One summer, two foot surgeries

OK, I admit it. Sometimes I, uh, let things get a little out of hand. And then a little becomes a lot. But I'm the sort of fellow that is always secretly hoping that things take care of themselves. Especially when it comes to my body. I mean, if you ignore the problem long enough, it should fix itself, right. Maybe not so much.

I think I first started to notice the problem five or six years ago. I had a new pair of hockey skates and they were rubbing my heels. Badly. I'd never had any sort of blister problems, but now after a game I could barely walk. But hockey players don't admit when they are in pain. Ever. Heck, one time my teammate Wiz-moe BROKE HIS JAW in the first period - AND STILL FINISHED THE GAME!

So, of course, I couldn't let something like a little blister problem slow me down, could I?

A year later I decided to buy some new skates. This time they rubbed a little less, but I had these big ol' bumps on the back of my heels that would still be rubbed raw by the end of the game. I still didn't do anything about it. But now I was running into problems wearing dress shoes. Good thing I rarely have to wear them, right?

Another year goes by. I'm starting to run more, but I don't seem to be having problems (yet) with my running shoes. I buy yet another pair of hockey skates - but this time the technology as advanced. Now I could buy a pair of skates that were form-fitted to my feet. Basically, they put the skates in an oven, get 'em really hot, put them on your foot, then drop your feet into a machine that fills with air-bags. Kind of like when the doctor takes your blood pressure, but instead of the air-thing around your arm, it squeezes your feet.

And no more blisters! Yea! Problem solved, right?

Uh, no. Well, it solved the hockey-blister problem, but now I was experiencing running-related blisters on my heels. Well, by now, I was training hard for the New Las Vegas Marathon (December 2005) and the only way I could log my miles was to cover my heels in duct tape. Yup, I'd just cut off some duct tape from the roll, adhere it right over the blister prone areas, then cover it with a sock. And it worked. At least enough to get me to the finish line.

So, problem solved NOW, right? Lol, nope...

The duct tape was only a temporary fix. The bumps on my heels continued to grow. So much so now that they would shred the insides of my running shoes. Those bumps were like razors! I'd buy a new pair of shoes and the lining would be shredded after 30 or 40 miles. And that would cause more blister problems, 'cause your feet don't like all sorts of ripped up fabric rubbing against them when you run! But I still sucked it up and kept going.

So, eventually, this is what I did:

I cut holes in my shoes. No more rubbing! Look, even enough room for a finger or two!

Well, I think that was about the time that I realized that I simply couldn't keep going like that. Time to see a doctor. Ugh.

Turns out that my podiatrist is an alright sort of guy. Heck, he even has running magazines in his waiting room! Sweet! We went over my foot history, he asked me what I did to try and alleviate the problem. He struggled mightily not to roll his eyes when I got to the duct tape part. I mentioned how I tried lowering my heel. And raising my heel. How I tried all sorts of different shoes. Everything.

"So, what do you think is the next step," he asked.

"Surgery," I said. "I've done everything else."

So, he had his people get with my insurance company and scheduled the first surgery. It really wasn't that bad. My boss was cool with giving me plenty of time to recuperate, and I got this really cool looking cast-thing:

And from there, he put me in this robo-cop looking walking cast...

and...

Two months after the first surgery, I had the other foot done. There was a BRIEF period in between surgeries that I was allowed to swim laps in the pool - if only to save my sanity. Foot number two is still in the walking cast, and will be until late July. Hopefully I'll be back in the pool by then, and back on the bike shortly after that. No idea yet when I'll be back to running (or playing hockey), but Ironman Arizona 2008 is still a LONG way off, so I'm not stressing. Much. At least that is what I keep telling myself!