On Solid Footing

It's been a while since I've given an update on my feet, following my reconstructive surgery, last November. With my trip to South Korea just a little over a week away, in which I anticipate doing a lot of walking, the ability of my feet to hold up has been foremost on my mind.

I last saw my surgeon on February 15, exactly three months after he removed the navicular bone and transverse tarsal joint, replacing them with bone that he had extracted from my pelvis (gosh, I hope you're not eating while you read this), and he had told me that the surgery had gone better than he expected. I was given the green light to walk without a cast and to begin physiotherapy.

Physio has gone well, but at times has been challenging. Mike, my physiotherapist, has had me practice balancing on one foot—something that has been a challenge for me, for decades. Though I can't hold this position for long, the goal is to build strength in the foot by gripping the floor, using my toes.

He has built me up to walking, heel-to-toe, along a two-by-four plank, and at the last appointment, had me balance on a two-inch-thick rope.

Not quite ready for Cirque du Soleil, but it's a start.

I stretch, I flex, I stand on lacrosse balls. All of this builds strength, balance, and, most importantly, gets the sensation back in my foot.

You see, there are still parts of my foot that are numb or have no sensation at all. The nerves are still rebuilding, and that can take time. But gradually, I gain feeling in my foot more and more each week.

I'm also experiencing some discomfort. Not pain, per se: it doesn't feel good but it's not debilitating. For example, there's still a tightness from my big toe, along the metatarsal. When I curl my toe or point it upward, I feel like I'm trying to flex what is inflexible.

For the past week, though, there is pain where my middle toe connects to the foot. Essentially, it feels like someone wearing a stiletto heel has stepped on my foot.

Over and over again, with every step.

I'm not sure if I should worry, especially since all of the discomfort in my foot seems to ease the more I walk on it, as though it was just stiff and needed loosening up.

My next visit with my surgeon is at the end of May, after I return from Korea: I see Mike for my next physio appointment, next week.

My right foot still receives injections for the osteoarthritis, and I just received my last shot, last Friday. This week, apart from an initial soreness when I start to walk, I've been largely pain-free.

When I lived in Korea, I walked a lot. In Seoul, DW and I would cover great swaths of the city on foot, taking taxis or the subway only to get across the Han River or to move across several neighbourhoods as quickly as possible.

Where I'm staying in Seoul—near city hall, the train station, the south-gate (Namdaemun) market, and Namdaemun, itself—I'll be close to things I want to see: the palace, an old temple, the new(ish) canal, and more. All of it, feet willing, is within walking distance of my hotel.

In Chŏnju, the only times I didn't walk were when I had to get from one end of the city to the other in a short period of time, or when I was carrying too many things.

So, I'm not 100-percent recovered, and there are some minor concerns, but I'm feeling that everything is moving in the right direction, overall. I'm ready to do some walking.

Feet, don't fail me now.