Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Tight Squeeze

Several medical tests confirmed my doctor’s original suspicion about my swollen toe: my sneakers were too tight and irritating my toe.

“If I lose 10 pounds, will they fit?” I asked the doctor.

He was unimpressed by my humor, but I’m not one to give up easily.

“I really hate to get rid of all of my sneakers. I have them in five different colors. Can I stretch them?”

Dr. Stone Face ignored this question too. He was busy writing. When he finished, he handed me a prescription for new arches and special sneakers to help my newly diagnosed arthritic toe.

I wasn’t upset when I left his office. After all, as illnesses go, this will not alter my life style

I headed straight for one of the orthopedic shoe stores the doctor recommended. A very nice man measured my feet. “Size 9.”

I paled. Every closed shoe in my closet was an 8 and my sandals ranged from 7 ½ to 8.

“Please measure again.” Surely I knew my own shoe size!

He did. The results were unchanged.

I was bummed. If he was right, my life style was about to change, and not from the arthritic bump on my toe but from a dent in my bank account - I would need to replace all my closed-toed shoes.

He brought out a pair of size 9 sneakers. I winced when I saw the price on the box. The cost was triple what I normally spend. I slipped my feet into them. He tied the laces. “Walk around the store,” he instructed.

I stood up, fully expecting to clip-clop up and down the aisles with sneakers way too big for my foot. To my dismay, each step convinced me that my feet and the sneakers were a match made in heaven. I looked at the salesman. “I don’t understand. All my other shoes fit.” I pointed to the ones I wore into the store.

“Ma’am, you’re pointing to sandals. Nothing’s rubbing on your toes – but they barely cover the soles of your feet.” He proved his point by showing me that my toe imprints reached the end of the shoe.

When did my feet grow?

He went into his storage room and returned with a pair of sandals. “Here,” he said and showed me the almost identical orthopedic sandals my mother wore all the time when she retired and moved to Florida. “These will really help your feet.”

Last week not only cost me a small fortune, but it also moved me up one more rung on my Morph to Mama Ladder.

No comments: