Hello all and welcome to The Healing Power of Fashion! This blog is in connection with CastMedic Designs and will have helpful healthy hints, your stories about your healing processes and other things to help you through your healing time or just your everyday life!

To make it possible for us to have your stories, you need to send them! We love hearing tips and tricks from not only professionals, but those experiencing it as well. I will be posting my story of my time in a boot soon and the things I learned.

Stay tuned and enjoy The Healing Power of Fashion!
 

Let’s face it. Having to wear a medical boot may perhaps be one of a fashionista’s worst nightmares. But when you have a foot or leg injury and the doc says you have to wear the boot, you don’t really have a choice but to wear it.  Worse, you’re usually stuck wearing it not just for a day or two but sometimes even for months! So if you or anyone you know has to wear one, we have good news. You can still manage to look stylish with CastMedic Design’s fun, fashionable medical boot socks!

If you’re on the road to healing and wellness, you might as well do it in style, right? Well check out the Sock-It Fashion Line and find matching socks for your outfit.

If you are wearing something casual, for example, the Sock-It Fashion Liner in ZigZag Pattern is colorful and fun. On the other hand, if you are wearing something more elegant, don’t worry about looking ugly in that medical boot. You can still keep it classy with the Sock-It Fashion Line in Dressy Black.  If it’s your child who needs to wear a medical boot, you can still make it fun for them. He or she might not be as fashion-conscious as you are, but kids will love the neon colors or the bright options of the Sock Its. Just have a look at this sock in lime green and blue mesh. Why, there are also socks that his or her friends can write on it just like they would on a hard cast! How fun is that?

So yes, you don’t have to be stuck in that boring black medical boot and sulk at home. All you need is a little creativity and a little fun with fashionable socks for medical boots. With the right combination of clothes and accessories for your boot and the right attitude, you’re surely on your way towards healing in style! 

It’s hard to believe, but close to 4 million people a year in the U.S. are put in (very) unattractive medical boots. With a foot, ankle, or lower leg break or injury, there is usually a short stint in a fun, bright colored hard cast. Most kids actually like the attention of a bright cast and having all of their friends sign it. It eases the initial pain and frustration of being in a cast. It’s fun! Unfortunately, after a few weeks, the doctor cuts it off and all those fun memories become a heap of plaster in the trash.
 
The worst part actually comes next. The doctor then usually moves the patient to a walking medical boot for more mobility and faster rehabilitation.  That can last anywhere from four to eight weeks. Good news for the patient in terms of being able to move around quicker when the boot comes off. Bad news for the patient in that they’re now stuck in an ugly boot for a month or two.
 
Honestly, who in the world wants to walk around in a robotic looking boot? Certainly not kids, and especially not teenagers!
 
A big problem that doctors face is that the boot is removable. It’s probably a safe assumption to say that there aren’t many teenagers who have keep their medical boot on the entire treatment period. As soon as they are comfortable enough to walk, they ditch the boot. This can have major long-term implications and result in re-injury or even worse, permanent damage. So, how do you keep a rebellious tween/teen following “Doctor’s Orders” and stay in the boot the entire time to promote healing? 
 
You make the medical boot fun! 
 
What could possibly make a kid/tween/teen want to stay in their medical boot? How about if it looked like an Ugg Boot? Or what if their friends could sign it in such a way that they could keep it as a memento? Or they could put buttons on the boot that showed off their sports, hobbies, or things they liked?
 
CastMedic Designs offers 58 styles of fashion accessories for medical boots including faux fur cuffs, flowers, and themed buttons.  Kids can be fashionable, whimsical, and wear buttons that show off their personalities.  Strap-It Flowers and Click-It Buttons also have pin-backs and/or alligator clips for after-injury use.
 
Having an injury has never been more fun! 
 
Visit CastMedic Designs at www.healinstyle.com.
 

Fauquier Health’s Hospital in Northern Virginia truly offers a healing environment. It welcomes patients’ family members as part of the healing process. We would like to thank this personalized center for treatment for being one of CastMedic Designs’ retailers!

