Let's face it - we clubbies are for the most part stuck out here on our own. The doctors when they do pipe up are overly-hooked on surgeries that for the most part either don't work at all, or make things worse. Maybe they suggest drugs, but then they have no real idea the nature of the kind of pain we experience, so they really just suggest drugs that numb our heads and shut our mouths. Truth be told, as I have said before, when you hear those magic words, "well, we could do...", run! Because this merely means the doc ain't got the foggiest.
So we can select for palliative solutions instead, some which work better than others, but which you may have to try a great number of different things before finding the one or ones that actually work for you. Even then, they won't work perfectly, or likely for many years, and then you are back on the hunt. It gets discouraging and tiresome. When all you want is a few weeks of your life where you don't have to even think about your feet. Is that too much to ask?
So when someone makes another suggestion, you find yourself skeptical, doubtful anything will really make a difference. But the next time you find yourself crawling around the house to keep from having to stand, you get a bit motivated again. But even that can pass without any substantial action. Then there is the money issue - so many solutions cost too much, or the insurance won't pay for it, or will only pay for one your entire life. Yes, the insurance companies and schemes have their heads up their asses - we all know that. But why is it that you have to be the one to compromise, to suffer endlessly not only with pain, but with the ignorance of doctors and bureaucrats?
What it really comes down to is whether you value your own comfort more than the things that seem to block you from getting that comfort. There is always a way around the blocks, though it may entail some sacrifice of other things that you want in your life. Custom shoes and orthotics are expensive, especially when they are made by people with the right skills. And the difference in function and comfort between something made properly and something that is generic can be quite substantial. The same with other solutions - a "foot rub" is not on par with a professional massage therapist, even if it is cheaper. For us clubbies, we really do only get what we pay for, and sometimes, not even that!
But if it really matters to you that you have some years of less pain, more mobility, greater freedom, then you will find a way - to raise the money, to go around the roadblocks, to rouse from your surrender. You will put those needs at the top of your list, get creative, and get moving again. Yes, it's hard to keep trying some time. But we all have few choices - if we don't do something, nobody else will. It's really that simple.
Good post, thanks for sharing your thoughts. I feel encouraged to keep trying when I find a great site like this and someone so earnest, kind, and knowledgeable. You're right when you speak of the insurance company schemes. I have a club foot and, for some reason, my insurance never considers that a condition that would not require a custom orthotic. If I were a diabetic, however, I would be covered for both feet! So I scrimp and go without so I can pay in advance for the sole of my boot-style brace only to have my foot break down and not fit anymore. I have to keep trying, though, and I'm encouraged by this, and the adult clubfoot site. I look forward to learning more.
ReplyDeleteLinzi, glad to hear your comments. I always wish I had better solutions, but I realize that even when I have good ones, they are either too far away for most people, or unaffordable for most people. And just because I have made the decision to spend whatever it takes to seek comfort doesn't mean everyone else has the same choice or option. But if I can at least help people realize there are other choices, then at least they may have something else to shoot for. As for replying to older threads - I respond to all comments - I try to make each post have some lasting value, after all!
DeleteI would like to thank you for the efforts you've made in writing this posting. I'm hoping the same very best function from you inside future too.
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