Josef was born in 1942 in Krakow, Poland.  When he was7 he had a serious fracture of his upper left leg as aresult of falling from a tree.  Medical facilitieswere not good and his family were poor and minus a father, as he'd been killed during the war.
His legwas set but obviously not correctly, as after the event his femur never grew at all.  His left leg from the knee down continued to grow pretty much at the rate of his right leg, which was unaffected except for a fractured ankle, which also never 'righted' itself properly, the foot developing over time an inwardsturn, and a tendency to 'roll over' on the outside ofthe heel.

When he had stopped growing he stood 6ft 1 inch in height, but because his femur ceased developing at age7 after his accident, his left leg is some 11/12
inches shorter than the right.  I measured it as acurately as I was able by asking him to lay on hisfront, I then moved his hips until they appeared
balanced, and then measured from the base of his left heel to the base of his right heel.  It was between 11 and 12 inches.

In 1964 Josef got out of Poland.  The communist authorities in Eastern Europe were fairly relaxedabout allowing 'uselss' non-productive members of
society to escape west, and Josef being crippled was of no use to them.  He'd trained and worked as a tailor, not a trade which was considered vital.  He finally made his way during 1965 into the UK.
He found work in London  as a tailor. By 1976 he obtained
British citizenship.
 His short left leg apart, he's enjoyed good health throughout his life and has never really used the services of Doctors or the NHS.  Though he has lived
in the same part of London in the same rented flat since he arrived here in the 60's, on the few occasions he ever felt very unwell he simply went to the local hospital.
He was of course appointed a surgery and Doctor, but He retains an innate fear (ordistrust anyway) of anything that seems 'official,' a hangover from being brought up in communist post-war Poland, and even Doctors Surgeries are therefore 'suspect' as far as he's concerned.  I gather that
anything which may have been sent through the post to him from his surgery he either didn't understand, or, it's not being a 'bill' requiring payment, he would just throw away.

Surprising as it may seem, from childhood until 1999, Josef had never worn any surgical equipment.  He had managed to walk around using crutches.  Effectively as his left leg is so short and never touched the ground
(some 12 inches is a big drop) he walked like a manwith one leg, relying completely on his crutches and fairly strong right leg for all mobility.

In early '99 he came down with a severe bronchial infection which neccessitated hospitalisation.  For once he was unable to avoid the attentions of 'offficialdom.'  It was during this spell in hospital that the fact he had no orthopaedic devices for his left leg finally caught the 'authorities' attention.
They explained what they wanted to do for him in this respect despite his  telling them that he was alright with just his crutches.  However as a somewhat captive audeince at the hospital for seven weeks, matters were
set in progress,the result being that later in 1999 he received his first ever surgical footwear and a full length calliper.  The calliper is required because as his short leg had only ever swung through the air when he walked with his crutches, it is pretty much atrophied and unable therefore to bear any weight.
He says it took him quite a long time to get used to walking with the aid of the surgical boot and calliper, but he found that walking without crutches
after a lifetime of using them and being able to use both of his legs was a "good thing" for him.  He now uses only a hand-gripped walking stick to assist with him ambulation.

Josef being Josef, I am sure that he would have had follow-up mail from either his Docs surgery or the Othrotists within 2 to 3 years of his receiving his first appliances.  However if he did, he didn't
understand what was written, and such correspondence not being bills, it would have been thrown away.

It was in 2003 therefore that with new systems being established at the surgery he was a patient with, and 'nurse visits' following through patients with whom the surgery seemed to have no contact, a visiting nurse from the practice arrived at his address and went through various matters with him in person, also addressing the fact he was very much overdue
replacement orthopaedic equipment.  Within a few months of this visit during 2003 he received a new boot and shoe and a new calliper.  He has worn the 'new' boot and shoe, alternating it with his old boot
and shoe, but the new calliper from 2003 he's never yet worn as he says the "old one" is so "comfy."