my day at the orthotist

[Guest guest]

Dear ers,

Yesterday I had my annual check-in with my orthotist at Swiss Balance

in Los Angeles. Everything was fine with my othotists, one point

under the ball of my foot was wearing and just involved a simple

tweak. I had a great discussion with Stefan after about orthotics,

shoes, AFOS, etc.

Imagine my suprize when he told me he met with the " head of CMT " in

the US. It was so funny almost, since I know the woman he mentioned,

and she has apparently designated herself as " the head of CMT " for

the US. There is NO head of CMT. There are several organizations

still trying to outdo each other, personality problems admist the

Directors/Presidents, and still very little collaboration done.

Stefan informed me that he attended a meeting with this " head of CMT "

and Glen Pferrer, MD (Foot doc at Cedars in Los Angeles) and that

they had discussed a potential " study " comparing the ordinary AFO and

the Toe Off AFO. However, the maker of the ToeOff doesn't wish to be

included (he'd have to give up patent information and actually work

with colleagues!)

After this bit of news, I had some even better news. Stefan did not

charge me for yesterday's visit. Then when I got to the car, since I

had parked on the street, there was no charge for parking (as opposed

to paying $5.00 per every 30 minutes in lots in the area)

With all this news behind us, Ed and I enjoyed an absolutely terrific

lunch at El Chollo (best Mexican food ever!) followed by a no-traffic

drive on Pacific Coast Highway and home to Santa Barbara via 101,

where we stopped to do some shopping.

If anyone in Los Angeles ever needs an orthotist, I wholeheartedly

recommend Stefan at Swiss Balance in Santa . I have been seeing

him for about 10 years now, and he has kept me and my feet VERY happy.

Kind of funny, when Stefan walked into the room, he was wearing a

cast/boot on his foot - lol, when I asked what happened he said " I

tried to play with the big boys " - actually he had a

skateboard 'problem' lol, and broke a bone in his ankle. His surgeon

decided to install 2 screws into the bone so he would have movement,

instead of just casting. I neglected to get the name of this new foot

surgeon, but will call to get it, just in case anyone in the LA area

would like the name of another Foot and Ankle doctor.

~ Gretchen (not the head of CMT in the US for sure!)