While Eric Kilburn Jr. was born in 2008, Rebecca Kilburn remembers the obstetrician’s astonishment at his feet. Now 14 years old, Eric is 6-foot-10, and has a size 23 foot, but has had to squeeze into size 22 Nikes that family friend Kara Pattison found a year ago for $29. Given that custom-fitting shoes are $1,500 per pair, Pattison proposed starting a GoFundMe page. In seven days, people donated nearly $20,000, and manufacturers, including Under Armour, Puma and CAT Footwear, offered to make custom shoes. The GoFundMe money will pay for a pair of dress shoes from Mauri Shoes and ones from an orthopedic specialist, as well as to buy shoes as he continues growing. To pay her gratitude forward, Rebecca has started a Facebook group called Big Shoe Network, and nearly 1,000 members have joined so far.
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