Monday, January 30, 2006

It's a Stick Up!

Okay, that was totally a stretch as I went striving for a cute post title and decided to settle for the lame one above.

BUT, I have news!!! Things are sticking, UP. Her stockings.

The secret ingredient? My washing machine. I washed her stockings over the weekend, and now they are staying up largely on her own. Woo-hoo!

Either that or they're staying up cuz she had free feet while they were in the wash and drying (on my sweater rack) so she's puffier than she was before and that's why they're staying up... But I prefer to think it's the former.

Sunday, January 29, 2006

Reinforcements

Still haven't figured out the sliding stockings, but I plan to pick up a pair of basic thigh-highs this week and investigate the tops of them.

In the meantime, Grama was here earlier this week and I *finally* remembered to give her one of J's old Tribute's to deconstruct so we can see 'bout making our own. Apparently she thinks the biggest deal will be finding the fabric. It needs to be something that breathes and has all-way stretch. Knowing nothing about fabric I'm taking her word on it. She thinks it may be something I can get my father to look for for me (he runs a mattress factory).

Anywho. Going to Grama's this afternoon so dh can fix her puter and we can look at fabric with J. We're letting her (within reason) pick colors and fantasies for her own room and redecorating, hopefully to be completed on/near her birthday for her to move in.

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

They're baaaccck

Actually the stockings came in a little over a week ago. She hates them.

They are a little tighter, I can definitely tell where they tightened up the top band. They added the dart across the front of the ankle but its not enough, they still gather, just not as badly.

They also still sag. I don't think this is a matter of fit so much as construction. The material they use for the top band seems to be unique in the world of le stockings. Even the therapist had never seen similar before. It is a thick elastic band with the stocking material sewn to it, but the elastic is thick in a height-type way as well as the width of the band, and it's oddly fuzzy. It IS nice and soft, but doesn't stay up so good. Personally I think the top band is pulled down the leg by its own weight.

Did I mention she hates them?

She's worn them twice since they came in. I told her she's gonna have to get over this and she says no. *sigh*


She would actually rather be BANDAGED than wear her stockings. And I hate bandaging.

There, I've said it. I hate bandaging. Obviously I need to get over it. A *big* part of me is hoping I get the outside-the-house job I recently applied for because then I can make her father help with the lymphedema care. I don't work now, so I get NO help. None. He couldn't even tell you the name of her most recent therapist and sure couldn't find the clinic himself. But I digress...

I'm gonna go pop Girlchild (J's new pseudonym) into the tub then be the mean mommy and make her wear her stockings.

OH!

One big downside to the altered stockings - before I could wrap her toes under them, but there's no way that can happen now. I'm tempted to order another pair using the original measurements and just have them add the silicone to the tops...

Gotta call my mom today and see if she has any ideas for how we can make the current pair stay up since they don't have the manufacturer's expensive silicone fabric in the tops...

Thursday, January 05, 2006

On Their Way

Bio-Concepts called today, the alterations are done on J's stockings and they should be in tomorrow's mail on their way home.

We decided to skip the silicone for now (added $36 that I just don't have credit card room for right now), they tightened it along the the back seam to bring in the top and added to dart to the front of the ankles. We'll see...

I'm glad my mom sews :-)

Tuesday, January 03, 2006

Return to Sender

Yep - gotta return her stockings for alterations.

I put them on her and pinched along the seam til it fit better and marked the lines for the manufacturer to take it in. We also discussed a dart to pull in some of the fabric on the fronts of her ankles and adding silicone to the stocking tops to help them stay up.

They seem to fit pretty well, actually, except for the top band, which is uber loose and rather heavy and I think it was dragging the rest of the stockings down.

Ah well, gotta go drop her socks in the mail for corrections. Let's hope they happen faster than the initial manufacturing; J is a growing 4 3/4 yo and the measurements used to make the garments are already almost a month old...

Monday, January 02, 2006

Need to Make a Call

We saw the therapist last Wednesday.

Among other things, we were discharged from our outpatient program. I am not really all that particularly happy about this. I've checked on this from the insurance end and it's not them, it's the hospital. Don't get me wrong, the fact that they HAVE a lymphedema clinic at all is encouraging, but the hospital makes them run it like any other outpatient PT program. Basically this means they expect the therapists to train people in self-care and discharge them and they are allowed one annual follow-up thereafter. So, we've been discharged but there has not been a significant enough reduction in the volume of J's feet to allow us to get her into shoes that are actually the CORRECT size for her feet, which was my goal. Those of you out there, adults especially, I think, who have this disease understand that this is not really an ideal way to treat it, it's a long-term care condition, etc. But, hey, we'll take what we can get.

ASIDE from being cut loose and left adrift in the world of lymphedema and garments, the therapist took a look at our stockings and agreed with me, they're too big :-( They sag to her ankles, especially with activity that promotes calf muscle use (like bike riding) and they wrinkle up on the front of her ankle unless she keeps her toes pointed all the time. With New Year's and me being sick I didn't make the call last week.

I'll be on the phone with Bio-Concepts tomorrow to find out what our options are, if they want us to re-measure, etc. Yay fun.