charcot cha-cha

DID YOU KNOW THAT “FOOT SELFIES” WAS A THING???

Actually, I think that it has really become a “thing”, lately, with all the social media crap…but my first foot selfie was around 1976….and I have off and on taken them ever since! It took me a bit of work, but I gathered up all that I could find, to present to you, my fellow Charcoter’s! I could not find my original first one, though it is no doubt buried in a box somewhere!…but I remember it, and the dorky shoes I was sporting, a pair of WALLABY’S! Remember those? If not, you are too young, lol!

Of course what is really special about this photo montage, is that I STILL HAVE BOTH OF MY FEET!!!!!! So I am free to continue the tradition and still take foot selfies with both feet “present”! ! ! ! ! ! ! (way big smile!!)

Not sure where this one was taken, but my guess is Catalina Island, Ca. I’m on a dock looking down…I was drawn by the width between the slats. Gonna fall through! Below is an example of proper snow footwear……

And what not to wear in the snow!! Flipflops in the snow?? What can I say! 🙂

This photo below, is not trick photography…I am not a ninja ghost walking up a tree! But rather, it is a creek I found in Big Sur, Ca….with a fallen log across it, so I had to photo my feet, natch!

I have saved the best for last…I spent many years doing black and white photography, and this image was part of a study I was doing. At the time I was drawn to the shading, and the composition of my two feet creating an “S” curve between the two of them, but now all I see is my freaking awesome arches!!!. LOL! Of course, I still have my arch on my right foot, but my Charcot Foot has sadly lost it…but it is actually coming back! My doctor said it may take some time, but it may come back into shape. Pretty cool, eh!

HERE’S LOOKING AT YOU, BABE!…….

OH!, (looking around and about quickly!) you mean, ME???? Yeah, M E ! !

In a sort of take-off from “A Christmas Carol”….let’s scroll back in time, and look at our past self. WOW! What do we see???!!! We see ourselves a few months back in time, mad at the fact I can hardly do anything from the chair of my wheelchair. Mad for my mom to be put out taking me to a store, and for her to have to grunt putting my wheelchair into the trunk. We see my past self being secretly envious of all those people dashing past me ON THEIR OWN FEET, in whatever store I might have been rolling about in….and you see the sympathetic glances from well meaning folks, which ironically always soothed me, proof of our Lord at work!!

I look back at some of my past posts, and marvel that I was so thrilled to be walking with my walker! Today, I am walking so close to a normal persons gait, that it really is just so astonishing to take that glance backwards, and realize how far I have actually come!! AND YOU WILL TOO!!!!

So, my point to you, my fellow Charcoter’s, is to always keep the FAITH!!! Have Faith in your lord, and often ask him for his help, he will provide if he can, and to also try to accept each day’s challenges, “one-day-at-a-time”, and take my own example as excellent proof that one can grow, daily, from one point in time that might be bad, to another end….an end that could have potential for a rainbow!

Carry on my fellow Charcoter’s, and hold your head’s HIGH!!!

I’M NEARLY GLOWING!

And not in a good way. Not in a flushed with love way, or new pregnancy way, or even in a too many glasses of wine way. No, I’m talking about the realization that I have had over probably 100 X-RAYS to my foot over the last year and am certainly glowing with radiation! That is a lot of X-rays, and come to think about it, I wasn’t always offered that heavy drape/shield thingie, either! Like half the time! I seem to recall having asked for it one time, and they said, “You’re not planning on having any babies are you?” And since my answer was no, that sort of put an end to it, no drape came forth. And I sort of shrugged it off as you know, not critical. But now that I use my brain a little (ouch!) it certainly makes no difference whether or not I plan on having babies in the future…I do kinda plan though, on not having cancer from X-rays!!! Sheesh! Well, I know I am being humorous about this, but this is all after the fact, so that is all one can do. Now just have to go through the years and hope no bad comes from it.

BUT! As a precautionary tale for the rest of you who are about to venture down the Charcot Foot road…make sure you are given that shield during your x-rays! I kid you not, when I said well over 100 x-rays! He wanted three angles each visit, which was several times a month, for 17 months! Do the math.

On a bit cheerier note, I am doing 1/2 mile walks daily, to acclimate to the level of walking I will be doing when I return to work. And my limp is nearly extinguished. Almost look like a normal walking person. A true miracle!!!

NEARLY ALMOST NORMAL!

Well, things have moved along pretty well, and I am quite close to my return to work and normal life! I am currently going through a bunch of red-tape regarding my returning to work, and no doubt you will run into similar scenarios when it is time for you too to return to work. My employer is quite large, and I have to be cleared through their medical unit before they will allow my return. They can see from my doctors list of restrictions and limitations that I won’t be able to do the job I used to do, but they don’t really have anything available that fits my criteria. I have to go on a month-to-month basis based on my doctors recommendations and do “light duty” at work until I can return to my prior position, or hopefully bid on the rare opportunities of a sit-down job. I will likely also be able to consider retiring on disability if there is nothing to accommodate me. It’s complicated and frightening, but take it one day at a time, and try not to let it get you depressed!

