Options

I had my appointment with Dr. McGorgeous this week to talk about the results of my ultrasound. If I haven't mentioned it before, please believe me when I say that he is truly an amazing doctor and PERSON who I know cares about me. He spent an hour with me, going through my MRI, my old CT scan and my ultrasound. Showed me which shadows were artifacts of the machine and which shadows meant something. Just took the time to really let me know what is going on. And what is going on is that my foot is falling apart. Literally. Bones are shifting where they shouldn't be. Strong ligaments are weak. Strong tendons are torn. Weak ligaments and tendons are strong. Two plus years of compensating has done a number on my foot and there are serious issues. He explained that the torn tendon is a symptom of a larger problem. Because my foot and ankle are no longer built correctly, even if he repairs this tendon, without any other intervention, I will tear something else. So, the other intervention that we need to start is a custom orthotic on my shoe. Yes. A shoe insert. Now, I've been using a store bought insert for quite some time, as well as shoes that were fitted for my feet to be stabilizing. But this isn't enough. So, I have an appointment next week to get a custom set of inserts. The purpose of this would be to force my foot back into proper shape. Now, for my options. Option 1 is that this orthotic works great, it takes the pressure off my torn tendon, and the tendon is able to heal itself. Option 2 is that the orthotic works 50%, and we would go in and sew up that tear. Option 3 is that the orthotic doesn't help at all. In this case, he will (and I'm quoting here) "have to rebuild my entire foot". We are talking about fusing the joints, so I will never bend my ankle again. Moving my heel bone back where it should be. Repairing tendons and ligaments to put the arch of my foot back where it should be. I won't lie. I let one single tear out when he said that. I let a lot more out later when I was alone. So what happens now? I get the orthotic, and I have 6 weeks to wait and see which option my body decides to go with.