Great feets of endeavour
There is a saying: “You can’t understand someone until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes.” Well, given the way MS has played merry hell with my feet I really wouldn’t advise it.
MS and feet through the seasons
Blessed with a combination of lack of sensitivity, poor balance and circulatory problems, my feet have become an absolute liability all year round. It doesn’t matter whether it’s winter, spring, summer or fall (and it’s fall in both senses of the word you understand).
Those summers where it was once as natural for me to go barefoot as it was to be bare chested have long gone. Oh, but for the folly of youth. It’s in stark contrast to nowadays, where I’m banned by my wife from wearing the obligatory summer footwear - flip flops.
Trips, stubs, and grazes
It’s all in my best interests of course. Over the years the number of hard surfaces my feet have impacted upon is of epic proportions. Trips, stubs and grazes which have so often led a gashed toe have been nothing less than a right pain in the bunion. And they often happen without me even realising, due to a lack of feeling in my feet
Winter slippers neither afford me warmth nor protection, as I still stub a big toe on furniture I know is there but can’t always avoid. But knowledge is of little consequence. Especially when it comes to balance issues that can land me quite literally anywhere about the house and on anyone visiting.
All part and parcel of having MS
I know, I know - I really must be more observant to avoid nasty collisions between my size eleven digits and anything remotely IKEA-related. Of course, there are solutions. But why would I want to cone off a coffee table with yellow tape around its periphery like a scene from CSI Hertfordshire?
The fact is, feet issues are all part and parcel of having MS. For me it means having circulation that does not differentiate between the seasons. And a hot water bottle all the year round in the marital bed in summer does not always make for a happy ménage à trois…
On her own admission Theresa May might enjoy running barefoot through fields of wheat, to which I say, “Way to go, Theresa”. But the truth is, I can only dream of such frivolous endeavours.
The real buzz for me, however, is a little bit more down to earth. Like looking forward to yet another new hot water bottle cover this Christmas!
Martin is an MS blogger and influencer. You can read more of his blogs at martinbaum.co.uk.
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