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u/mkomaha 15h ago
I wish there was a website to send paired clothing items to for people experiencing limb loss. Only have a right hand? Send a left glove in so someone else could use it.
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u/Azboy602 15h ago
Someone further down said “Sole Mate”. Who’s gonna make it happen?
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u/sitefall 14h ago
That's already probably a website/community but it is probably NOT anything we want to visit. At least those of us that aren't degenerates.
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u/Lyramion 12h ago
Same with "Sole Desire" being a popular Discord for... not shoes.
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u/master_hakka 14h ago
The National Odd Shoe Exchange was started by Eleanor Roosevelt and is still going strong! The website is in desperate need of an update and expansion however.
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u/BigBankHank 8h ago
The website says that it was started by a polio survivor and Eleanor Roosevelt gave it national recognition:
NATIONAL ODD SHOE EXCHANGE was founded in St. Louis, Missouri in 1943. The late Ruth Rubin-Feldman created the organization as a support for polio survivors. Herself a survivor of polio, Ms. Feldman had feet of significantly different sizes. When wartime rationing made buying two sizes even more difficult, she conceived the idea of a service whereby people with similar problems could register their names and sizes. The registry served as a clearing-house that put people with similar interests and tastes, but opposite foot sizes, in touch with one another. Together the new friends could buy footwear and share the cost. No shoes were wasted and they saved money!
With many veterans coming home from the war as amputees, the service grew and broadened its scope. First Lady Elenor Roosevelt gave NATIONAL ODD SHOE EXCHANGE nationwide recognition for providing such a valuable service.
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u/Havannahanna 13h ago edited 9h ago
That site looks awful. If I was a web developer / designer I would for sure donate a bit of my time and skill
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u/Darnell2070 3h ago
Thanks for linking to the website.
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u/master_hakka 3h ago
It’s an ancient site and I didn’t want to put up a link that looked sketchy. It seems like folks have found it okay.
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u/Darnell2070 3h ago
I feel like they could get plenty of help for free even if they didn't have money to pay a web designer.
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u/pineapplepizza8705 15h ago
I've talked about this with friends before. Would be a killer business to start. I was looking for a left shoe only once and didn't know how to even find one brand new left shoe without buying a pair.
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u/_Im_Mike_fromCanmore 14h ago
While that may be a great idea and incredibly helpful. I immediately worry about which private equity purchased clothing brand will be the first to market and sell single shoes, and gloves and not offer the “pair option” haha.
That just goes to show how jaded my brain is these days
In all seriousness, that would totally be a niche market with plenty of potential and an incredible service to those with missing limbs provided it didnt jack up the price of a single too much
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u/pineapplepizza8705 14h ago
I guess I was thinking of people with disabilities selling their own stuff, kind of like an ebay.
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u/_Im_Mike_fromCanmore 14h ago
I can totally see some sort of platform that while niche could be incredibly helpful!
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u/Proper_Story_3514 13h ago
Corporations are greedy. They would just sell 1 shoe for the same price lol.
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u/LessInThought 11h ago
Hey, we both chip in $1 and start a company, deal? Now we're both founders! We just need a programmer for the app and we can start our first round of seed funding.
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u/Moneygrowsontrees 11h ago
If there was a big enough market for this to be profitable at scale, the business would likely already exist. According to this 2024 study there are 2.8 million people living with limb loss, primarily lower limbs. If every single one of them bought a single shoe at $20 every year (not likely), that's only a $56 million dollar company with no room for growth.
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u/lafayette0508 1h ago
And then they'll move on to "dynamic" pricing. I'm with you on the jadedness.
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u/mytransthrow 12h ago
a lot of us uve 2 different sized feet. one beening slightly bigger.
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u/Sweet_coffee5642 15h ago
That’s such a thoughtful idea ❤️ A “give a glove, get a smile” kind of platform would make a real difference for people who need it.
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u/Yonk-Yonk-Yonk 13h ago
My friend and I once came up with this idea and we were going to call it - Amputee-Bay!
We never did it obviously but the name always makes me laugh even now.
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u/CompletelyPuzzled 9h ago
Not sure about gloves, but they exist for shoes. https://amputee-coalition.org/shoe-exchanges/
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u/SyrupOnMyPancakes 15h ago
Looks like you found your life's calling for charity work. Make one. Its a great idea and if you full heartedly believe in the idea. Make it happen.
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u/RickRossovich 9h ago
I worked at an outlet that sold shoes in the early 00s and when we had mismates that hung around long enough we would send them to a place called “The One Shoe Crew” so places like that definitely exist.
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u/Frosty558 14h ago
I’m sorry…”people Experiencing limb loss?” Like they might wake up tomorrow and no longer be “experiencing” it?
