One person once had an amazing dream. In that dream, he, still a little boy, ran across emerald meadows, rushed across endless fields strewn with flowers, as one can do only in a dream: barely touching the ground with his feet, with each step covering more and more distance, until finally running turned into flying, and only wings were missing, so magical and light were his movements… The boy’s carefree joy was shared by some wonderful creature, either an elf or a fairy, but, as is usual in dreams, the boy was not at all surprised by his friend’s tiny stature and his unearthly features. They simply had fun together: flying, running, tumbling, climbing trees, picking berries and eating them right away. The fairy had a very kind smile, and he himself - red and even some kind of golden - seemed to radiate warmth, like the sun...
... In the morning the man woke up and for a long time remembered the incomparable sensation of flight and almost physically felt the taste of strawberries in his mouth. How he would like to move with the same ease right now, in the morning! The man jerked up in bed, but at the same second the forgotten pain threw him back into the pillow, as if it had hit him in the chest with a gnarled stick, nailed him back to the bed: lie down, it said, no pain, earlier you had to jump! But now wait...
The fairytale dream evaporated. The man felt his stick and limped to the kitchen. He covered the meter to the door, two meters along the corridor, and another meter and a half to the kitchen chair in about eight minutes. And he smiled sadly along the way: "Climb a tree, yeah... You can barely climb onto your own sofa!"
The man had been doing his own things all day, which seemed insignificant to him, but he hadn't done the important things: he had absolutely no strength to go down to the pharmacy for medicine for the pain in his joints, which had seriously tormented his entire body today... He had already forgotten himself as healthy. For as long as he could remember, he had treated his spine, his legs, and had unsuccessfully struggled with his lameness... New symptoms were constantly being added to the existing ones, their exact cause was never diagnosed, year after year things were getting worse, there were more medications, the anamnesis was more significant, and his medical record was more impressive. It had been a long time since he had waited for a new day with hope when he fell asleep. Because there was nothing to hope for…
But not today. Today he went to bed unusually early: he was impatient to meet the sun fairy again. (He didn't even take his insomnia pills, and before falling asleep, he remembered an old joke: "Doctor, I can't sleep normally, every night I dream about gnomes playing football." - "Here are some pills, take them before bed and you'll sleep well!" - "Thank you, doctor, but can I start taking them tomorrow instead of today?" - "But why?" - "They have the final today!") For the first time in a long time, a person entered sleep with a smile, and not a grimace of pain...
The dream was the same: a gentle day, a golden-red fairy, but today they did not jump or fly. The fairy told the boy about the disorder in the development of his legs, about what could happen if it was not treated; he gave him strange sandals to try on, similar to those that Dania from the 4th floor wears. The sandals turned out to be comfortable and not as bulky as at first glance. Then they ran together, jumped on the grass barefoot, then collected pebbles with their toes and threw them into the water ...
... The dream retreated abruptly, as if a dark blanket was pulled off him, covered with his head, and bright sunlight hit his eyes. He habitually carefully moved his leg and did not feel any pain. He did not really feel himself either. Everything was different - and so. And as before. He is five years old. He remembered himself limping with a stick to the kitchen. And himself playing with the fairy. He remembered how yesterday he went to the store with his mother to buy him medical shoes, as prescribed by the doctor, but his mother looked at the prices and said that his older brother's sandals would do just fine. And then he ran to his mother to tell her everything.
- Do you remember, Mom, that doctor told us that we need to buy special shoes for me, then my feet will be healthy, and I myself will grow up healthy! Like the ones you tried on for me yesterday in the store! I'm not sick yet, but if my feet are not treated, then everything will be very bad! I had a dream about this! There was a fairy there, he told me about my feet, and about these shoes, and about the stones, and what exercises I need to do. Honestly! And then I grew up in my dream, and I couldn't even get to the kitchen without a stick, and everything hurt, I felt like I couldn't stand up, and my back hurt, as if a whole piano had fallen on me! And the fairy and I were flying in my dream. He was very kind, and he said that he would definitely help! Let's go to that doctor again, Mom! I'm scared, I don't want to get sick later!
And then suddenly Ilyusha's confused monologue was interrupted by the doorbell, which spread throughout the apartment. Mom sighed with relief: she had just gotten a short respite from this incomprehensible conversation, which she didn't know how to continue.
A courier dressed in the uniform of a well-known company that delivered everything was smiling through the peephole. Their company claimed: "We will deliver everything from anywhere." Ilyusha always thought that wizards worked there – because of the colorful advertising posters with smiling fairy-tale characters receiving parcels.
The courier was holding a rather large box in his hands. "But we weren't expecting a parcel!" Mom objected. "And we shouldn't have! It's a surprise!" The courier smiled even more joyfully.
Having put her elegant signature on the tablet, Mom impatiently tore the packaging off the box and opened it. Ilyusha peered into the depths of the box with the same impatience from under Mom's hand. Inside were shoes – boots and sandals, the same ones that his fairy-tale friend had put on him in his dream. And also - a massage mat with glued-on pebbles, a book with a boy drawn on every page who does interesting exercises with his legs, and a letter.
"You recently tried on orthopedic shoes for a boy in our store, but left without buying anything. Our consultant saw Ilyusha and was surprised when you did not choose a single pair, but your son was diagnosed with flat feet, and he needs to wear orthopedic shoes. Our store took the liberty of making you a gift. In the parcel you will find orthopedic shoes, orthopedic foot massage mats, a brochure with a list of exercises, and a guide to using the gift set. Follow these tips - and Ilyusha will not have the consequences of flat feet. The most important thing is regular exercise and wearing good shoes. This is the only way to avoid health problems in the future. It's all really free. And this is not an original way to scare you; Google yourself "consequences of untreated flat feet" and you will be very surprised to find among the results problems with the spine, which worsen as a person grows, and problems with the entire musculoskeletal system, and joint diseases, and radiculitis, and arthritis, and a herniated disc, and other not the most pleasant things in the world ... "
... Ilyusha carefully took the shoes and rug out of the box. Trying on the new sandals, he was so naughty with joy that he kicked the box by the gaping edge. The box thudded loudly and turned upside down. And then Ilyusha inhaled in amazement: a cheerful red-haired fairy from a magical dream was smiling at him sunnyly from the brown cardboard ...
Dear parents! Flat feet do not always end with a happy ending. In real life, you can't wake up and turn everything back. Mistakes cannot be corrected.
Please do not neglect the doctor's diagnosis. If foot deformity is confirmed, fight it. This is not a cosmetic defect at all. This is a medical pathology that can ultimately lead to irreversible consequences.
Please do not let children wear shoes from friends and brothers. Without knowing it, you can teach your child's feet to deform to match the deviation from the norm that was present in the previous owner of the shoes.
Yes, treatment should become a way of life and will not always be met with enthusiasm by the child. But think about the future health of your children! And then they will grow up happy. Isn't this the greatest joy for parents?..
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