Leg Braces

When I was young, I was bow legged.  This condition made my legs appear be bowed-out, thus my knees were always wide apart even when my ankles were together.  Picture a cowboy that gets off his horse, but he is walking as if he were still on his horse.  The opposite of being bow legged is called knock kneed and then you would have a large gap between your feet, while you are standing with your knees together.  The bow legged condition is common for some babies, because of them being squished up inside the womb, but I was five years old when my condition manifested itself.  I don’t think that anyone ever made fun of me, other than the odd comment of where did I park my horse, or something about rolling a barrel between my legs, but it caused concern for my parents, as they felt if this condition was not treated, it could get worse as I grew up.

The solution after my doctor visit was leg braces and nasty medicine.  This was a nocturnal treatment given to me every night in my bed and I guess I endured this for about six months till my condition was finally corrected.  My Dad had the job of strapping the braces on my legs and of course I did not like them and then my Mom was the one who made sure that I swallowed my medicine, which tasted awful.  My Dad got tired of me squirming around as he was trying to put my leg braces on and he would scold me to remain still, so he could do his job.  I would always close my mouth shut when my Mom was spoon feeding me that horrible medicine and she also had to yell at me to just grin and bear it.  I cried every night till I fell asleep, but I knew that I had good parents who were only trying to help me and eventually I settled down in my bed for my Dad to do his job and I grit my teeth and took that medicine to make my Mom happy.