Tallest Man In World for Custom Shoe Fitting
Alexa Morales
Word Count: 324 words
Many of us just go to the store and buy shoes
that fit us. We don’t have many problems with getting shoes our size. But, on
Thursday, the tallest man in the world, Igor Vovkovinskiy traveled from
Minneapolis to Massachusetts for a custom shoe fitting from Reebok. He hopes
that this will lead him to live a normal life. He is said to have had 16 surgeries
in the past 6 years to fix problems created by shoes that didn’t fit him. Igor
is 7 feet, 8 and one third inches tall with a shoe size of 22 to 26. Vovkovinskiy
says his only shoes don’t have traction which makes it very dangerous to just
leave his house. He hasn’t been able to go for a joyful walk in 6 years and
just wants to take his dog for a nice walk.
Vovkovinskiy was at Reebok
headquarters in Canton on Thursday for a complex shoe-fitting that involved,
among other things, custom pressure-mounting equipment, bio-foam, a device that
takes precise measurements of length, a tape measure and a handful of technicians.
Reebok says it is building the shoes at a cost of $12,000 to $20,000. It is
hard to take his foot measurements because his toes and feet are oddly shaped from
all his feet surgeries. Igor is originally from the Ukraine but moved to Minnesota
for treatment of his condition, known as pituitary gigantism. He was 6 feet tall
at that time. He said his life changed tremendously when surgeries started and
forced him on bed rest for three years. His muscled weakened and he gained weight.
“This is a very sad story but very thankful for being who I am not having to
worry about things that I do normal” says Melanie Harrell, a student at Stoller
Middle School. “I am very surprised at how much it costs to make custom shoes
that big” said Courtney Gardner, another student at Stoller Middle School.
Information from: http://www.cbs8.com/story/18110689/tallest-man-in-us-in-mass-seeking-shoes-normalcy
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| Igor Vovkovinskiy and his dog he wishes to soon take for walks. |
Alexa, what a sad, but also heart warming story. What would take this personal story to the next level is discussing how this problem would impact a Stoller community member if he/she suffered from the same thing: students, parents, teachers & staff, or people living around Stoller.
ReplyDeleteMs. Clements