I could easily fill 30 days of blogging with posts about getting older – every day focusing on a new ailment. (But really – who wants to read that?)
Over the summer months, the side of my right foot started to hurt. There’s a bone there (go ahead, find it on your foot) that was sensitive and painful. I was wearing lots of flip flops and pool slides, so perhaps that was the cause? When I consulted Dr. Google, it said I’d likely have to amputate my foot. And after 3 months of hobbling around in excruciating pain, I decided to get a second opinion with an actual foot doctor.
One of the many jobs I had while in high school was working in a foot doctor’s office. My job consisted of me standing at a counter for hours punching holes in pieces of paper, adding them to the patient charts, and then putting all the charts back alphabetically. This was the early 90s, so there were no iPhones/spotify/airpods/audiobooks to be had. I would have had to bring in my (rather large) Discman (!!) and wired foam headphones if I wanted to listen to music. If I had head phones on, I’d miss the juicy office gossip that swirled all around me. And, I wouldn’t be able to hear the misogynistic doctor who owned the practice walk into the area where we were all working, clear the phlegm from his throat while openly scratching his man parts through his thin scrubs yelling out patient names so I could fetch the charts for him. Did I mention how glamorous this job was?
While the doctor was an asshole who I would never let touch my feet (or any other part of my body) there was a sweet, young female foot doctor who also saw patients, Dr Wong. I have no idea how she put up with him, but she was quiet and professional and I liked her very much. Over the last 25 years when I did need a foot doctor, I did some sleuthing and found Dr Wong! She has her own practice in Cheshire and was always so gracious when I would go in.
I was four month deep in my foot pain, and it was bad enough that I had to go see my old friend Dr Wong.
I made an appointment and after having to cancel it twice due to work travel, I finally made it there in October. Dr Wong was thrilled to see me (her memory is unbelievable, she told me stories about myself I had zero recollection of).
She inspected my foot and listened to my woes and declared that I have tendonitis because my foot bones are off (?) and I’m overcompensating for something and pulling on the tendon on the outside of my leg. (This detail is about the extent of what I take away from a doctor: vague diagnosis and unclear cause). I left the appointment with a taped up foot (“Don’t get it wet – shower with a bag on your foot” Dr. Wong advised) and the insole of my sneaker doctored up with arch support.
Spoiler alert: that didn’t fix me. I went back three weeks later, and that’s when she really gave it me straight.
“Both of your feet are problematic,” she told me. “Your right foot the bones on the bottom are uneven and it’s pulling on your tendon. On your left foot, your foot leans in.”
“So what you’re saying is,” I say to her, “is that I’m falling apart? I’m old and my body is breaking down?”
“Not your whole body!” Dr. Wong exclaimed. “Just from your ankles down. The rest of you looks good – and you have great hair!”
As flattering as the hair compliment was, Dr. Wong went on to explain that I needed additional support in order to walk properly and pain free. She picked up my New Balance sneaker and folded it in half. “See this?” she said. “No support!”
“But those are actual walking/running shoes!” I exclaimed.
“This is just a sock with sole!” she said shaking my sneaker at me. True story: I love my New Balance sneakers so much – and they are so comfortable – that I have purchased the same sneakers the last 3 times I needed a new pair.
“You need shoes with more support!” Dr. Wong said, pulling up ugly, geriatric sneakers on Amazon. “Like these!” she said.
The sneakers she was showing me were pairs that my grandmothers (rest their soles) would not be caught dead in.
“And you need inserts!” she exclaimed, typing furiously into her browser.
With each declaration, her diagnosis and suggested plan of action got worse and worse. I sent this text message to Mr. KK:
It just kept getting worse and worse. Old age was now affecting my favorite feature: my feet!
I tried to explain to her that I wore a lot of fashion sneakers and other shoes (read: Rothy’s) that would not fit these bulky orthotics. But she had a solve for that too! Half orthotics that are perfect for “going out” shoes.
“Try these inserts in your shoes,” Dr. Wong instructed me. “And if those don’t work, we will try the heel lifts.”
If my foot didn’t hurt so much on a regular basis, I may have ignored her. But I was literally in pain 24/7, and limping around like an invalid. I already walked like I was 95 years old, so why not wear shoes like a 95 year old?
That afternoon, I ordered the old lady sneakers, and the insoles. I drew the line at heel lifts, because I was just not ready for that commitment yet. Today, everything arrived in the mail – stay tuned.
Life of kk 