Today I got a temporary handicapped parking placard. My feet were very happy about this. I love to walk, but right now, my feet get so tired, I start sweating. Aren't you glad I told you this?
I presume the doctor thinks that within 90 days, things will get better. Otherwise, he would have given me a form for a new license plate. Part of my right foot will not get better, but since it's numb, it doesn't bother me at all.
After I got the placard, as I was driving out of the mall (yes, the Department of Motor Vehicles is in a mall), I realized that I needed some other things that might make my life a bit less painful. A pair of scissors for arthritic hands. Cooking utensils with rubber handles. An orange polka dot shopping bag with wheels and telescoping handle. Two more "PenAgain" ergonomic pens. I'd like a latex or memory foam bed, but I couldn't fit that in the car, and besides, it's a huge (HUGE) expense.
When I got home, my feet were aching quite badly. I've got a pair of new orthopedic shoes, but I haven't gotten my custom orthotic inserts yet. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I remembered seeing something about how lacing your shoes properly can make a big difference. So, I googled it. Indeed, there was a lot about this topic. Ian's Shoelace Site has 33 different ways to lace up your footwear (and more to come). The American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society has only four suggestions, but they are all different than the standard way that most of us lace our shoes.
Ian's Shoelace Site has more information on shoelaces than I could ever digest fully. Who knew? But I suspect if you scratch under the surface of anything, there's an obsession waiting to be discovered.
Meanwhile, I'm armed with new red shoelaces, laced up using the "Lock Lacing" method. My shoelaces were made by me, using the red cotton twill tape that held together the new tablecloth and napkins I purchased along with all my handicapped person gear.All I did to "make them" was to tightly wrap some clear packing tape on the ends and then snip them cleanly.
My, I went on a mini-shopping spree today. Thank goodness for Marshall's and TJ Maxx. Sorry, but if I had bought locally, that would have been an impossibly expensive bunch of purchases. Yesterday, I bought some Kinesiotape in a small local medical supply shop, and I spent ten dollars more than if I had bought it on line. That kind of difference really adds up. It's a shame, but the local store has just lost my business. I know they have to make a living, but it's important for stores to be aware when their prices are so drastically different than what's online.
This is getting to be too dry a post, so I'll wrap things up. Today, I finally started getting serious about accepting my physical problems. But, as Dick picked up my new scissors and said, "Everyone should have these", I thought, if everyone did, maybe we all wouldn't be visiting chiropractors and physical therapists by the age of fifty. And, perhaps if I hadn't worn impossibly high heels all through my late teens and twenties, my feet wouldn't be the way they are now. Ah well.
The thing is, though, I can't imagine not having worn those thigh-high black boots. Was it worth it?
Image note: Lock Lacing.
2 comments:
oh sneaky! The pic in my Reader was the pens.
Red laces?! Those aren't boots you're sporting, are they? :)
Wow, I had the wrong pic up for all of 30 seconds or so.
If red-laced boots mean something, I'm not aware of it. Should I be embarassed?
And no, I'm not wearing boots. They are brown shoes. They're sort of cool looking with a suede stripe down the middle, rather like bowling shoes, but without the two-tone (drats).
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