No kidding, I'm trying to deal with turning 60 and how it's not really a big deal, 60 is just a number, I'm a young 59, I have a future and a hope, right? right?
My feet have outed me. I went for a walk in downtown Seattle in March and ended up with horrible pain in both legs for weeks. Tried the meds - nothing. Tried physio - bingo. Huge rangy cyclist mountain climber from NZ named Craig worked me over good. Second visit Craig taped up my feet tight and said "try that!". It was awesome. So he sent me to the orthotics guy (Jeremy). That's orthotics spelled "orth60tics".
No joke, I'm limping in to Jeremy's office wearing the only shoes I have that fit around all the tape, which of course look like orthopedic shoes. He has an orthopedic student from the university, a sweet young thing in her 20s who seems to never have seen a foot before. So he reads out my chart to her "Mrs. Shinness is 59, almost 60, with leg pain very typical for her age." Great start. Then he gives her the tour of every corner of each of my feet top and bottom telling her all the things that are wrong due to stress and aging. While it is interesting for me to hear all the details, all I can hear him say is "OLD LADY FEET, OLD LADY FEET, OLD LADY FEET, and right here we see MORE OLD LADY FEET". AGHHHHH!!!!
Now it is weeks later, I have the pricey orthotic inserts in my shoes, I'm finished physio, and I can walk without pain. I still have to find shoes that can hold these inserts that don't look like old lady shoes. I did learn that feet problems are highly related to your family members' feet, and I put together that my mom's feet problems started right when she was my age. She never followed up because she wanted to be young and not an old lady, but within a handful of years she lost her mobility.
Lesson learned. I still have a future and a hope (I do, right?) but in that future, I'll be wearing orthotics!
