Wednesday, June 23, 2021

 Wednesday, June 23, 2021

 

            My foot is so much better; it's close to a miracle. I developed Morton's neuroma in my right foot -again.   Oh, this neuroma is so much fun. It is caused by collapsed metatarsals due to Morton's toe. In Morton's toe, the big toe appears shorter than the second one. Only it's not the length of the toe that is different; it's the length of the first metatarsal. If you check your toe knuckles, the first one is closer to the heel than the second. This throws all the metatarsals into a tizzy. It means your foot never works properly. It means your hips and spine get thrown out of alignment. It means you're a mess. Yes, my hips and spine are out of alignment. I have to figure out compensations.

            Back to the neuroma, another result of Morton's toe. Because the metatarsals are not correctly aligned, they press on each other, pinching nerves that run between them. The body defends itself, but not logically. When a nerve is pinched, the body provides a protective layer of something. That means a lump grows between your metatarsals where there is just enough room for a single nerve to reside. It means you have a built-in pebble in your foot. It is painful. It can hurt when you're sitting or lying down.

            I saw an orthopedic surgeon in Manhattan once. He recommended arch supports. Okay. One look at those arch supports, and I refused to take them. The supports forced me to walk on the very outer edge of my feet. I mean, the little piggy that got none had to carry all the weight of my body.

       I saw a second doctor a few years later. He tried cortisone shots right into the neuroma. I got a series of three or four. The first two or three went all right; the last one sent me right through the roof. It was excruciating. It was close to forty years ago, and I still remember it. 

            My chiropractor said to soak my foot in ice. That helped. After years of struggling with my feet, it went away. I think it's come back because I changed the alignment of my hips and back, changing my foot alignment - ergo, another neuroma. This is scary. How will I maintain my 10,000-step daily routine with this problem? I started treating it. I alternated icing and infrared lamp treatment. I also walked on the outer edge of the inflicted foot. However, I could get all my toes to the ground by pushing through on the outer edge, which I wouldn't be able to do with that arch support.

            My annual survey for the Women's Health Initiative arrived in the mail this evening. I filled it out immediately. I put the envelope I received on the yoga equipment so Yvette could see it. I want to make sure that she knows to look for the envelope with the survey. I have been a participant for 25 years. I want her to follow it through to my death. 

            Twin E. didn't make it to our 8:30 Zoom session. She was still in bed. She had a bad cough, and her mom gave her cough medicine last night. She was still knocked out. I worked with Twin A and K.  

            A. had more trouble today identifying and or blending the six words in the -at family; we worked on: bat, cat, fat, hat, mat, and pat. 

            K did a good job writing his first name. He formed all the letters correctly. He did a good job holding the image of his name in his mind and 'reading' the letters both forward and back. His concentration was amazing. I asked his mother if his concentration looked better. She said it was generally better in the morning. Okay, but this was at a whole new level. She finally saw what I was seeing. He focused on writing his name for several minutes. Granted, it took a long time for him to complete the task, but he did it in a focused way—one thing at a time.