You can straighten your toes but you’ll still be you

If you’re here because you’re considering surgery on your wonky feet here’s the thing…afterwards you’ll still be you…in fact you’ll be a little bit less ‘you’

Several years down the line you’ll forget about your ‘new’ feet, possibly even look at them critically because they’re not as pretty as so-and-so’s feet, or certain shoes still won’t look great. You’ll also (probably) find other perceived imperfections to worry about.

You may even lose a bit of your identity. Example: I used to get around the foot ‘problem’ by wearing slightly wacky unusual shoes… or boots with shorts and that was my look…my ‘thing’ – but post op I thought I should just wear Birkenstocks – like every other Mum on the school run. It’s taken this long for that penny to drop. It’s not an earth shattering observation – it’s a small thing….but it seemed worth sharing.

I’m not saying don’t get them done and I’m not saying I regret getting them done but if you’re umming and ahhing and decide not to go for it, realise that nobody else cares about your wonky toes… wear the shoes, paddle in the sea, love yourself as you are 😊

If you need cheering up, Google ‘celebrities with bunions’ and you’ll see the likes of Megan Markle, Victoria Beckham and Naomi Campbell – to name a few – happily displaying theirs in strappy sandals for the world to see…and if they’re good enough for a Princess, in front of the world’s paparazzi, you can stop hiding yours too 😁

Laid up and fancy a good read?

…then I highly recommend this fab bunion blog, go check it out 🙂

 

 

wow – almost 3 years!

I can’t believe it’s been almost 3 years since my operation.  It’s such a distant memory now.

I get the occasional ache in my left bunion (or where it used to be) and didn’t ever get enough movement back in that foot to be able to wear anything higher than around a 4cm heel, but I guess that was just bad luck as the other foot is completely fine. I don’t think I’d risk taking up running again but I can handle Zumba without too much of a problem.

So… if I was just to consider my right foot – which has healed as my surgeon intended and probably as it would for most people – I would say the result has been amazing. Full movement, normal looking foot and none of the day to day aching that was there so much of the time that I considered it normal.

Also they haven’t started to go back to how they were which is a big relief!

I guess this is how they are going to stay forever now so this really is the last post. It was fun blogging and with over 11,000 visitors and 50,000 (!) views, it seems it wasn’t a waste of time.

Ironically I’ve just stubbed my toe really badly…so badly that I yowled and hubby came running to see what on earth was going on!  What a note to end on 🙂

1 year update

Having realised it’s been a year now since surgery I thought I’d do a final final update with some photos.

I’m not sure how to put this…. I’m still really glad I had them done BUT they do still hurt a bit and the left one has been a problem as I got so little movement back. Standing on tiptoes and wearing heels are both a definite no no and I think always will be!

The scars are fading but I’ve never really been bothered by that anyway.

Here are some photos, one of them shows how little the big toe on my left foot can be bent back…

My only niggling worry is that they might come back and I couldn’t bear that. It still makes me really happy every time I look at them and remember what they used to look like 🙂

8 months down the line…

They still hurt a bit…well just the left one mainly. It feels a bit odd – kind of numb and a bit achey and it’s very fussy about footwear still but I can’t quite put my finger on what makes for a comfy shoe and what doesn’t. Heel height obviously has something to do with it but it’s not just about that.

The scars still look quite bad. I’ve been using HealGel – which is meant to be a miracle potion for scars – but I really don’t think it’s making any difference

Oh, and if I run I think I possibly look a bit like a penguin (slightly flat footed!)

I’m still glad I had it done – that won’t change. And I would recommend anyone who’s contemplating surgery to go for it (as long as they really trust the surgeon)

Physio!!!!

It’s been 6 months now and for the first time I need to wear a high(ish) heel
(damn that wedding invitation!!)

Trouble is it’s just not happening…my right foot is fine in a 3inch heel but left foot is having none of it. Physically getting the shoe on – with a straight big toe that can hardly bend – is really painful and then standing or walking, well it’s just not going to happen 😦

Whether this is because the left foot had problems healing or because I didn’t do enough physio early on, I don’t know, but more physio would surely have helped and it’s now that I’m regretting not pushing a bit harder (when it was still sore) because I have the perfect dress and a lovely pair of shoes and only 3 weeks to work out how the devil I’m going to walk in them

DO YOUR PHYSIO EXERCISES!!!

😄👠👠

5 Month Update

My new feet have been on holiday! It was amazing to be on the beach and not feel conscious of them and brilliant to be able to wear flip flops with everything 😄

So much has changed since I had the op…I feel a million times more confident and chilled out this summer. In the morning I can throw on anything and not really think about it as I can wear my Birkenstocks – in the past I’d agonise over what to wear in the summer because shoes were such a problem.

They are still a bit numb and tingly but I don’t notice it that often… it was funny in the sea because the sensation of the water where my scars are was weird!

My right foot is really good (the one that behaved post op) but the left one is still a tiny bit swollen and has more numbness and less movement. Whenever I read something like that on someone else’s blog it almost put me off having the operation but it’s not as bad as it sounds and for me it’s a small price to pay for all the benefits of having it done.

I didn’t bother with physio – I just concentrated on making myself walk normally and putting my weight in the middle of my feet when I walk.

One weird thing I’ve noticed is how many people have bunions! I felt like I was the only one when I had them but now I see them everywhere 😆

There are still small bumps where the bunions used to be and the scar on my left foot hasn’t healed all that well but the one on the right is hardly noticeable now. There’s still quite a gap between my big toes and their neighbours but it doesn’t look too strange…I call them my flip-flop feet 😊

= a thousand words :)

I always wanted footprints like these…yay for my new footprints! 🙂

Trainers and boots and shoes, oh my!

I’ve just spent half an hour or so rounding up all my redundant footwear and I think it’s safe to say that none of these…

…are ever going to fit again and they’re only fit for the bin. My new shoe collection looks like this…

…which actually feels quite good – I’m managing just fine with 4 pairs of shoes and it’s lovely having a tidy wardrobe… Except I’ll need new golf shoes. And snow boots. And some trainers and a pair of pumps.. and some leather boots and a pair of going out shoes…uh oh 😊

Painted nails!

for the first time ever! ok, I know they’re not going to win any prizes and they still look swollen and scarred but this is what the last 2 and a half months have been all about 😀

(I don’t even like painted toe nails!)