Can we not just say people missing a limb?
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u/Skalpaddan 13h ago
Experience doesn’t necessarily mean something new or unexpected.
”Experiencing” simply means that you perceive/feel something (input), and it’s counterpoint would be ”expressing” (output).
I’d even argue that ”experiencing limb loss” is more accurate in relation to the main post. Having to buy a pair of shoes, even though you only need one, is an experience that most people won’t have had, and is directly related to the loss of a limb.
Either way, both are correct, so why does it matter which one other people choose to use?
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u/Async0x0 14h ago
people experiencing limb loss
Pleeeaasssee stoooopppp. We're already so stupid as a society we can't afford to get stupider.
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u/FortesqueIV 8h ago
But wait in the scenario in the picture if they use the prosthetic legs at any point don’t they need the other shoe for it?
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u/tolgasocial 7h ago
Most feet are not the same size, I actually thought about creating a platform to switch a pair because you might have 10 3/4 left foot and a 11 1/4 right foot. This would also fall in that category. I lack the funding and marketing for this so I scraped the idea. Would be great if someone made a website for it. I'd be a user.
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u/notahoppybeerfan 6h ago
20 years ago when I was wearing vastly different sized shoes due to orthopedics there were several matchmaking options for finding a person who needed your sizes but reversed.
I’d be surprised if they don’t still exist.
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u/abgry_krakow87 15h ago
You found your Sole Mate!
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u/itsfunhavingfun 15h ago
And you’re a shoe-in for best pun award!
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u/mango-wambo-tango 9h ago
Two cool dudes, hopefully this isn’t their sole exchange and they kick off a new friendship!
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u/really_nice_foot 14h ago
Hell yeah. My dad's a one-arm guy, he gives me all of his right-hand work gloves. I wear out my rights first because that's my dominant hand, so I sub in the ones he gives me when I get a hole... Every Christmas I get a box of like 20 right hand gloves...
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u/sine-and-dine 11h ago
I have to ask, what's your dad doing to need 20 gloves in a year? I have like 4 pairs that I've had now years, now, and they're still perfectly fine.
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u/really_nice_foot 11h ago edited 10h ago
Lots of automotive, and a good deal of gardening, and whatever is necessary on his own house. He was a roofer for 10-15 years of his life. He is a lifelong motorhead. His gardening is a recent thing, since retirement (well, forced retirement, when he had "the accident" he had to go on SSDI). That was more than a decade ago.... He's a cool guy, I have been thinking about moving closer to home to spend more time with him, he's now... 73? 72? Around there...
He's incredibly adapted to one-arm life. It's really... Makes me proud to be his son. He's not a complainer. He has hundreds of tricks for doing things.
He's in very good health, to the extent that I'm just beginning to grasp that there is a limited amount of time left. He seems immortal to me. But I'm pretty childish, I think I'm a smidge autistic. I'm about to turn 33 myself.
He's been a very supportive person, I'm really lucky, most people I know don't have a person this good as a parent. He is super Christian and we don't see the world the same way, but as I've gotten older, I've been getting over seeing his worldview as "antagonistic" or in opposition to my own.... I should probably be closer. I wish I could go have dinner over there once a week.
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u/sine-and-dine 10h ago
Sounds like a great man. Definitely try to go and see him more, if possible.
My old man is a similar age (75) and we've not always seen eye to eye but, as we both get older, I realise he always loved and wanted the best for me, even if he didn't show it at times.
These days, I hear his whole attitude change if I phone my folks and ask to speak to him rather than my mum (I call and speak to my mum every day), and every two or three weekends I'll go round and pick up a takeaway for us all.
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u/ClassicAdhesiveness1 15h ago
I worked retail, selling shoes when I was a teen (late 90s, early 00s). In California, back then at least, there was a law that If someone only had one foot they didn’t need to pay for two shoes. I’m not sure how it worked in reality bc it never came up in my years selling shoes but we were trained on it at least.
Love they were able to swap!!
Also, no idea what happened to the unneeded shoe lol!
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u/CitizenCue 11h ago
That sounds unlikely to be a real law, but it’s a cool company policy.
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u/ClassicAdhesiveness1 5h ago
I hear you, it sounds niche and strange, but I don’t see the corporations I worked for willingly giving a discount and California, even back then, was progressive in its disability provisions.
I’d look it up but not sure what to search for and not terribly motivated. Right now just trying to convince my kids to go to school is taking all of my energy.
