Finding shoes for the tallest man in the U.S. takes more than a trip to the mall; more like a trip across the country.
Igor Vovkovinskiy flew to Massachusetts on Thursday from Minnesota so shoe engineers at Reebok could try to custom build shoes strong enough to support has massive frame.
He's 2.34-meter tall. Technicians estimate his shoe size at somewhere between a 22 and 25 _ sizes impossible to find at the mall.
Vovkovinskiy's 16 foot surgeries in six years have left him a virtual shut-in. All, he wants, he said, is shoes that fit so he can get outside, walk his dog, and enjoy his life.
The damage to his huge feet came from wearing shoes that don't fit, said Vovkovinskiy, of Rochester, Minnesota.
“Every time I've had surgery and the wound began to heal up, wearing these same shoes, or the previous shoes that I had, would just open the wound right back up,” Vovkovinskiy said as technicians prepared equipment at a basketball arena for the shoe-fitting.
Medical insurers, Vovkovinskiy said, have ignored his pleas for help in paying for proper-fitting shoes and did not bother to respond to numerous letters that from physicians “stating that `it'd be a lot cheaper to make shoes that'd fit his body than to keep having surgeries.”'
Vovkovinskiy says his only shoes have no traction, making it “suicidal” to leave his home, particularly in wet or snow conditions.
“I haven't been able to go for a joyful walk for six years now _ that's something that I've missed and I know my dog has missed,” he said. “I look forward to just going for a walk with my dog, just walking around the neighborhood.”
Vovkovinskiy was at Reebok headquarters in Canton on Thursday for a complex shoe-fitting that involved, among other things, custom pressure-mounting equipment, imprints in bio-foam, a powerful three-dimension scanner to map the shape of his feet, calipers to take precise measurements of length, tape measures and a handful of technicians.
Reebok says it's building the shoes at a cost of $12,000 to $20,000. It has helped Vovkovinskiy before and hopes to again, the company said.
The size of Vovkovinskiy's shoes depends on measurements such as the length, width and distance from his soles to the top of his feet. Those measurements are particularly tricky with Vovkovinskiy because he has unusually shaped toes and feet because of his numerous surgeries.
It will take the company up to six weeks to create prototypes for Vovkovinskiy to try out. Then, they'll fine-tune them to produce proper-fitting shoes.
Vovkovinskiy, 29, is originally from Ukraine, but at age 7 moved with his mother to Minnesota for treatment of his condition, known as pituitary gigantism. He was 6 feet (1.83 meters) tall at the time.
Vovkovinskiy said his life changed when the series of surgeries started. That forced him to spend about three years on bed rest, during which time his muscles weakened and he gained weight.
“Living the last six years has been a nightmare basically,” he said.
Shoes that fit will get him outside and make a huge difference, he said.
“Basically, I'm a prisoner of my own house, even though I am medically cleared to walk,” Vovkovinskiy said. “Where am I going to go with shoes that are painful?”
The plight forced Vovkovinskiy to launch an online campaign to raise $16,000 to pay for a custom-fit new pair of shoes. He said he expected to take more than a year to raise the money, but social-media sites and news reports fueled interest from donors and he was able to raise the money overnight.
Then Reebok called, offering to help him again for free. Vovkovinskiy says he plans to use the money he raised online to set up a shoe fund for life.
“That means everything from boots in the winter to sandals and then, once I start applying for jobs, dress shoes,” he said. “I'm so overwhelmed by people's generosity. I'm so thankful.”
He is already looking forward to window shopping, going to the mall and even venture out to do things that friends talk about on social Websites.
Those simple wishes are rather ambitious for Vovkovinskiy who says he hasn't been able to fit in a normal car for about 10 years and “traveling by airplane is just terrible.”
“I've always had difficulties but, yeah, I try to make my life as normal as possible,” he said. “I try to do everything that everybody else does.” (AP)
<관련 한글 기사>
최홍만보다 큰 그가 6년간 집에 갇힌 이유?
미국내 최장신 남성인 이고르 보브코빈스키( 29)는 발에 맞는 신발을 찾기 위해 쇼핑몰을 둘러보는 것이 아니라 전국을 횡단해야 했다.
키가 2ｍ34㎝에 이르는 그는 쇼핑몰에서는 발에 맞는 신발을 구할 수 없기 때문 이다.
보브코빈스키는 3일 거주지인 미네소타 로체스터에서 매사추세츠 캔턴까지 날아 가 새 신발을 맞췄다.
거인증 판정을 받았던 그는 지난 6년 동안 바깥 출입을 못한 채 집안에 사실상 갇혀 살아야 했다.
이는 키가 커서가 아니라 발에 맞는 신발을 구할 수 없었기 때문이다. 발에 맞지 않는 신발을 신었다가 발에 상처가 나고, 이를 치료하기 위해 수술을 하고, 수술 뒤 또 발에 맞지 않은 신발을 신었다가 다시 수술하게 되는 과정을 반복해야 했다.
결국 보브코빈스키는 지난 6년 동안 16번 발 수술을 받았고, 애완견과 산책도 못 나갈 정도로 바깥 출입을 할 수 없었다.
큰 키 때문에 자동차나 대중교통 수단을 이용하기 어려웠고, 비행기는 아예 엄두도 내지 못했다.
웬만한 신발은 자신의 큰 키를 지탱할 수 있는 마찰력이 없어 신으면 미끄러지기 일쑤였고 비나 눈이 오는 날에 외출하는 것은 '자살행위'에 가까웠다.
의료보험회사에 수술을 계속 받는 것보다 자신에게 맞는 신발을 맞출 수 있도록 해주는 것이 보험료 지급을 줄일 수 있는 방법이라고 수차례 설득했지만 소용없었다.
보브코빈스키에게 맞는 특수 신발을 제작하는 데 드는 비용은 1만2천-2만달러(한화 1천300만-2천200만원).
보브코빈스키는 다른 사람들과 같은 자유로운 삶을 위해서는 새로운 시도가 필 요하다고 보고 새 신발을 마련하기 위한 온라인 캠페인을 시작했다.
소셜미디어 사이트들과 언론보도로 인해 얼마 지나지 않아 목표 금액 1만6천달러가 모였으며, 스포츠용품 제조회사 리복이 무료로 그에게 신발을 제작해주겠다고 제의했다.
캔턴에 있는 리복사가 그에게 맞는 특수신발을 제작하는 데는 6주일 정도가 걸릴 것으로 예상된다.
보브코빈스키는 벌써부터 새로운 삶에 대한 기대로 들떠있으며 자신이 모은 성 금으로는 특수신발이 필요한 이들을 위해 신발재단을 만들 예정이다.
보브코빈스키는 "나는 언제나 많은 어려움을 겪었고, 정상적인 삶을 살고 싶었다"며 "사람들이 이처럼 인정이 많은 데 놀라고 고마울 따름"이라고 털어놓았다.
