Walk a Mile in my Orthopedic Shoes

Life is funny, isn’t it. Especially the aging part. Days slip by without you realizing that time is creeping up on you and then one day reality hits. A body part starts to signal that things are, to put it delicately, declining. It’s inevitable but it still surprises. Imagine my surprise then when seemingly out of nowhere, one of my feet started to be “a bit bothersome.”

Up until that moment I had taken my mobility for granted. I could walk, skip and yes, even run without any indication that something was amiss. Unfortunately, my slight discomfort soon became a limp and a nagging ache. My future was flashing before me and it wasn’t pretty. Would I ever be able to walk without pain? Were my 5K walking days over? Would the Sisterhood live to see another day, without me?

My past was also a concern. I have loved shoes since childhood. I wouldn’t call it an obsession but as you can see in the accompanying picture, shoes, particularly when worn with bathing suits and ankle socks was an especially stunning look. I took pride in my shoe selection and ability to match them with the appropriate corresponding outfit.

Determined to face these issues head on, I knew it was time to take action. I could no longer avoid the obvious. And that “obvious” was the fact that my bunions were impacting my whole foot. An orthopedic intervention was now a necessity, and so my odyssey began.

Lets Start With a Medical Opinion

This seemed a logical approach, however, my Physician offered only sympathy and a few suggestions which basically amounted to wearing soft squishy shoes. I was advised to return if things didn’t improve and she would refer me to an Orthopedic Surgeon. Wait, what? The word Surgeon implied surgery and I certainly wasn’t ready for that. A rather long delay ensued, while I hoped for a miracle.

You guessed it….no miracle and increasing discomfort. So, I took the initiative and scheduled a visit with a Podiatrist. That was an adventure in itself. That ugly word “surgery” was once again in the conversation. In fact, he was so eager to operate that he informed me he could schedule me for later in the week. And I was out of there in a flash!

So it was back to my Physician for that dreaded referral to an Orthopedic Surgeon. ( Stay with me here.) Surprisingly he advised that unless I was in unbearable pain, I should avoid surgery. And once again, I am in the middle of nowhere and limping so much that people are commenting.

Another delay ensued while I wallowed in self pity and I’m pretty sure put a lot of people into a near stupor with my tale of woe.

I Can’t Take it Anymore

My salvation ultimately came in the form a of a Pedorthist ( yes, that is a word). She was a god send. I was grasping at the possibility that orthotics would solve my problem and they were in fact, part of the solution. It was, however, those same soft squishy shoes that my Physician and now my Pedorthist recommended that took the gold medal for pain relief.

Once I stopped praying and started taking action, things started to fall into place. In fact, for a brief time it looked as if there might be an additional height benefit. It is no secret that I am vertically challenged and each padded addition to the arch of the orthotics had potential for increased height. Was it possible that I might break the 5′ 1″ barrier? Sadly, no. I am still only 5′ tall. 😞

Anyway…..I bought the soft squishy shoes and wore them from sun up to sundown. If they weren’t appropriate for social interactions, or looked ridiculous with my outfit, I wore my running shoes with orthotics. My pain decreased dramatically, however my well known fashion sense took a big hit. It was a sad day indeed when I resigned myself to the reality of orthopedic footwear.

🎵What’s Shoes Got to Do, Got to Do With It?🎵

So it is that in my world now, when faced with comfort versus fashion, comfort wins every time. I won’t bore you with my attempts to find alternate shoes that were fashionable yet comfortable. That is unfortunately going to be an ongoing challenge. Suffice to say, I spent hours on the internet and the images were either ridiculous or depressing. I am resigned to the fact that I may never find my happy medium. I know that I will never again wear high heels or “enclosed” shoes, but there are worse problems to have.

In the meantime, I am walking on air in my soft squishy ones, I think I can manage a 5K walk in the near future and the Sisterhood lives to see another day. Just another happy ending in the story book of life!

Betty Would Love That!

We plan on doing a new post every Monday, so stay tuned for our next one entitled “That Uneasy Queasy Feeling.”