Millions of dollars have been spent in making this hospital a place of nurture and care. It is a beautiful facility with artwork on its walls and soft music in the hallways. The pleasing colors and styles of the rooms make patients feel as if they are in a beautiful home, not in an institution.

It’s not just the interiors that are worthy of attention. The food at Fauquier hospital is provided by The Bistro on the Hill. The Bistro has earned a reputation of fanstastic food in Virginia with their oven-bricked pizzas, gourmet pastas, and delectable cakes and pies! They make awful hospital food a thing of the past by providing great-quality food options.

Aside from the beautiful environment and great food, Fauquier Health has thought of every little detail to make hospital stay a pleasant. That includes having a concierge that is always ready to help and listen to patients and to make sure that patients are comfortable. It has ninety seven single occupancy rooms and each room has a bed for caretakers who spend the night. Talk about extra loving care.

All of these special services have made Fauquier Health a “Plane Tree” affiliate. The Plane Tree Model emphasizes compassionate and personalized care and nurture for patients. Fauquier Hospital is one of the first five hospitals in the nation to get this patient-centered designation, and is the only facility in Virginia.

CastMedic Designs is proud to have Fauquier Health as a retailer. Our products are available at Fauquier Hospital’s lobby gift shop! With its healing environment of excellent quality and service, CastMedic Designs has found a perfect place to showcase its medical boot accessories.

For more information on Fauquier Health, please visit http://www.fauquierhealth.org/

Thank you Fauquier Health for working with CastMedic Designs and for being one with us in promoting healing in style!

Mariah Carey and Demi Lovato Healing in Style No one can escape accidents and injuries – not even “A” List Celebrities. Poor Mariah injured herself on the set of her newest music video and it didn’t take long for her to wear her sling in style… the “bling sling”!

We can just imagine the uber-fashionable Mariah telling herself, “If I have to wear a sling, I’m gonna look good in it!”

You’ve got to love a woman who can take an unfortunate situation and turn it into a fabulous opportunity to show strength. Turning a sling into a fashion statement definitely gets two thumbs up from us. Just look at how she dressed up her injury here. If she can make a sling look that good, we want one too!

A few months ago young superstar, Demi Lovato, also ended up in a studded-out walking boot after a tumble at home. Forced to wear a boot, the singer chose to heal in style and rocked it at her TopShop performance even with a broken foot. Her black, studded walking boot matched her leather jacket and was definitely a hit. There is no reason to fear injury for angst of being unfashionable. You can read more about Demi’s injury here.

If you could break your leg or arm yet still go out and perform in style like Mariah and Demi, then you’re definitely on your way to healing success. Fashion can really boost your ego, and looking good can help speed up recovery.

These fabulous ladies definitely prove that healing from injury shouldn’t prevent us from feeling confident, looking good and still doing the things we love to do. This is one of the reasons why CastMedic Designs was born, and why we love doing what we do – continuously inspiring others to experience, The Healing Power of Fashion®.

Singing superstar or not, we look forward to learning about more stories of people who are making the healing process a little more tolerable with a bit of bling!

I can't believe we are celebrating our first year in business! It's been quite a ride! MediFashions have taken the medical and fashion industries by storm and our customers love to look and heal their best and experience, The Healing Power of Fashion®. It's interesting when you start a business you have reasons why you did it and then things evolve and there are reasons that bring you to work everyday. Without a doubt, what keeps me going every single day are the e-mails I receive from people thanking me for doing what I'm doing because I'm giving them the opportunity to feel good about themselves again. What I didn't know was that there are people who are in medical boots for YEARS! There are diabetics who are in Crow boots for the rest of their lives. These were once fashionable women who have been forced into awful medical devices for their health. Their stories are heartwarming and have brought me to tears. It is the most amazing feeling to know that I have brought joy to someone's life! I hope you all have the opportunity to do the same some day. There is no feeling like that in the world!