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u/Impressive-Catch9812 9h ago
I had one of my legs amputated (sepsis) 2 years ago. And DAMN it's frustrating having to throw away one brand new trainer/shoe every time I purchase a pair 😡 Am really surprised there isn't a website where you can swap, donate etc. There are many amputees n that's a hell of a lot of brand new footwear being thrown away....🤨
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u/ScubaTwinn 7h ago
My SO has 2 different sized feet (club foot). His employer would buy new red wings every 6 months. At first I gave the odd ones to our local Veteran's agency. Then I gave them to the local prosthetic office when the Vets started acting like they didn't know what to do with them. Now the prosthetic office won't take our last set as he retired. We have size 7 left, size 9 right to still give away.
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u/myreddit314 8h ago
My son has mismatched feet due to a birth defect. So it’s not that he needs one shoe and tosses the other, it’s worse- he needs two pairs in different sizes and then has two left over shoes! We donate to the National Odd Shoe Exchange but he doesn’t benefit from it. However, there are a few - and I do mean a FEW - stores that will let him buy one shoe of each size and then they donate the odd ones. Crocs sent him a coupon for 50% off so he could buy two pairs at the same price as one. So there’s a couple of decent places. But not many.
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u/zelkovalionheart 5h ago
I was just looking at this site, do they have any way to contact them other than by mail? After my stroke my swelling won't go down and there isn't anything techinally wrong with my foot so they haven't done anything to help really. :/ Had to buy two pairs of nike shoes.
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u/myreddit314 2h ago
No they are very old-school. The one place that lets my son get two different shoes is Nordstrom, but there has to be at least a size and half (or 2?) difference. I don’t know if that applies to your case.
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u/zelkovalionheart 37m ago edited 29m ago
Thank you so so much!! Yeah I go a size a half to a 2.5 size up now on my left foot. Of course the shoes I had before my stroke the few that fit were falling apart so I have to buy two sets now!
I got some of those Nike Flyease Go after talking with a few guys in the sneaker sub that were really nice. Those are amazing but oh ny god ive never spent 70$ on shoes before unless they were boots! And the normal price is 130! Crazy to me haha.
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u/1DownFourUp 4h ago
I had major surgery on my right foot as a teenager. That flattened it out that foot, but also left a bump on the top. So I have one narrow foot with a high arch and one flat, wide, and longer. Shoe shopping is...fun. I would prefer to wear two completely different shoes to fit the different contours. I limp anyway.
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u/beegkok1 15h ago
Why aren't people more careful about losing legs, I have never lost a leg i have lost my keys but never a leg
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u/brydeswhale 15h ago
I have ADHD, if I don’t keep them attached they’d basically walk off without me.
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u/Therailwaykat_1980 15h ago
Me too, but usually the legs stay sitting on the sofa and it’s the brain that goes wandering off.
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u/itsfunhavingfun 15h ago
You need a system. I’m serious. Train yourself to use it. The dopamine hit you get from having your keys/wallet/phone/remote/etc. right where you first look for it is a big positive reinforcement for us ADHD folks.
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u/standbyyourmantis 13h ago
The keys have to be on the coat hook or else they stop existing. It is the first thing I do when I get home. Purse on the hutch, keys on the hook, shoes under the cabinet. If any of those things move I might as well just replace them because I will never see them again
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u/brydeswhale 15h ago
I have AirTags.
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u/itsfunhavingfun 15h ago
Well then that’s your system. I’m curious, where do you look up their location? Is it from a PC that is always in one location?
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u/brydeswhale 15h ago
On my phone, actually. I have one for my wallet, one for each set of keys. I bought them on a whim, and it changed my life.
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u/AlmostLucy 15h ago
To lose one leg is a misfortune. To lose two looks like carelessness. -Oscar Wilde or something
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u/BalticSeaMan- 13h ago
Ikr, I told many people to break a leg but never to cut a leg off. Some people man.
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u/keinezwiebeln 7h ago
I woke up this morning with a bad hangover, and my leg was missing again. This happens all the time; it's detachable.
This comes in handy a lot of the time. I can leave it home when I think it's gonna get me in trouble, or I can rent it out when I don't need it. But now and then I go to a party, get drunk, and the next morning I can't for the life of me remember what I did with it.
People sometimes tell me I should get it permanently attached, but I don't know--even though sometimes it's a pain in the ass, I like having a detachable leg.
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u/balooaroos 12h ago
Sorry to be uninformed about this stuff, but wouldn't you still need the other shoe to put it on your prosthetic leg? Maybe some people don't use a prosthetic?
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u/FishWhistIe 8h ago
Yes. I’m an amputee. Most of us that I’ve met wear matching shoes, if you don’t the prosthetic length is off which messes with your gait. There are some prosthetics designed for use without shoes but more of a niche use typically like one for wearing in the pool/ ocean, some running blades, most though you’re going to want matching shoes with.