My physical therapy is going well. I’d almost decided to not attend my last group of sessions because I was finally walking without the cane, and about to return to work, so I wasn’t able to see the point. But I spoke to my therapist, and he convinced me to continue because I still need help with balance and walking without a limp. He’s super cute and we have a lot of fun in therapy, so ok, it wasn’t a hard decision to continue! Lol! I really do have to work on my walk…I have noticed that it appears as though I am drunk at times, like if I slow up, and start off again, there is a little side step, thing, (I don’t know, hard to describe), but it looks like I am teetering, or stumbling a bit. Kind of embarrassing! And I have a lot of fear to place all my weight on the foot when taking a step, which caused me to pick the foot up earlier, and this creates a limp. But, I know that in time it will work itself out, because just in the last few weeks my balance has improved and I think the limping is getting less. I really would like to find some kind of exercise I could do that will allow me to drop these excess pounds, but that won’t strain my foot. I think a stationary bicycle might do the trick.

Well, just be aware that even with your Charcot Foot improvements, there are still always going to be some set-backs, or bumps in the road. Try to stay positive and have a healthy outlook about your situation, and try hard to work around whatever obstacles are in your way!

BUMP IN ROAD….AVOIDED!!

W H E W…..the foot is fine! YAY! Now this means I am set to try an attempt to return to work. (yay????). After nearly 16 months off work, off my foot…this incredible journey has reached a smooth sailing phase! Not out of the woods, and quite frankly, never will be! You heard me right…and this is because I will always be susceptible to having the foot RE-Charcot….as well as my other foot being extra vulnerable as well. The fact that one foot Charcot’d, gives the other foot a 20% chance of Charcoting too…on top of just being vulnerable due to Diabetes. Hopefully with my lower blood sugars since this all started, and good supportive footwear, I can keep the Charcot Devil at bay!!!

So please heed this advice, fellow Charcoters, and those with Diabetes hoping to prevent Charcot foot …always wear protective shoes! Always have good arch support! Give up heels! If it does have a heel, make it low, and a wedge is better than a heel that lacks support under the arch section. Forget about bare feet! A cut to the foot is never worth the risk!! Ok? OK!

BUMPS IN THE ROAD…..

I hope the New Year is finding everyone well, and in a state of doing better, with our Charcot Foot condition, whatever stage you may be at! Myself has found forward motion and healing, in that I am transitioning into my orthotic shoes from my boot. And also a pair of men’s tennis shoes I bought that are a size bigger so that I can insert my custom orthotic pads….I cannot say it enough how exciting it is to be wearing normal shoes, and to be upright and walking!!! Am still walking with the cane, which I don’t mind one bit! However, I started to develop some arch discomfort in the last few days. I don’t know if it is pain, that only presents as discomfort because of the neuropathy…or if it is just discomfort, but at any rate I will be going in this week to have the Doctor examine it. Somehow I am thinking I have a broken screw, or a broken bone, or fracture…we shall see. I certainly hope all is well!! My mind kept trying to convince myself it is just a strained muscle…and I did walk throughout, sometimes it didn’t bother me at all, like a 2 nights ago I walked a few blocks…well, hopefully I did not exacerbate whatever it is! That is what stubbornness can do…sigh! But one must keep in mind, and I really have to put emphasis on this, that with the neuropathy, you cannot take chances like I have done these last few days…I am human and thus imperfect, but the lack of pain and sensation is the very reason our Charcot Foot condition gets as bad as it does before being diagnosed. One would like to think that as an advocate for awareness, that I could follow my own advice…but my point is that you might learn from my mistakes. Don’t be as stubborn as I…you feel something isn’t right with your foot, get right in to see your doctor as soon as possible! I am trying to do that myself, but being the weekend, one must wait.

Heed my advice, fellow Charcoter’s! And take good care of yourselves!

A NEW YEAR FULL OF HOPE!

Well, I want to wish everyone out there a happy 2016!! I have bounded into the New Year with both feet on the ground!! I am now walking with the aid of just a simple little cane, and it pauses me in wonderment at times! I am getting a bit of swelling, but not enough to be too worried about, next week is my 5 week check up and x-rays, we shall see then if my foot is bearing all of this newfound walking well or not. It has been a marvelous cascade of advances…about mid December I ditched the wheelchair on my outings, and transitioned easily to using the walker for all errands and shopping. Last week my physical therapist showed me how to walk with the cane, (my request) and have not touched the walker at all after that! I still use it at home, because I do not wear my big clunky boot all day, it makes my leg swell a bit. But I have been shopping with the cane, and a free hand to hold things, whoooohoo!! The other day I took a 1/2 mile walk with the cane and it felt sooo good! The only complaint was my wrist, gripping the cane for such a distance, but for that I could have walked 5 miles! I am wondering just how much walking is allowed, and how much is too much…but my theory is to throw everything at it and see what it can withstand…we shall see at my 5 week checkup. Mind you, I am aware of being cautious and not to overdue it too much. Hopefully my doctor will be able to clearly outline what my limitations are to be.

