SMOs & SPIOs

 We have new gear.

So this is the third year that we have gotten SMOs (supra malleolar orthosis) for Peter.  Its a custom made shoe insert to provide extra support for his feet.  When they were first recommended, it overwhelmed me.  I've come to love them and see that they do help him.

 It was sorta sweet to go in for our third time around.  It allowed me to see how far we've come.  The first year the kids were bouncing off the walls and this year, they just played with the toys and obeyed when it was time to go back.  Progress each year.

They sat calmly in the chairs and looked at the designs.  Peter gets excited for the print he'll get on them each year... this year its Batman.  Lily also enjoyed flipping through the samples telling me which design she'd like when she got jumpers.  They do have good girl designs!  ;)

 The same orthotist has molded Peter's feet each year.  He is just a kind man and calls Peter "friend" when he speaks to him.  Its always sorta fun to see him.

A few weeks later, after they came in, we went out for new sneakers.  I had to cave and buy some for Lily too.  The girl needs to get a treat too!  :)

The other new thing for Peter is that at the recommendation of his physical and occupational therapist, we ordered him SPIOs (stabilizing pressure input orthosis).  Its a set of tight fitting spandex garments that he wears under his clothes.  We call it his "hero suit".  He thinks that's great and so willingly wears them.  The purpose of them is to provide extra sensory input to allow him to feel and work his body better.  The brochure mentions improvements in posture and attention, both of which sounded great to us.  He's been wearing them for 4 weeks.  Its hard to say how much its helped because I mostly have him wear them at school and then allow him to take them off at home.  But he tells me that they feel "good, like a hug". 
At Mike's leading, three years ago, we shifted our mentality to assume we'd fully use our health benefits, instead of trying to avoid or minimally use them, which is my normal approach.  We plan & budget to meet our deductible each year.  Peter recently met his individual deductible and the benefit comes the second half of the year when everything is fully covered.... like both of these new items for him, plus his remaining therapy sessions.  Thankful for His provision in this way.