Meeting my Doctor

When I first googled my condition and found it had a name, I was floored. I could NOT believe this was a common condition. I was not just some alien placed on this earth with such a birth defect, there were so many others just like me. I had never felt the kind of relief I felt when I realized I was not alone.

I first went to visit a podiatrist in New Jersey who advised me of the surgery needed to alter my problem; however, he quickly dismissed me by stating the surgery would be "too much of a hassle" and explained how "I've made it this far with it, I might as well live on and leave it alone".

TALK ABOUT DISCOURAGING.

Months later, I went into researching my condition again, and searched for better doctors in the New York area. This is when God blessed me with finding Dr. D. (not sure if I'd be violating any rules by sharing names, so I'll keep it at that). The second I met this Doctor, he made me feel so important. So at ease. He knew EXACTLY what I was going through, physically AND mentally. I left my consultation crying because I was so happy that I was finally able to find someone who could fix me, and who had actually been extremely excited to do so.

After examining my feet, Dr. D determined that I was not a candidate for one step lengthening. The difference in my toe size was too great, so the external fixator method was the way to go. I'm not going to lie, this discouraged me quite a bit. Seeing as though this process would not only take longer to recover from, it also would take A LOT of work and possible pain when it came to turning my device daily and required me to be off my feet for quite some time. Personally, I am the kind of person who can never stay still. I am always on the go. I actually don't know what the words "patience" and "relaxing" mean. So this entire process would be quite the experience for me.

Nevertheless, he kept reassuring me that I would be just fine. He explained how we would soon grow to be like family between my routine post op visits and him giving me his personal cell phone number to contact him if I EVER needed him.

We scheduled my surgery date, and I was ready to go.

January 6, 2014...the first day of the rest of my life.