DBB 23/7, how many times off in a day?

[Guest guest]

Hi folks,

Raphael has now been in the DBB for 5 days, and is adjusting

nicely, though it's still clear that he likes it better off. He has

so much fun with his free time, but we are resisting the temptation

to give him too much.

I have a question about the free time though. First, my understanding

is that 23/7 means that he should be in the shoes and bar 23

hours a day, and that when we undo the first bolt when taking

the bar off that counts as the start of free time (not, say, when we

finally have both shoes off).

Dr. Mosca and the orthotist at Children's expect us to take the

shoes off many times a day (at least 3-4). The apparent

reasons/advantages are to check for skin problems and catch

them early and to do stretches to preserve range of motion.

On the other hand, it currently takes me about 8-9 minutes

total to get the shoes and bar off and on. If I'm doing it

four times a day, that means that half of Rafe's free time is

eaten up with me messing with at least one foot! It would be

more fun if we could consolidate it all into one hour.

So, I'm wondering what other people have been advised about

how many times to take the shoes off in a day. What does Dr. Ponseti

say? What do folks actually do? How important is it to do the

stretches a several different points in a day rather than all at once?

Thanks,

Toby 5/02

Raphael 9/05, lcf, DBB 23/7