I am
writing this blog in the hopes of connecting with others who have faced chronic
foot pain in their lives, specifically those who deal with the condition of
tarsal coalition. Additionally, through my story, I hope to give understanding
to those who love someone who is facing this condition.
It has been
699 days since I was last pain free. Before June 1, 2011, I was an extremely
active 25-year-old law student. Exercise was my stress relief, and I thrived on
running, biking, cardio classes, and virtually anything that got my heart rate
pumping. At the time, I was training for my first long distance race, a ½
marathon. I was looking forward to the summer of my life: I had a great summer
position with a law firm, was engaged to be married in just a couple of months,
and was looking forward to experiencing my first summer away from my hometown,
in the big city of Chicago. Then, 3 days before the race, I experienced sharp
pains in my ankle while running. Being the stubborn (and sometimes idiotic)
person that I am, I kept running and went to work that day wearing heels (it
was only my second day on the job!). Well by the end of the day, my ankle was
rapidly swelling to the size of a small cantaloupe. But that still didn't stop
me, and I proceeded to walk on the injury around Chicago for 3 days. Finally,
after some convincing, I went to the emergency room and was told that I most
likely had a stress fracture and instructed to not put weight on the foot. No
big deal, I thought. I was a bit sad to miss the race, but thought I would be
back to running in no time.
Fast
forward 2 years later, and I still am not running. In fact, I am barely
walking, and it's a struggle to shower, run errands, or even just sit without
thinking about the constant pain. Here is a quick overview of my situation.
Since that day in June, I have had three surgeries. The second surgery was for
a genetic condition called tarsal coalition. It took the doctors more than a
year to discover this, but essentially, since I was a mere fetus, two bones in
my foot had been growing together. Now, as this is a dominant gene trait, I was
confused as to how no one else in my large family managed to come away with the
condition. I must have won the genetic lottery.
The doctor performed a resection of
my calcaneonavicular coalition, but sadly the pain was the same. After several
more months and 1,000 of miles of travels to get second opinions, I learned I
had anterior tarsal tunnel, which is an entrapment of a nerve (a more rare
nerve entrapment than the common tarsal tunnel (which is like carpal tunnel in
the foot)). Two months ago, I had surgery to release the nerve. As of now, I
have yet to experience any pain relief, but the doctors again have given their
favorite (and my worse nightmare) instruction: "give it more time."
As many
romantic comedies would say, my situation is complicated. Every day is a
struggle, but with the help of my husband, family, and friends, I have been
able to deal with the daily emotional struggle. But not a day goes by where I
don't wish I could go for a run, a walk, or even a sit without pain.
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| This picture represents the last day I wore heels, at my wedding in 2011. |
