A mom searches the world for the shoes her 14-year-old son needs. He has height 23 feet.
Like most mothers, Rebecca Kilburn wants to provide everything her children need, including basic necessities like shoes.
It turns out to be a fight with her 14-year-old son Eric Jr. The teenager is 23ft tall – for now – and her mother is desperate for someone who will make shoes that size at a price. affordable.
“At 14, he’s still growing,” she said. “Most kids this big and tall at this age have an endocrine disorder and he doesn’t. He has no health issues with exponential growth.
However, Eric Kilburn has health issues that stem from his inability to find the right shoe size. The 6ft, 10in freshman at Goodrich High School in Michigan underwent six painful procedures on his feet to fix ingrown toenails, which ultimately resulted in the permanent removal of the toenails of his two largest toes.
He also sprained his ankle this fall while playing on the junior varsity football team, which could have been avoided had he had cleats instead of just sneakers.
Eric hasn’t had crampons or snow boots for Michigan winters in five years.
“That would just mean having shoes that fit me,” Eric said.
Use Crocs
When Eric was born, the obstetrician who delivered him turned to her husband, Eric Sr., and told him that their son had the biggest feet he had ever seen on a newborn. , said Rebecca. The doctor accurately predicted that their son’s feet would not fit in baby shoes.
Yet Rebecca, who is 6-2, and Eric Sr., who is 6-5, never anticipated how difficult it would be to find shoes for their first years on the road.
When Eric Jr. was in first grade, his mother, who wears a 12 for women, could already put on her son’s shoes to go to the mailbox. By the time he was in seventh grade, the size of his feet had become a serious problem. Rebecca recruited close friends and family to be on the lookout for shoes in her size 17 at the time, and larger sizes in anticipation of future growth.
Eric would later endure two years wearing a pair of Crocs when no other type of shoe his size could be found.
He is currently wearing size 22 sneakers that do not fit him, found by a friend at a Nike outlet. At the time, Rebecca arranged to also buy six other pairs of the same size at the outlet for the bargain price of $25 a pair. All are now too small.
“We are not this size”
Rebecca has spent countless hours over the past year searching the internet and calling shoe manufacturers such as Nike, Reebok, Adidas, Under Armor and Red Wing Shoes, as well as independent shoemakers in anticipation of the next shoe size needed.
When Rebecca explains the shoe size she needs, she was greeted with disbelief and laughter. And a consistent refrain of “We’re not that size.”
Rebecca said she spoke with a Nike representative. He was told: “The only way to get a size 22 is if it was made for a professional athlete and he didn’t use it and it ended up being put back into circulation. “
Hometown Life, part of the USA TODAY Network, reached out to Nike on Thursday, and a media representative laughed when told a customer was looking for size 23 shoes. The company did not immediately respond to a request of comment.
A Nike representative told Rebecca that the only way the company could make shoes for her son would be if he became a professional athlete. Eric dreams of playing in the NFL. But Rebecca wonders how that could even be possible when she can’t get Eric, who would like to play basketball in addition to soccer, the proper equipment to play sports in high school.
Size 22, also the size that famed basketball player Shaquille O’Neal wears, is the largest size she’s found in a professional athlete, meaning her son even surpassed Shaq.
Eric’s size 22 has been stretched professionally, but now hurts and blisters. He needs at least a size 23, or even a size 24.
“It’s a weight on my heart”
Although he mostly loves being tall, Rebecca said Eric has had to cope with living tall in a sometimes narrow-minded world – from being unable to fit into normal seats on airplanes and rides to hurtful comments.
“He’s a wonderful kid and does well, but being tall and standing out isn’t always a blessing,” Rebecca said.
Or having shoes that don’t fit.
“It’s frustrating for his mother and not being able to find shoes, which is such a basic need. I can’t find shoes for my teenager. What can I do when his feet grow?” she said.
Rebecca has found a company in Italy that might be able to help you. She’s going to have casts of Eric’s feet made and sent overseas. She does not yet know what it may cost.
In the meantime, she’s taking the only route she’s found currently available: shoes made to measure by an orthopedist. The sneaker-like shoes aren’t as cool as Eric’s Nike size 22 and they aren’t as cheap either, at $1,500 a pair. The Kilburns’ Blue Cross insurance will not pay them, they said.
In the running for the world record
Eric has fun with the tricky circumstances, vying for the title of Teenager with Biggest Feet and Hands after submitting an entry for the Guinness Book of World Records.
“I think my chances are pretty solid,” Eric said.
What is everyone talking about? Sign up for our trending newsletter to receive the latest news of the day.
The current record appears to be held by Lars Motza, a German who was 16 in 2018 when his feet were measured at around 35 centimeters each, putting him in shoes size US 21 (UK 20).
The world record attempt is part of a family effort to raise awareness of their unique enigma and find someone willing to make Eric shoes at an affordable price.
“It’s a dream for him to have shoes, boots and cleats,” Rebecca said. “It would be wonderful…. It’s a weight on my heart as a mother not to find such a basic need.
Follow journalist Susan Bromley on Twitter @SusanBromley10.
This article originally appeared on Hometownlife.com: Michigan mom searches worldwide for size 23 shoes for her 14-year-old son
Yahoo
