I have special feet and these are my new special boots. And they’re awesome!

Special needs boots

Special needs boots

It took the shoemaker over 6 months to make them, but they’re perfect. Someone’s gonna be hiking everywhere soon 🙂

Yes, I know, they’re just shoes. But they’re something special to me. Today is a good day!

  • Vex_Detrause@lemmy.ca
    13·
    6 days ago

    Its not just shoes. It’s shoes perfect for your feet but we’re all here trying shoes that’s “close” enough for our unique feet.

    • ExtremeDullard@piefed.socialOPEnglish
      5·
      6 days ago

      Before my feet became unique - and also before I lived here on the arctic circle 🙂 - I went barefoot 24/7, including hiking on difficult terrain and all. I did that for 20 years and I had seriously healthy feet. So much so that my recovery after amputation was exceptionally fast and my balance wasn’t overly impacted. The surgeon and the rehab folks did credit the barefooting for that.

      Now I only go barefoot indoors - and even that is probably not always very safe anymore. I need shoes outside now for safety, and also because the pressure on my residual bits is too much. I tried a short barefoot hike once after my amputation and it was properly unpleasant.

      I believe shoes are never great for feet. But if you have to wear them, bespoke definitely makes a world of difference for sure.

  • yuri@pawb.social
    4·
    6 days ago

    did up find someone local? also (if you don’t mind sharing) how much were they?

    they look really nice! like the kinda shoes that could last a decade+ easy.

    • ExtremeDullard@piefed.socialOPEnglish
      13·
      6 days ago

      Actually it’s my local prosthetist at the hospital. They don’t just make prostheses: they make braces and custom footwear also.

      And I don’t mind sharing how much I paid for them: zero 🙂 Where I live in Europe, healthcare is free, and these shoes were graciously granted to me by the public hospital as a prescription.

      And because public money paid for them - i.e. the community - I’m very grateful and I intend to take very good care of them, to avoid having to change them for as long as possible. But if / when I need a new pair, all I have to do is call the hospital and they’ll make me another one for free until I die.

      I did inquire about the price if I wanted to order a pair like this on my own money, and while they were reluctant to say, I deduce that they run north of 3000 euros. And they’re not turning a profit on them.

      • yuri@pawb.social
        7·
        6 days ago

        that’s wonderful! i wish you many years of happy hiking ^^

        also waaaaa prosthetist sounds like an absurdly interesting job!! you may have just opened my eyes to a potential career path!

        • ExtremeDullard@piefed.socialOPEnglish
          7·
          6 days ago

          Thanks!

          I would have liked to become a prosthetist. It’s at the intersection of machining, modelling, technical problem-solving, electronics, biology, medicine and social work. It’s more often than not at the cutting edge of technology and prosthetists get to help real people with real problems.

          But my professional life took different turns, and now I’m close enough to the end of it that wouldn’t make any sense for me to switch career again. Particularly considering the degrees and the years needed to become a certified prosthetist.

  • ɔiƚoxɘup@infosec.pub
    3·
    6 days ago

    I have a coworker with a custom shoe need. It’s truly a happy day to finally get one’s custom shoes. I’ve seen how hard it is to get a shoe crafted.

    I’m happy you found a solution.