The honeymoon's over, braces

I am still wearing my braces regularly, and they are still helpful. Just today, for instance, they get my legs in a good place when I was transferring in the bathroom and missed the wheelchair seat. Thanks to them, I was able to get on the chair myself.

So yay, braces!

But their enough annoying things that I am not sold.

• I have given up trying to get them on independently. That's kind of a big blow. In telling my PT I would try them, I insisted that the braces be things I could put on myself. But I can't. They require more than I can do. For instance, I cannot get out of bed without shoes on but I cannot put the braces on without pushing my feet into them by standing and I cannot start them when sitting on the edge of my bed.
• The left brace especially comes off my heel several times a day. If I cough and my foot muscles stretch, if the brace nicks the toilet when I am setting up a transfer,  if as I am putting my feet on the footplate, the brace nicks the plate ... The right one comes loose to but not as much. This is extra bad because I have poor feeling in my feet so don't always notice it before I need to transfer.
• This lack of feeling also comes into play with my toes. They can get jammed up in the show more  easily with the braces then before.
• I have hammer toes on both feet that are made worse with the braces.

Ugh, braces!

See?