Feet Don't Fail Me Now
Feb. 27th, 2015 03:56 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
geeklover80Still haven't been able to find a shoe for the wedding. Jean and I went shopping again last week. I didn't think there was a point in going back to the stores we'd already been too, but since that was months ago, I hoped that maybe they got new shoes in. But it seemed like they had even less to offer than before. I talked to one of the salespeople and they mentioned that one of the problems was that a lot of modern shoes are so narrowly pointed and they have such short toe heels that barely cover any of your toes.
When it came to online shopping, I decided to try to broaden my horizons from just looking on Etsy, because the only shoes I could find on Etsy that I liked, and looked like they could work with my feet, are made in China and could take forever to ship here. I found a few other places online, but the pickings were still very limited.
I decided to go back to Amazon. I'd looked there once before, but didn't find many shoes that I liked, but I think I didn't look for the right type of shoes. This time I looked for bridal shoes and found a lot more I liked. I decided to go there because I'm an Amazon Prime member and get free two day shipping. I found a pair of shoes that looked nice and weren't too wide or too low. I thought they could really work for me. So of course when I put them in my cart and went to checkout, I found out they're not Prime eligible and aren't offered with anything other than standard shipping. It stated that it could be shipped anywhere from March 2 to March 20, which is cutting it too close. Usually when I get something from Amazon, it comes quicker than the latest date they say, but I don't want to take any chances.
After our first disastrous shopping trip, a week or so later Jean called me and she said that she'd called a doctor and said I should make an appointment to see someone about my toe. I wasn't really sure if I was interested. Mom took me to a doctor a long time ago, but I don't think there was anything they could do about it. So I haven't really thought about it too much. I've never even looked it up online. Other than problems with finding shoes, I haven't been too bothered by it. But I figured just going in for a consultation wouldn't hurt.
When we went in Jean said that if they asked I should say that the toe causes me problems all the time that way my insurance would cover it. Otherwise, they'd consider it a cosmetic surgery and wouldn't cover it. When the doctor came in, it's not that I had a problem with him but he seemed kind of tired and like he wasn't interested in dealing with one more patient. He prodded my toe a little, which hurt and looked at the X-Ray they'd taken and pretty much said that there was nothing to be done about it. He said that I was missing the metatarsal bone in that foot and the only solution he could think of was cutting the toe completely off. I was thinking "fuck that" I'm not loping off my toe to "fix" this.
Jean kind of kept arguing with the doctor. She said that she'd looked it up online and saw that there should be some way to lengthen the bone. The doctor said he hadn't heard of it and didn't even know what my condition was called. He said that he wasn't an expert and that there was another doctor I could go to, a surgeon, that would know more.
After we left, Jean kept going on about how the guy was a quack and didn't know what he was talking about. She'd seen how to fix it online. I don't necessarily think doctors are infallible, but I pointed out that maybe a doctor knows more than a couple of people online.
But when we got home she showed me some websites which had tons of pictures of people with feet that looked exactly like mine. A lot of them had surgery to fix the problem and it worked. I found out that my toe problem had an official name - brachymetatarsia. I looked on the website and it did mention that not only does the situation cause problems with finding proper footwear (it stated that you have to find footwear with extra depth and make sure the shoe doesn't put pressure on the shortened toe), but that it causes problems with posture and that it could cause problems with other toes over time because when you walk pressure isn't being properly placed on the fourth toe and the third and fifth toe have added pressure on them.
It could seem like, if I was a candidate surgery could be the way to go, BUT the website also mentioned that after surgery you can't put any weight on the repaired foot for three months and then have to wear some special snug lace-up shoe. That is a long time to be hobbling around on crutches or whatever I'd have to do.
When it came to online shopping, I decided to try to broaden my horizons from just looking on Etsy, because the only shoes I could find on Etsy that I liked, and looked like they could work with my feet, are made in China and could take forever to ship here. I found a few other places online, but the pickings were still very limited.
I decided to go back to Amazon. I'd looked there once before, but didn't find many shoes that I liked, but I think I didn't look for the right type of shoes. This time I looked for bridal shoes and found a lot more I liked. I decided to go there because I'm an Amazon Prime member and get free two day shipping. I found a pair of shoes that looked nice and weren't too wide or too low. I thought they could really work for me. So of course when I put them in my cart and went to checkout, I found out they're not Prime eligible and aren't offered with anything other than standard shipping. It stated that it could be shipped anywhere from March 2 to March 20, which is cutting it too close. Usually when I get something from Amazon, it comes quicker than the latest date they say, but I don't want to take any chances.
After our first disastrous shopping trip, a week or so later Jean called me and she said that she'd called a doctor and said I should make an appointment to see someone about my toe. I wasn't really sure if I was interested. Mom took me to a doctor a long time ago, but I don't think there was anything they could do about it. So I haven't really thought about it too much. I've never even looked it up online. Other than problems with finding shoes, I haven't been too bothered by it. But I figured just going in for a consultation wouldn't hurt.
When we went in Jean said that if they asked I should say that the toe causes me problems all the time that way my insurance would cover it. Otherwise, they'd consider it a cosmetic surgery and wouldn't cover it. When the doctor came in, it's not that I had a problem with him but he seemed kind of tired and like he wasn't interested in dealing with one more patient. He prodded my toe a little, which hurt and looked at the X-Ray they'd taken and pretty much said that there was nothing to be done about it. He said that I was missing the metatarsal bone in that foot and the only solution he could think of was cutting the toe completely off. I was thinking "fuck that" I'm not loping off my toe to "fix" this.
Jean kind of kept arguing with the doctor. She said that she'd looked it up online and saw that there should be some way to lengthen the bone. The doctor said he hadn't heard of it and didn't even know what my condition was called. He said that he wasn't an expert and that there was another doctor I could go to, a surgeon, that would know more.
After we left, Jean kept going on about how the guy was a quack and didn't know what he was talking about. She'd seen how to fix it online. I don't necessarily think doctors are infallible, but I pointed out that maybe a doctor knows more than a couple of people online.
But when we got home she showed me some websites which had tons of pictures of people with feet that looked exactly like mine. A lot of them had surgery to fix the problem and it worked. I found out that my toe problem had an official name - brachymetatarsia. I looked on the website and it did mention that not only does the situation cause problems with finding proper footwear (it stated that you have to find footwear with extra depth and make sure the shoe doesn't put pressure on the shortened toe), but that it causes problems with posture and that it could cause problems with other toes over time because when you walk pressure isn't being properly placed on the fourth toe and the third and fifth toe have added pressure on them.
It could seem like, if I was a candidate surgery could be the way to go, BUT the website also mentioned that after surgery you can't put any weight on the repaired foot for three months and then have to wear some special snug lace-up shoe. That is a long time to be hobbling around on crutches or whatever I'd have to do.
