The next surgery I had was the Morton’s Neuroma on my right foot. A Morton’s Neuroma is a benign growth, if you will, in the toes or what they call intermetatarsal neuroma usually located in the ball of the foot. It is basically a build up of calcium and thickening of the nerves.
My feet are what I call “duck feet.” My ankles are little and the feet get wider and thicker as they get to my toes. Since we grew up with not much money or resources, we lived on hand-me-downs and cheaper brands of clothing and shoes. I usually wore other’s shoes.
Most normal feet are not so wide and thick as mine and my toes always felt squished. When I got older and saved money from working for neighbors and farmers, I bought my own shoes, but there weren’t too many at that time that actually fit. I wore them anyhow.
I was always on the move and when I’d come home from work or doing outside chores, Id have to rub my toes because they were usually pretty sore and sometimes swollen. Most shoes taper inward at the toes and you can imagine how scrunched wider-toed individuals suffered.
I loved going barefoot! I would even go barefoot in the fields, creeks, gradens, and across gravel without a glitch. My feet were almost like leather when I was young. That being said, I also stubbed my toes and dropped things on them quite often!
Some how I managed never breaking a toe or foot when I was a teenager. I am heavy-boned and I think that helped. That is, until a little later in life after our kids were born.
One day my daughter and I were walking fast to get ready for church and didn’t see or hear each other when we both came around a corner in our hallway and our feet collided. Luckily she had shoes but unlucky for me that I did not! I think I felt my toes move off track!
I called and asked our Dr. what they could do for broken toes and basically said not much but to tape them together. They were bruised for a while and wearing shoes made me cringe! But, I had to protect the toes so they could heal and forced myself to wear shoes!
By this time in my life, there were more shops that carried the correct width of shoes and my favorite place to go was Pacers and Racers in New Albany, IN. They measured my feet and I practiced walking in them to see if they were suitable for my feet before they even let you buy a pair! They fit me in an awesome tennis shoe and to this day, I keep buying that same shoe! It works!
I was wearing the tennis shoes when one day I was carrying a load of laundry downstairs to wash and tripped on the 4th step from the bottom! I still was not used to the bottoms of the shoe having ridges and our stairs are quite narrow.
Not only did that irritate my toes, but it also caused a partial Achilles’ tendon tear! Dr. told me I would have been better off if I would have broken it all the way. If I had, it would have been easy to heal. So now I had to contend with that same foot with the toes and the ankle!
I wore a brace on the ankle and I think that aided in more of the foot/toe pain. After the ankle healed a bit, I got tired of walking on my foot with a golf ball shoved under the ball of my foot! Well, there was not an actual ball there but it sure felt like it!
I did not know this Dr. who performed surgery on it, but he was recommended so I went with him. Now, I wish I had not, but have learned a valuable lesson to be studious when it comes to surgeons!
I now have issues with more Morton’s Neuromas in that same foot, but have an amazing Dr. who takes care of the feet and ankle! I get shots periodically to help alleviate the pain due to those and the scar tissue left behind due to the original surgeon.
Between the foot, ankle, and back, I wondered why a lot! I prayed asking God why and quite didn’t understand. Was I being tested? Was I being punished? Some days were good and a lot more just blah! But, I knew somehow as I did when I was in the hospital 6 weeks before our first born was due, that He was with me. I just had to trust Him!