As for the last year, WOW is all I can say. We launched in February and in April were named a 2013 Leading Moms in Business by Startup Nation. After the Olympics, Gold Medalist, Jordyn Wieber, arrived home in a boot and got a gift of MediFashions from us at her doctor's office that she loved! In early November, I was invited to participate in an Inventor's Competition on the nationally syndicated Steve Harvey Show competing against 5 other inventors for a $20,000 prize. I won and that put CastMedic Designs on the map! Steve Harvey has been gracious enough to air two more segments about MediFashions and that has helped us get the word out and help the injured look and heal their best. In late November, QVC Host, Jacque Gonzales, wore our products on-air while doing a segment with Joan Rivers, AKA, Fashion Police and she apparently loved it! Well-known news anchor, Maureen O'Boyle, found herself in a boot for several weeks in December, and we had her on-air and looking fashionable. And we ended the year on the most amazing note with music sensation, Diana Ross, wearing a Strap-It flower while she performed for the President at Christmas in Washington. Did I mention that we just launched in 2012? What a year!

As for 2013, we started the year off right by being named the January finalist for the 2013 WomenInventorz Woman Inventor of the Year Award. We won't know who wins until 2014 but what an amazing honor. We have so much exciting potential for 2013 and want to thank you, our fans, for helping us spread the word and allowing the injured to look and heal their best and experience, The Healing Power of Fashion®!

It’s hard to believe we are at the end of 2012. As an entrepreneur, this year was full of amazing milestones for my company, CastMedic Designs. After being told by an industry “expert” that only 1% of all products ever make it to market, I launched the MediFashions line in February. The response has been overwhelming and I have found that my favorite part of my job is reading the e-mails I get from our customers from all across the country who have found us and then share the positive impact we are having on their recovery.

The one thing I hear over and over from our customers is, “Why aren't you in my doctor’s office?” I am excited to say that we are putting a distribution network in place and you should see us in doctors’ offices across the country by late 2012/early 2013.

The company has received some incredible recognition this year as well. In April, CastMedic Designs was named one of 2012 Top 200 Leading Moms in Business by Start-up Nation and just in November, I competed in an inventor’s competition on the nationally syndicated Steve Harvey Show and was selected by a panel of industry expert judges as, “Steve’s Top Inventor.” That award included $20,000 in seed money to further the development of the product line. At the end of November, we will have an encore appearance on the Steve Harvey Show when our products are used in an “Ask Steve” segment.

I can honestly say the year has been surreal! It truly does take a village and there have been so many amazing people who have helped me along this journey. With Thanksgiving arriving tomorrow, I am truly thankful for all of the amazing people in my life! Without all of you this would never have been possible.

Here is to an exciting 2013… Cheers!

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I can't believe it's Autumn! This is absolutely my favorite time of year! I love the cooler, crisp weather, college football, and there is nothing like the beautiful colors on the trees when the leaves change in Virginia.

This will be a busy month for me and CastMedic Designs. During the first week, I'll be training the sales reps at Miotech Orthopedic Group who will be carrying our line. Look for our products launching in doctor's offices in Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio (with more states coming soon!)

On October 16th at 11:00 I am so excited to be interviewed by Deb Scott on her radio show, The Best People We Know. You can listen live By Going Here!

Just a few days later I'm packing my bags and boots (medical that is) for Texas. Since we rolled out the line in February, I've been dying to put on a MediFashions Fashion Show and on Friday we'll be doing just that! I can't wait!!! We'll be filming it too so we'll post on the blog when I get back.The next morning, I'll be getting up early to film a segment on CBS's Kens 5 TV.

The following weekend I was invited out to Las Vegas to work with one of my mentors, Starley Murray, at Authors101 University. This is such an exciting opportunity to be with some of the biggest names in the publishing industry. My journey with CastMedic has been so serendipitous from breaking my foot to where we are now. I've learned so much along the way and had so much fun that I've been thinking about writing a book to share my stories and tips of product development and marketing. Let me know which title you like best, My Lucky "Break" or My Stumble to Success?

As always, Look and Heal Your Best and Experience, The Healing Power of Fashion®