Lizette's Daughters in Swift

We love hearing stories about how our shoes have made a difference in the lives of children and their parents. That’s why we’re here and why we strive to make the healthiest shoes for your kids. Solemate Lizzy Pepin took part in our latest Design Thinking Workshop and told us about how our First Walkers had helped her daughter, Lorelai. We were inspired by their story and asked her to share it with all of us. Take it away, Lizzy!

“Hi! Thank you so much for selecting our family! We are so excited and honored! My name is Liz and my wife’s name is Katie. We have three awesome kids. Everett is 4 1/2 years old and our identical twin daughters, Autumn and Lorelai, are two. 

I am a childhood cancer survivor of retinoblastoma, and unfortunately all three of our children inherited the mutated gene that caused my cancer. Everett was diagnosed with retinoblastoma at two weeks old and underwent six rounds of systemic chemotherapy. He relapsed 11 months later and underwent 3 more rounds of chemo. He is currently stable, but suffers from severe hearing loss from chemo. Lorelai was diagnosed with retinoblastoma at six months old. She underwent six rounds of systemic chemotherapy before relapsing five months later and undergoing three more rounds of chemo. Autumn is a carrier of the rb1 gene as well, but thankfully has not developed tumors. She goes for regular eye screenings and brain screenings for tumors, just like her big brother and sister. 

Lorelai suffers from neuropathy in her feet as a result of the chemo. She falls often because of the nerve pain in her feet. We had a very difficult time finding shoes that worked for her. We had originally found another company that worked, but they only carry baby sizes, which she quickly outgrew. We were left searching again for a supportive shoe for Lorelai. 

I am a member of several twin mom groups on Facebook. It was there that I wrote a post asking for help or advice on shoes. Numerous twin moms raved about Livie & Luca. I immediately ordered both girls 3 sets of first walkers. Lorelai’s life changed immediately. She was no longer constantly falling and bruising herself. She was able to balance and walk properly with these shoes. Her quality of life improved drastically. Her face was no longer covered with black and blues from falling. In many ways it helped our family as a whole, because we saw her confidence improve and our spirits improved as well as we saw her finally able to keep up with her identical twin. 

Taking part in your design thinking process was truly a gift. I am so happy that my voice was heard and that you can keep making awesome shoes like your first walkers for special kids like my little Lorelai. Thank you for making these beautiful shoes!”