I was born with a very minor case of Cerebral Palsy (muscle deficiency) that mainly affects my right foot. People in my day to day life have no idea the struggle I have lived with for 29 years, but my family and close friends know that I have always felt gypped because I was limited in my shoe selections; I wore saddle shoes and Brown Splits as a child to try and correct my foot. Due to the Cerebral Palsy my right foot is a full shoe size smaller than my left; my right foot is also missing a tendon called the Tibialis Anterior, which controls flexion and extension of the foot (I cannot point my toes like a ballerina due to missing this tendon). The biggest issue for me has always been shoes, I cannot wear flats because my right foot is so much smaller and I do not have the dexterity to grip with my toes to hold on flats or any other shoe without a strap that goes across the top of my foot to hold my foot into the shoe. Thanks to Heelstraps (which I received for Christmas 2010), I have now been wearing flats for a month! The Heelstraps allow me to go a full workday in (appropriate) flats, instead of ending the day with aching/sweaty feet after 10 hours of wearing boots, in the middle of summer.

Heelstraps have also allowed me the freedom to branch out to “regular” heels (without straps on them). I am finally able to go shoe shopping with my friends and buy the same peep toe heels that they do and have the comfort of knowing that as I go about my day to day life I will be able to wear the shoes comfortably without fear of my foot slipping out the back of the shoe. My sister and brother are each getting married this summer and both my sister and soon-to-be sister-in-law are ecstatic that I will be able to wear the same shoes as all the other bridesmaids!

Thank you so much for creating such a simple invention, I have been given more freedom then I ever thought possible and cannot express how grateful I am to Heelstraps!

Sincerely,
L'Erin