Dragging My Feet

toe splint

My feet have never been pretty. Ever since I can remember the bunions have stuck out and the toes have curved sideways. My mom, my sister, and my sister's son all have/had the same thing - bilateral hallux valgus. It does have a hereditary component, and is more common in women aged 40-60. That is interesting since we all had them forever. In fact when my nephew was born, the delivering doctor asked who had the funny feet.

At any rate, none of us ever had pain in our feet or saw a doctor about them. But around 9 months ago the ball of my left foot began to hurt a bit. It felt like I was walking on a marble, and only hurt when I put weight on it. Oddly, when I would press on the ball of my foot with my hand, it did not hurt.

I wasn't overly concerned about it, but did notice that after I played pickleball it hurt more. Since that is a game where you put more pressure on the balls of your feet, that made sense to me.

I tried resting it and also purchased shoe inserts. Some days were better than others. Obviously it is not a debilitating pain as I could walk and play pickleball. It just hurt all the time I was upright. With a break in our travel schedule I saw a foot doctor last week. They took x-rays to rule out a fracture, and the doctor poked around on it a bit. When he pressed the area where my toes meet the bottom of my feet, I sure felt that!

His diagnosis is that I have predislocation syndrome, which is a slowly progressing condition where the structures that hold the joint of your second toe stable begin to degenerate. He said because we are catching it early he is hopeful that wearing a splint on my second toe (taping the toe is also an option, but since I am allergic to adhesive that won't work well for me) as well as better orthotics in my shoes will fix the issue. I am also to use a diclofenac gel on the area twice a day, and ice it. He will see me again in six weeks to check on improvement. 

Honestly I thought this doctor would take one look at my feet and declare that I needed surgery done to both of them. To be able to go a non-invasive route first with no limitations on activities is quite the gift. Several people in my neighborhood have gone to this guy and sing his praises. I will be adding my voice in song. Especially if this approach does the trick!

Long in the Tooth

long in the tooth

Last year my husband and I were both told by our dentist that we needed crowns. In fact, I was informed that I had a crack in my lower left back molar as well as my upper right back molar. The hygienist went over the cost of the crowns, stating that we had great dental insurance that would cover half of the expense.

My husband had his done, and I only had them do the back left tooth. It was no picnic, that's for sure. But what was less enjoyable is that our dental insurer denied both of our claims, saying that the crowns had not been necessary. We went back and forth for months on this. Finally the insurer covered mine but not Jim's. He refused to pay the balance since they had inferred that they had gotten authorization for the crown. As it ends up, they did not. In the end, they waived the balance on his account, but we both decided to change dentists. The billing issue was only one of many, but it was the final straw for us.

We knew we were changing Medicare insurance companies beginning January 1 of this year, so we waited to find a new dentist until we were able to see who was in network. (The old practice was, of course, since we no longer wanted to see them.) Upon a friend's recommendation, we selected a female dentist who is in network and reasonably close to us.

We both saw her on different days last week. There are things I liked and didn't like about my visit. The paperwork could not be filled out online, and it was ridiculously long. Good thing I got there plenty early! The dental hygienist was pleasant and thorough. I had to get all new x-rays taken since they don't have access to my old ones. But the dentist barely spent 2 minutes with me, after dropping the bomb about all the cracks in my teeth. What?!? She then hustled out of the room.

The hygienist showed me the x-rays, indicating I have two crowns needed on the bottom left molars, and two on the upper right molars. Wait a minute! The back bottom left was just done last year, as outlined above. She said there is a gap in the crown where bacteria can get in, and it needs to be redone. I asked if it could just be filled or something. Nope. Then she kind of rushed me out to the front desk for checking out. The gal behind the desk said she has to submit these for pre-approval due to Medicare. Huh, that's probably what the prior dentist forgot to do.

At this point I'm not sure what I will do. Do I really need four crowns? Is the gap in the one crown really that big of a deal? All I know at this point is that I am obviously getting long in the tooth!

Where There's a Will, There's a Way

cemetery

The proverb where there's a will, there's a way is said to mean that if someone has the determination and desire to do something, they will find a way to achieve it. So, a strong will can overcome obstacles and lead to success. It seems to me that this applies equally well to a different kind of will - a last will and testament. Having one of those will help your heirs overcome legal obstacles and will help you succeed in making sure your estate goes to the people you intended without being tied up in court.

Today my community had a lunch and learn that discussed wills and trusts. We have had two wills done in the past - one when our first child was born, and the second as we neared retirement. They both were filed in Missouri, and it has been weighing on me that things might not go smoothly when one of us dies since we now live in North Carolina. The presenter today confirmed my fear. An out of state will is better than no will, but a death will be incredibly difficult for either one of us without complicating things having to go through probate.

The presentation was very good. I picked up some new information, and some additional things we should take into consideration when we update our will. Or go with a trust, which was not recommended by our attorney in Missouri. But years have gone by and we are in a different jurisdiction, so I'm not sure which direction the new document will go. The sponsoring organization offers a free one-hour consultation to Imagery residents, so I signed up to be contacted for that. This was just the motivation I needed to jump-start the process of updating our estate.