It was bound to happen...
I got good news/bad news from the podiatrist this week: The good news, my right foot is not developing a bunion like my left foot had. The bad news is that the pain I've been experiencing is due to a misaligned bone, the metatarsal bone of my big toe. The only way to correct this misalignment is to slice through the bone diagonally, reposition it to a better alignment, then pin and screw it into place. This obviously is a surgical procedure and I will have to stay off my foot for 12 weeks to recover. The surgery is scheduled for the week before Thanksgiving, as it was the only date the doctor had available.
Now, I always figured I would need surgery on my right foot eventually, based on all the problems I had with my left foot and the comment of my previous podiatrist that I had pronation (a misalignment of the foot structure leading to heel pain and foot pain). The X-ray of my right foot and subsequent physical exam demonstrated I actually had a 'neutral' heel alignment and not pronation.... but my right toe's metatarsal bone is rather higher than the rest of the foot, leading to the ball of my foot not resting on the ground like it should, thus pain. This also explains why the foot inserts I have been given over the years haven't done much to relieve the pain -- inserts adjust the heel position, which in my case wasn't the place of misalignment so nothing changed.
I'm being pragmatic about this. Having the surgery done now is better than waiting until I can't walk on my foot because of the pain, likely interfering with my business, which is still in its infancy now but I am confident will pick up soon. But this does mean I'll be stuck on the couch again for weeks without any hope of working in the kitchen for a time. I've yet to hear how much of a deductible the insurance is going to stick me with, so I'm worried about finances.
What this means in the short term is this: I will still make pies, up until the surgery and then wait until just before Further Confusion to do pie orders for pickup. I have just under one month to prepare for this, and I plan to make the most of it. Once I'm stuck on the couch, I'll be taking commissions (I'll be posting this to FA, too) as art doesn't require me to stand. I do have an art panel and table reserved in FC's art show, so maybe I'll make a little money there as well. So I'll be down, but not out!
Now, I always figured I would need surgery on my right foot eventually, based on all the problems I had with my left foot and the comment of my previous podiatrist that I had pronation (a misalignment of the foot structure leading to heel pain and foot pain). The X-ray of my right foot and subsequent physical exam demonstrated I actually had a 'neutral' heel alignment and not pronation.... but my right toe's metatarsal bone is rather higher than the rest of the foot, leading to the ball of my foot not resting on the ground like it should, thus pain. This also explains why the foot inserts I have been given over the years haven't done much to relieve the pain -- inserts adjust the heel position, which in my case wasn't the place of misalignment so nothing changed.
I'm being pragmatic about this. Having the surgery done now is better than waiting until I can't walk on my foot because of the pain, likely interfering with my business, which is still in its infancy now but I am confident will pick up soon. But this does mean I'll be stuck on the couch again for weeks without any hope of working in the kitchen for a time. I've yet to hear how much of a deductible the insurance is going to stick me with, so I'm worried about finances.
What this means in the short term is this: I will still make pies, up until the surgery and then wait until just before Further Confusion to do pie orders for pickup. I have just under one month to prepare for this, and I plan to make the most of it. Once I'm stuck on the couch, I'll be taking commissions (I'll be posting this to FA, too) as art doesn't require me to stand. I do have an art panel and table reserved in FC's art show, so maybe I'll make a little money there as well. So I'll be down, but not out!