Speaking of Doctors, I am hopeful for the New Year that more of them will become aware of Charcot Foot and be on the lookout for the early signs and be able to be proactive in being able to properly diagnose , and treat, before ulcers and surgery are required!! I am hopeful for new surgical techniques and treatment options that can hopefully reduce a person’s down time. Being off work for so long can be financially devastating, so we Charcoters need to be repaired as quickly as possible! So, tell as many people you can about Charcot Foot, because the world needs to know about it. The more it is tossed around in conversation, the more common the knowledge of it will become, and it will no longer be so horribly mis-diagnosed!! My own mis-diagnosis lasted from May until October, when I finally developed and ulcer and bone infection…hopefully in 2016, that won’t happen to anyone else. We can always HOPE!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

Okay, sorry for the delay, Christmas and all! The shower experiment was a resounding success! It was a cinch to step my good foot backwards into the tub, and exit with the bad foot. I ought to stop calling it the bad foot, as really it is nearly good again! I am even starting to get an arch back! A m a z i n g! I am blown away, because I remember months back being so worried about the surgery failing, and here I am nearly walking again. Truly a blessing, and I hope for the same to all my fellow Charcoters out there in the world! As one orthopedic surgeon told me, it is best to try to reconstruct before opting for an amputation. Although I must add, that it is very unfortunate that in some countries the surgery isn’t an option as there are not enough trained surgeons, or there is government medical programs that just will not cover the cost of surgery. This needs to change because there will only be more and more cases of Charcot popping up as Diabetes is getting more prevalent.

I am now putting 100% weight on the foot, though still aided by the walker. The other day I was doing the usual walker-two-step, which is to say you take a step forward with the good foot, pause and step forward on the bad foot, walker in one place, and weight on the handles, then repeat…but I was in a hurry, and I just naturally broke into a continuous gait, and just like that, I was walking regular, pushing the walker in front of my in a constant motion, without any pauses or stops!! WOW! So now, I walk like this all over the place! My physical therapist even had me take 20 steps or so unaided, GASP! But I did it, and the plan is to go another two weeks with the walker, then ditch it for good!! Got a call from the ortho place, I guess I am to be fitted for a brace. Sigh, I don’t really mind, if that is what is needed for me to walk safely, so be it…but still I hope it won’t be so clunky I can’t wear skinny jeans, LOL! Also too, I am wondering how much it will hit my wallet for! But I am not complaining, for sure.

Well, that is it for now…I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas, and a very hopeful and healthy New Years!!! I recommend you go to YouTube and watch the Three Tenors singing “Silent Night”…lovely! Also, “Silent Night Around The World”…which is a montage of perhaps 20 different famous singers doing Silent Night. Really cool stuff!

THE BEST CHRISTMAS PRESENT!

As you well can imagine, my Christmas present this year is my foot, and still having it! I am so blessed to have made such a miraculous recovery, and I am so glad I chose to reconstruct my foot rather than have it amputated. With the uncertainties of Charcot, someday I may yet have to make that awful decision again, but with luck, faith and God’s will, and being extremely careful, hopefully I won’t have too!

My physical therapy is going very well, this week am supposed to put the full 100% weight on my foot! Am quite nervous about that, I might add. My therapy has been more sparse than it should have been, thanks to the long delays in communication between the insurance company and the rehab…they only approve 8 sessions at a time, within a limited time period, so one is constantly requesting more, and having to wait for approval. Twice I had to wait nearly a month between therapy sessions! But because of my go-go-go attitude, I end up giving myself my own therapy just running around town. And boy, what a difference being able to weight bear has made in my mobility! I even do some shopping in the walker now, though it is difficult…it’s just that I would rather walk in than use the wheelchair. After a year in the wheelchair, I have quite lost any love for it! Ha ha! Though of course, grateful for it’s ability to have allowed me to do my own shopping!

Tommorow I may try braving getting into the bathtub for a shower. Haven’t had one in over a year! Now, don’t go thinkin’ I’ma Stinkin’, LOL…I keep plenty clean with a daily sponge bath! But, if you are NWB (non-weight-bearing) too, you know it is impossible to step-up and into a bathtub. I’m not even sure I can do it now with full weight bearing, it just creeps me out to place ALL my weight on my bad foot while I attempt to backwards step the good foot into the tub. This backwards idea came to me apon awakening and I am fairly sure it will work, using the walker to displace some of my weight. I will have to wear my big clunky boot for full arch support, but will put a bag over it and waterproof it with a rubberband. Gonna have to be quick, as the rubberband will restrict my blood flow somewhat and that is worrisome. The shower issue is one that has long perplexed me, and my therapist had given me some ideas, but I jejected them as too frightening, or impossible. But I do think the stepping in backwards, and then exiting forward with my bad foot first will work. I will skip washing my hair, as the part about closing ones eyes AND putting your head back to rinse is way too dangerous because you lose your balance this way. I am doing in the kitchen sink, and that works fine. Well, I will let you know how it turned out!

WILD WALKER!

Well, I could not have, you know, an ordinary walker! So I jazzed it up with some zebra duct tape! And a cute little phrase to warn people to get out of my way! HA HA!