Don't hang about...

I have been chastised. For going off-piste yesterday. Far be it from me to piste-orf the dedicated hard-core ( or should that be hard corn?) Bunionistas who are reading this blog in hope of insight or useful information. So tonight I will be serious.

If I ever found myself in the unfortunate position of finding my foot ensnared in a trap, say in the middle of the Cotswolds, with no hope of rescue, I would probably without hesitation, grab the nearest sharp object and hack off my foot. (Still with me? Good. I've actually passed out.) To my mind this would constitute Emergency Surgery. Everyone who has remained conscious during that last paragraph would surely be in agreeement.

So my problem at the outset of this current medical issue was: do I really need this operation? You will have gathered by now that teetering around in unsensible shoes has never been a predilection. So it's not for vanity.
I have with some success accommodated Bunion in wide soft shoes (a la Gabor- good make,
by the way) and Birkenstocks ( brilliant in the Summer), but the problem remains with the metatarsal. It is that which has given me "gyp" as Grandma of the champion bunions would have said. It is like walking on a jagged golf-ball. A certain amount of podiatric padding can relieve pressure ( an alliterative phrase can only take you so far and sadly it does not ultimately relieve pain).

I continued to hobble for a number of months until a good podiatrist told me that this was not going to get any better unless I had the bunion removed. I then made the decision to have the operation at some point in the future when it would least inconvenient my then employer.

Mistake. By putting off the operation by  four months I have actually developed a debility that affects my groin, thigh and shin. I saw a physio today who confirmed that the pain I experience daily (much worse than Bunion on a bad day) was due to my extremely uneven gait.

So my advice to anyone in a similar position is: don't wait. Get things in motion. These things take time to organise. Look out for yourself. Feet first.