Ronda's Story
i have club feetI was born with club foot. My parents half way fixed the problem when I was an infant. I was in casts until I was two, but still needed the surgery to lengthen my achilles tendon, but under my doctors advice, they waited until I was 17 to tell me about my option.
As a child I was ridiculed for walking on my toes and even called stuck up as one person thought I was trying to be even taller then I am (I am 5'9").
Other than be ridiculed occasionally, the only problems I encounted was shine splints and a physical education teacher who insisted I was just lazy for not wanting to run.
Exercise has always been a big deal to me, I have always been fit. But I have always chosen individual sports, such as swimming or cycling instead of group sports due to be embarressed by the way I run.
Now I am 36. As I age I am finding that the mornings are the worst. I wake up and can barely put weight on my feet. This started when I was about 25. High impact exercise makes this way worse. If I get out of bed and start to walk to quickly, I sometimes pull muscules and tendons and may be limping for a day or two, so I take my time usually.
At the moment I am overweight, which I have never been in the past. The weight on my feet makes things much worse, so I have been trying to lose the weight to ease the pain.
Things that seem to work for me now are a few things:
~Hydrocortizone shot in my feet every 5 years or so
~Wearing a brace at night that keep my feet flat instead of my toes leaning downward
~Inserts with high arch support, or better yet, custom made inserts (I am due for another pair)
If I do those three things, The pain is almost non existant and impact does not bother them.
I am due for another hydo shot and my brace and inserts are broken, so I am in need of another. The pain I have without all these is amazing.
I am amazed at how such little things can make the difference in the world!
I am fearful of my future. I am afraid I will be in a wheelchair when I am older. But, for now, I will just do what I can to make it better, stay active and healthy.
Added on 26 Jul 2008