Welcome to Marmee's Pantry

Welcome to Marmee's Pantry

Monday, April 16, 2012

This Little Piggie . . .

I suffer from Plantar Fasciitis. I only recently realized what my symptoms where a product of, so it made perfect sense why my Earth Shoes are such a life-saver for me . . . maybe literally.

In case you are unaware, my mom passed away in September. She had Alzheimer's, & although it highly contributed to her death, what actually took her life was that her feet literally DIED.

She had worked at a local high-end department store for about 40 years & managed their she-she-foo-foo clothing department. And as such, she had to dress the part everyday ~ high-fashion clothes & high heels 8-10 hours a day, everyday. And she paid for it with her life.

I, too, worked retail at the same chain of stores (Revlon & Clinique make up artist) for many years in my teens & twenties &, 2 years ago I went back to work outside the home (b/c of my husband's lay-off) in a health food store, at which I am on my feet all day.

A few years ago, I began to notice that my feet would hurt when I got up in the morning & whenever I sat down for a while. Nothing terrible, but it would take 4-5 steps to "work out the kinks" & then the pain would go away & all would be well. Last year, I discovered that Anne Kalso Earth Shoe were again being sold in the U.S.A. & I was thrilled. I wore them in my teens & early 20's until they disappeared from the scene. After that, I wore Birkenstocks, which I also REALLY like. But when I got my 1st pair of Earth Shoes after so many years, the negative heel simply did wonders for my foot pain.

I recently found out that my foot pain is a condition called Plantar Fasciitis ~ generally caused by high arches (check), walking or standing for long periods of time (check), tight Achilles Tendons (check) &/or packing on some excess weight (gulp), common in middle-aged people ( :-/ ) . . . with the tale-tell signature symptom being "Most people with plantar fasciitis have pain when they take their first steps after they get out of bed or sit for a long time. You may have less stiffness and pain after you take a few steps" . . . CHECK!

So, after some research, advice from fellow sufferers & my own experience, here are the 3 things that help me the most:

~before I get out of bed, I flex my feet up as far as I can, count to 10 & do it again about 3 times; plus throughout the day, I press my hands against a wall or desk & press my feet forward

~I faithfully use BAXIL, a liquid Hyalauronic Acid, twice a day (awesome product)

~I wear Kalso Earth Shoes or Birkenstocks almost exclusively. Their negative heel keeps my tendon flexed all through the day. They are not cheap & I have to save to get them, but losing the use of my feet or my life would be far more costly. After what I watched my mom suffer, I don't think I'll ever wear shoes w/over a 1" heel again.

With all that said, I thought you might like to see my sweet summer Earth Shoes called The Rhyme.

My little piggies say, "Ahhh . . . " all the way home!

Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><

3 comments:

  1. Love the new sandals! Cute
    ~~HUGS~~

    ReplyDelete
  2. I suffer from this too...sometimes I can hardly walk and the last couple of days have been horrible...new shoes:-(

    I don't think we can purchase those kinds of shoes here in Canada...or that ointment you mentioned.

    Could you explain a little more about your mom and her feet....I didn't think you could die because of your feet. I really need to get some answers because I am in pain 24/7.

    Thank you,
    Connie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Connie ~ Sorry it's taken me so long to return your comment ~ I don't know how I missed it.

      As I mentioned in the post, my mom had Alzheimer's, which can be effected by poor circulation in the brain. Her feet were SO messed up from all those years standing in high heels ~ she had severe hammer toes, bunions, they almost looked deformed. As her Alzheimer's progressed over the last few years, her feet worsened, too. Seems one "fed" off of the other & literally each end of her body was fighting for the better circulation & both were losing. About a year ago, both of her feet & up to her knee on her left side started turning blue/black & the pain was heart-breaking. It subsided some over the summer & her vein specialist warned my brother & I that the cold weather would worsen the pain. Last Labor Day wkend we had a little cold snap & that set off a terrible down-hill slide. Looking back, it truly seems that her poor body decided that it had had enough & began to die. My brother was w/her at a reunion (I had a cold & couldn't go) & a cousin's wife is a nurse & told him she looked dehydrated & he should take her to a hospital. She was admitted & very quickly got worse & worse. There came a point that the only thing that would ease her pain ~ as she couldn't even stand for the sheets to touch them ~ was to amputate her feet . . . but . . . they told us she wouldn't make it through the surgery. So . . . my brother & I had no other choice but to allow her to die peacefully & as pain-free as they could make her instead of on an operating table w/no feet. A terrible decision.

      She was in the hospital for 9 days & Hospice for 4 days. The day before she died her feet were completely black & the left foot became gang-green. Her feet literally DIED. It was very sad & I wouldn't wish her suffering on anyone.

      But my brother & I were w/her, holding her hands & telling her that we love her. She passed very peacefully & is now reunited w/our daddy at the foot of the cross. What more could be want for them?

      K~

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