Happy Feet

I had to re-read my previous posts, as I have not been very faithful at blogging on any regular basis.  However, I am inspired to begin again by two bloggers who I have been reading lately.  The first is Frank, who lives in Portsmouth, UK and has dermatomyositis ... I discovered his blog while checking up on one of the Myositis groups on Facebook.  Dermatomyositis is one of 4 kinds of Myositis and I have polymyositis.  Dermato involves the skin more in its flare-ups and polymyositis means many (poly) muscles (myo) inflammation (itis).  The other blogger is Chris who lives in Winnipeg, in Canada and has scleroderma plus myositis.  Though they are both quite different people from me, they inspire me with their ability to blog on a regular basis, to survive through diseases and treatments, and to maintain their respective sense(s) of humour.

I've entitled this "Happy Feet" because my feet have been very unhappy for quite a while, and today they were totally pampered.  When I started working at O'Keefe Ranch in August 2011, I wore a rather new pair of shoes and immediately developed a black big toenail on my right foot.  Needless to say, I changed to an older pair of shoes which kept any more black nails from developing.  It took about a year for the black nail to work its way up and eventually be removed.  In the meantime, I went back to work in May of 2012 and looked around for a newer pair of shoes that was like my old ones from the year before (wide across the toes).  I bought a couple of pairs and one worked fairly well.  But something funny is now happening to my nails ... three of them!  Both big toes and the right "index" toe (next to the big toe) have gotten really thick -- too thick to cut through with scissors or nail clippers (both of which disappear from my bathroom on a regular basis).

As well, I had to get orthotics for my shoes in the summer of 2012 because a variety of issues were making walking very painful.  I discovered I had flat feet, even though at rest it looks like I have high arches.  The fellow who assessed me said that I had "small foot syndrome" and described it as similar to putting tires for a compact car on a big dump truck.  (This is not really good for the self-image:  although I have gained weight in the last 3 decades, I am not dump truck sized.  However, forgetting the self-image, the image did make sense).

I couldn't remember the other comparisons, so I had to look up what I had posted on Facebook in August:

 So apparently I have small feet syndrome, which is like having 14 inch tires on a dump truck. The balance on each foot is like a 3-legged milk stool where all the legs are different lengths. And the diagnosis of my foot problem is equine something or other. All these analogies mean that I have flat feet when walking ... also the only place I don't have enough fat is on the soles of my feet, so they are callousing to try and protect the bones. Very entertaining appointment this morning, especially watching the video of what my feet look like when I walk. (I am pleased to note that my ankles and calves look quite slim though). Orthotics, here I come!

I found out from my other blogging friends a wealth of information about myositis and other auto-immune diseases.  So I am not alone in not having enough fat on the soles of my feet (not sure what kind of club that would be if one was "joining the club"!)

Today, I had an appointment for a pedicure and manicure.  I had bought a gift certificate at the fundraising Silent Auction for New Hope for Widow/ers (and their families) in November and finally got around to making the appointment.  How relaxing and totally decadent it is, to have one's feet soaked in warm water, nails trimmed, feet and calves massaged, and nails "prettied up" with colourful polish. Admittedly, the polish was probably not necessary, but the rest of it was long overdue.  Oh, and the callouses on the soles of my feet were sanded down.

My small feet were joyous as they left the salon. They have not been as painful walking sock-footed around the house either. Thus, I have happy, happy feet, which also makes for a happy me.

In case anyone wonders why I can't deal with these nasty nail and foot problems alone, we have to go back to the whole weight gain and polymyositis issue.  While my muscle inflammation (which I have now had for more than half my life) is relatively under control with various medications, my muscles are weak. thus making almost impossible lifting the foot up to where I can clip nails or sand down callouses.  When I do lift up one foot to put lotion on it, it is turned to the side.  If I was trying to clip nails, this would only work for one foot, as I am right-handed and  cannot seem to contort myself into the gymnastic pose that would be required.  The weight issue comes into play if I put my foot flat in front of my thigh (this sounds awkward, but it works sometimes).  My stomach gets in the way of the thigh, which then obstructs the foot and any visual display of the toes.  I don't think any sharp things should be used by me when I can't see what I am doing.  I wonder how blind people manage to do their nails.  Perhaps they don't have weight gain sneak up on them.

Anyway, happy happy feet.  I'm walking on sunshine.