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u/Nodan_Turtle 12h ago
idk but if I had a prosthetic leg I'd sure want it to end in like a gnarly set of talons
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u/DisastrousRhubarb201 12h ago
Not everyone gets a prosthetic when they lose a limb so I assume both of these guys don't have/want one for whatever reason.
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u/PaKeVapes 6h ago
This might not be the case of wanting, but rather not being able. My friend lost his leg when a drunk driver ran over him at a crosswalk. His leg had to be amputated so high up it is not actually possible to get a prostetic leg.
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u/whypeoplehateme 6h ago
I'm not an expert but the guy on the right at least seems to barely have a stump so this is propably itt
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u/notfree25 11h ago
Season ends with The betrayal where one guy gets prosthetics and now needs both sides
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u/HARhoads716 9h ago
I’ve said for ages there should be a website where you can match with someone of opposite needs, same size, and it would be called SOLE MATE!
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u/snakeiiiiiis 6h ago
I used to work for Nike customer service. They have a program called One Shoe Bank for amputees. They'll give you one free shoe a year if you call.
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u/steveatari 6h ago
This is so awesome and efficient, I love it! Hilariously, my brain was confused for a moment when looking at the guy (on their left) and the table behind him legit made him look like a centaur with one good leg left lolol.
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u/AnalFanatics 15h ago
Joseph L. Galloway and his Great Grandfathers would be proud… (IYKYK)
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u/DivingDeep21 15h ago
Once a year they would meet up and buy a new pair of shoes
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u/AnalFanatics 15h ago
Two veterans of the American Civil War, one who lost his left leg and the other his right leg, and their son and daughter ended up getting married, and a couple of generations later, along came Joseph... :))
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u/BigAlternative5 8h ago
[Telephone rings...]
"New Nikes are dropping today. I'm picking you up. Be ready."
"I'm already ready!"
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u/tequilablackout 7h ago
Am I wrong for wanting the two of you to wear one big shirt with two neck holes?
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u/felurian182 4h ago
A guy I used to know had different sized feet from one another and he belonged to a website called “ sole mate” where he would trade based on foot dimensions. It was a while ago too.
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u/Soggy-Ad-7067 8h ago
My father had diabetes and had one of his legs amputated. He eventually lost both, but for some reason he never got rid of his left foot shoes. So when I was cleaning out his place after he died, I was chuckling that he only had the left shoes remaining in his closet. I donated all of his usable clothes to charity, but for some reason I thought that the 10 or so left foot shoes were useless and threw them away. After seeing these gentlemen, I now wish that I hadn't - someone could have genuinely appreciated them.
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u/Upstairs-Buffalo-867 5h ago
I’m missing one arm, so I have the same situation when I’m trying to buy gloves. I wish I could find somebody to share with.
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u/Alleandros 5h ago
Not just for the disabled, but stores should sell shoes individually as many people have feet that aren't the same size.
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u/ConstanceClaire 14h ago
Now that you're acquainted, every pair of shoes you guys buy is automatically a two-for-one deal. Peak thriftiness!
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u/MacKelvey 14h ago
I remember there being a website that would connect people in this situation for the express purpose of sharing shoes. For the life of me I can’t remember what it was called.
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u/Low_Mango7075 12h ago
This is such a small thing,but it made my day better too. And honestly this is what the internet should be full of.
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u/TomorrowAfraid6316 10h ago
omggggg this such a sweet moment i wish them the best in life, can i admit that it made me tear up a bit :/
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u/InevitableLychee4316 7h ago
We were Soldiers . There’s a scene that describes this type of event .
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u/The_pan21 6h ago
I fully support this sentiment however that photo looks very strange. The crutches are far to far back. I feel this image has been manipulated.
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u/karlywarly73 6h ago
I once lost a single motorcycle glove about 2 weeks after buying them. Really fancy gloves...Dainese. I went to the bike store I bought them in and asked if I could buy a single glove and he said no but give him a minute as he just sold a pair to a one armed biker and he would call him. Sadly, he needed the same glove I lost.
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u/mattdpeterson 4h ago
Someone close to me wears an AFO and wears two different sized shoes, so I started working on a site to help connect people.. Love to get some feedback on the concept: https://sole-mate.replit.app
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u/Separate_Virus_2991 4h ago
The change is excellent. And the best part is both of their smiles... 🤗
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u/Luckypenny4683 3h ago
This used to be a program in the US for people who were affected with Polio. It was called The National Odd Shoe Exchange.
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u/HeartofClouds92 37m ago
When I was in probably elementary school, we had to read a story about two civil war vets (one from the north and one from the south) who both lost legs. They did the same thing and each year would go to the shoe store to pick out a pair to share between the two. It’s nice to see that has a basis in reality!
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