Walking and wiggling toes well .....

Post #380 ....

Last week was a very good week and overall I am still doing well. I wore my boots several times to work and lasted as long as I could and then changed shoes. The heel is a little over 1”, which in the shoe market today is nothing, but I feel so tall in them. The big toe is slowly “getting the hang of it” and each time I wear them, it feels a tad bit more natural. My therapist thought I walk better in the boots than a normal shoe. I ran into Dr. B (latest plastic dr.) at church this morning and he didn’t recognize me because I was walking so well! I am thoroughly enjoying doing holiday things, decorating, baking, shopping, etc. ..... I love it all!

Pt was fine … we are trying to build stamina/balance by standing on the operative leg alone on a trampoline. We will likely take ROM measurements this week, but I’m not so concerned about those any more as long as nothing is regressing.

I thankfully think about my ability to wear a shoe, walk, and return to normal life each day. As I drove to work this week, I remembered how last December I had a cast and could only wear my “one legged tights.” I need to write a thank-you note and send some updated pics to the Dallas doctor …. although the last time I did that, things went bad about two weeks after he received it. I think we are okay now, as it has now been over 8 mo. since the 2nd tendon-lengthening surgery in TX. I continue to see multiple parents everyday that this is the first time in the past five years that they have seen me with a shoe on ….. many have to tell me “their” foot surgery story, which is always comical because no matter how bad they think they’ve had it, it is NOTHING compared to my story. The past three months have been the first time in five years that we have not traveled for medical care .... short of missing IKEA before the holidays, we loved being home and not packing and unpacking.

I’m still thinking about medical careers & using what I’ve learned to help others. I thought I knew what I wanted to pursue, but it is a rather new specialty and no college in STL offers the needed classes. We’ll see what God has planned for the year ahead, but I honestly believe I should be doing something w/what I’ve learned.

God continues to provide new blessings each day …. really grateful for no open toes during this chilly week ahead!

je