It's been nearly a year since I last posted--and things have changed. Cancer-wise, things are really pretty good. I just met with my oncologist and there's no signs of recurrence. That is my biggest concern and having that in check is very relieving.

But then there's the feet. A year ago, I got surgery to remove bone spurs from both of my feet. I was finding that even with orthotics, my plantar fascia was making it impossible to hike more than 10 miles. Really loving hiking and long walks, I went to a podiatrist, who indicated my best path forward was surgery. Other doctors had indicated that my bone spurs were getting dangerously long, and my primary care doctor had also recommended surgery, so that seemed like a good solution. 

The recovery from surgery was rough, I was in a wheelchair for some time, then I started recovering mobility. The feet ached more afterwards and the doctor gave me cortisone shots to break up resulting scar tissue. That relieved  most pain for about two months, then the feet started getting progressively worse. They hurt--all the time--and I no longer can remain on my feet for more than a few minutes. After several months passed, I went back to my doctor, who recommended surgery on both feet to remove the scar tissue that had grown around my plantar fascias. I had my first foot operated on in April and this time, was able to get physical therapy orders for recovery. I was pretty much off my feet, though, for a month and a half.

After recovering this spring/summer for a few months from the second surgery intended to fix the scar tissue from the first surgery, I noticed that the foot with the new surgery was not improving more than the foot that had only one surgery--both have very high plantar fascia pain levels. At the hint from my physical therapist (who is wonderful, BTW), I went to a medical second opinion service (2nd MD) and met with an orthopedic foot specialist at UCLA by video. He recommended I cancel the second surgery, suggested some non-surgical options, and referred me to another orthopedic foot specialist in the area.

Because the UCLA doctor indicated a lot of therapies I could try before surgery, I did end up cancelling the third surgery (which was scheduled for next week). I also met with the new specialist on Monday and he recommended trying a different treatment than the doctor in CA--dry needling and extra vitamin D. The needling is a little scary (well, needles) but I have read about it being an extremely effective therapy for plantar fascia pain, so I'm hopeful. The vitamin D has me wondering--I researched and asked my pharmacist and can't find any evidence of it relieving foot pain. However, it is related to healing and my pharmacist says that the dosage is not enough to make me overdose vitamin D (note--I have a good vitamin D level to start), so I'm going to give it a shot.

While I don't appear physically disabled, my feet hurt all the time and I cannot walk much distance. For instance, I cannot do a regular grocery shop without my feet swelling to a point where I need to stay off my feet for days to recover (thankfully, there's pickup shopping). There are physical effects of nearly a year off my feet, including substantial time with complete immobilization. I lost cardio strength--and gained a lot of weight (35 lbs). PT has gently eased me into a fitness routine. The one thing I can do is ride a bike, so Rick and I got new electric bikes recently. It's been such a freedom to explore without worrying about walking too much and we are going everywhere! Follow us on Strava, if you bike, too. 

However, a recent blood test brought some unexpected bad news--I'm pre-diabetic. It's not something that was expected with marginal obesity--my medical team believes it could be a hidden side effect of chemo that wasn't going to show until I gained weight. I was fortunate to have it detected before it became full diabetes--it isn't usually tested, but my doctor decided to include it on a whim in a blood draw. I'm now dieting and taking medication until I get down to a lower weight range. 

Ahead, we are planning vacations! I head in October to Italy to join a women's bike and barge trip from Mantua to Venice. In December, we are popping off to Iceland for a long weekend, to hopefully see the Northern Lights. Then in February, we will be spending a week in Costa Rica. It's all very exciting after being largely homebound since the start of the Pandemic (except for our driving vacation to Canada last year).

So, overall, I'm happier with taking a less invasive approach to dealing with my foot pain. Between the recommendations from the two orthopedists, it seems that there are a lot of other options I can try before resorting to surgery on my other foot. I'm hopeful--and I'm getting gains already from PT. I'm loving rediscovering bike riding and hope I can hike again. The weight will come off and I'll soon be able to stop the rather unpleasant diabetes pills. We're traveling. Work continues to be great. I'm a little concerned that my feet will never return to the function I had before the first surgery, but I'm optimistic that the current treatments will bring improvements.