want to

go back to your orthotics people and tell them about it - I have

never had anything wrong with the hardware on the shoes themselves.

It sounds like they may be defective.

HTH

Darby

Livi 3/15/04 bi cf

> > > > Livi is back in the FAB- she has figured out how to unscrew

the

> > >bar

> > > > from her shoes. She wears the markells with a 10 " gold bar.

It

> > >also

> > > > loosens itself when she's wearing it and crawling/cruising

around

> > >the

> > > > house.

> > > >

> > > > Any suggestions on keeping them on tight? Don't say tape - it

> > >just

> > > > intrigues her more! HELP!!!!!

> > > >

> > > > Darby

> > > > Livi 3/15/04 bi cf

> > > >

> > > >

> > > >

> > > >

> > > >

> > > >

[Guest guest]

Yes, I'm talking about the screws on the shoe itself. We've not had

any problems until just the last couple weeks. It just started coming

loose. I guess I will contact the brace shop.

Thanks,

> > > > > Livi is back in the FAB- she has figured out how to unscrew

> the

> > > >bar

> > > > > from her shoes. She wears the markells with a 10 " gold bar.

> It

> > > >also

> > > > > loosens itself when she's wearing it and crawling/cruising

> around

> > > >the

> > > > > house.

> > > > >

> > > > > Any suggestions on keeping them on tight? Don't say tape - it

> > > >just

> > > > > intrigues her more! HELP!!!!!

> > > > >

> > > > > Darby

> > > > > Livi 3/15/04 bi cf

> > > > >

> > > > >

> > > > >

> > > > >

> > > > >

> > > > >

[Guest guest]

Kori - thank you for all the suggestions!

I called Dr. Schmale yesterday to ask him what to do - she is

dragging her left foot when she crawls (the stiff foot), and he said

to just stick with the bar for nights and naps for now and we'll look

at it in a couple of weeks. So I emailed Dr. Ponseti (finally!!!!).

I'm anxious to hear what he has to say. I have been just keeping the

FAB on all day long for the last couple of days, and it seems to be

staying on better. I have a feeling she's not ready to be at nights

and nap time yet.

I'll update when I hear back from him!

Darby

> > > Livi is back in the FAB- she has figured out how to unscrew the

> >bar

> > > from her shoes. She wears the markells with a 10 " gold bar. It

> >also

> > > loosens itself when she's wearing it and crawling/cruising

around

> >the

> > > house.

> > >

> > > Any suggestions on keeping them on tight? Don't say tape - it

> >just

> > > intrigues her more! HELP!!!!!

> > >

> > > Darby

> > > Livi 3/15/04 bi cf

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

> > >

[Guest guest]

ours loosen up periodically too. I just re-tighten them. You could try

new screws if they've been in there for a while, that may help. Also, the

lock tite would work, I just never bothered to do it.

I get the most time out of them if I really tighten them up a lot. If I

don't, they do come loose sooner than later. Maybe they just need to be

tighter?

Kori

At 12:46 PM 4/26/2005, you wrote:

>Yes, I'm talking about the screws on the shoe itself. We've not had

>any problems until just the last couple weeks. It just started coming

>loose. I guess I will contact the brace shop.

>

>Thanks,

>

>

>

> > > > > > Livi is back in the FAB- she has figured out how to unscrew

> > the

> > > > >bar

> > > > > > from her shoes. She wears the markells with a 10 " gold bar.

> > It

> > > > >also

> > > > > > loosens itself when she's wearing it and crawling/cruising

> > around

> > > > >the

> > > > > > house.

> > > > > >

> > > > > > Any suggestions on keeping them on tight? Don't say tape - it

> > > > >just

> > > > > > intrigues her more! HELP!!!!!

> > > > > >

> > > > > > Darby

> > > > > > Livi 3/15/04 bi cf

> > > > > >

> > > > > >

> > > > > >

> > > > > >

> > > > > >

> > > > > >

[Guest guest]

Thanks, I'll try having muscle man daddy tighten them up. He will

probably want to use lock tite.

Thanks,

> > > > > > > Livi is back in the FAB- she has figured out how to unscrew

> > > the

> > > > > >bar

> > > > > > > from her shoes. She wears the markells with a 10 " gold bar.

> > > It

> > > > > >also

> > > > > > > loosens itself when she's wearing it and crawling/cruising

> > > around

> > > > > >the

> > > > > > > house.

> > > > > > >

> > > > > > > Any suggestions on keeping them on tight? Don't say

tape - it

> > > > > >just

> > > > > > > intrigues her more! HELP!!!!!

> > > > > > >

> > > > > > > Darby

> > > > > > > Livi 3/15/04 bi cf

> > > > > > >

> > > > > > >

> > > > > > >

> > > > > > >

> > > > > > >

> > > > > > >

[Guest guest]

Hi I have always had to tighten up the screws (well the big ones that hold

the angle) with pliers or some description otherwise they just work

themselves loose!!!!

Rach, Steve & Connor (2 years)

-- Re: HELP!!! How to keep screws on bar?!?!

Thanks, I'll try having muscle man daddy tighten them up. He will

probably want to use lock tite.

Thanks,

> > > > > > > Livi is back in the FAB- she has figured out how to unscrew

> > > the

> > > > > >bar

> > > > > > > from her shoes. She wears the markells with a 10 " gold bar.

> > > It

> > > > > >also

> > > > > > > loosens itself when she's wearing it and crawling/cruising

> > > around

> > > > > >the

> > > > > > > house.

> > > > > > >

> > > > > > > Any suggestions on keeping them on tight? Don't say

tape - it

> > > > > >just

> > > > > > > intrigues her more! HELP!!!!!

> > > > > > >

> > > > > > > Darby

> > > > > > > Livi 3/15/04 bi cf

> > > > > > >

> > > > > > >

> > > > > > >

> > > > > > >

> > > > > > >

> > > > > > >

[Guest guest]

if you are refering to the red bar with the mitchell straight last shoes.. i too

had problem with the nuts that hold the shoes to the bar... they came loose and

grace would suddenly have the shoe still on her foot but off the bar... and she

would be so proud of herself... we were seeing her old doctor at the time and

they offered no solution... but i think it might be common...

mommy to Grace 12-03-03 BCF Dobb's Brace 16/7

jagrindon jagrindon@...> wrote:

Yes, I'm talking about the screws on the shoe itself. We've not had

any problems until just the last couple weeks. It just started coming

loose. I guess I will contact the brace shop.

Thanks,

love, lisa

before i made you in the womb, i knew you... love God.

__________________________________________________