LIMBWatch Series- Jonathan Brocklehurst- Grandpa, Where Are Your Shoes? — The Question That Can Save Feet

Episode Summary

Where Are Your Shoes? Turning Family Conversations Into Diabetic Foot Surveillance | LIMBWatch with Jonathan Brocklehurst

In this episode of LIMBWatch, Dr. Gabrielle Hutcheson Donaldson sits down with Jonathan Brocklehurst MSc, MIRL, MRCPod, HCPC Registered Podiatrist, wound-care specialist, educator, and author of Grandpa, Where Are Your Shoes? for a powerful conversation about one of the most overlooked components of limb preservation: early observation and prevention.

Jonathan shares the journey that led him from podiatry and amputee care to wound healing, health literacy, and ultimately writing a children’s book designed to make diabetic foot education accessible across generations. At the heart of the conversation is a deceptively simple question:

“Where are your shoes?”

Jonathan explore how footwear can provide clues about what is happening to the foot—from abnormal wear patterns and pressure to rubbing, deformity, instability, and potential sources of tissue breakdown. They discuss why people living with diabetes and neuropathy may not feel injuries developing, making daily visual inspection of the feet and shoes particularly important.

But this episode goes far beyond footwear.

Jonathan explains why children and family members can become important partners in diabetic foot surveillance without becoming amateur clinicians, and how simple conversations at home can help reduce stigma, isolation, and health-literacy barriers. The discussion explores the powerful relationship between grandparents and grandchildren—and how a child’s seemingly innocent question can open the door to conversations about diabetes, neuropathy, footwear, prevention, and seeking professional care.

The conversation also tackles health equity and footwear affordability, emphasizing that effective diabetic foot prevention must account for social determinants of health and the realities of patients’ lives outside the clinic.

In a rapid-fire finale, Jonathan addresses some of the biggest misconceptions surrounding diabetic feet, including the dangerous idea that “if it doesn’t hurt, it isn’t a problem.” He also shares practical advice on daily foot checks, footwear, hygiene, and avoiding potentially harmful DIY foot care.

Ultimately, this episode asks us to rethink diabetic foot surveillance. It doesn’t always begin with advanced technology or a wound—it can begin with a question, a pair of shoes, a family conversation, and someone noticing that something has changed.

Because sometimes, limb preservation begins at home.

Where are your shoes? Check your feet. Check your shoes. Protect every step.