Slippers

 

   Evie always told me that getting old was no fun. I always chuckled a little when she said this and responded that the alternative was even less fun. I knew what she meant. Her health got a little worse with each passing year and during Covid things got a lot worse.

   I remembered what she said a few weeks ago when my left heel starting hurting when I got out of bed in the morning. The first 30 minutes or so out of bed would find me limping around until the pain subsided a little bit. I tried doing foot stretches before bedtime, it helped a little but did not eliminate the problem. (I'm sure it would have helped more if I was consistent about it.) Eventually the pain in the left foot was constant although it would subside to a dull ache.

   When we went to Door County, I noticed that my feet didn't hurt as much. Sometimes they didn't hurt at all. What was different? I thought about it.

   Then it occurred to me. Shoes. I was wearing shoes most of the time. We are out and about most of the day and naturally, I wear shoes. When I am at home, I'm barefoot or wearing socks. It dawned on me that I probably have plantar fasciitis. One of the things that worsens symptoms is walking barefoot on hard surfaces.

  In other words, no more walking barefoot on the floor. I was going to have to get some slippers. Not just any kind of fuzzy slipper, I was going to have to get a pair that had good arch and heel support. I was not happy about that. I don't like wearing shoes. I have wide feet and it's hard to find shoes that are wide enough and not ugly. I did find one manufacturer that makes shoes for wider feet. They also have good supportive footbeds. As comfortable as they are during a workday, I didn't want to have to wear them all the time in the house.

   We went to a good shoe store in St. Paul. I had already done some research and had a few brands selected. The shoe store was busy. I took the time to look over the selection while waiting for a salesperson. I found a couple of pairs that looked cute. When a sales person got free, I asked her about slippers for someone with plantar fasciitis. She pointed out the ones considered to be the best. In fact, podiatrists often will tell their plantar fasciitis to buy that brand of slipper. It was one of the ones I was considering. The salesperson measured my feet, then asked me to choose a pair. I found a light grey pair with a pink edging that I liked. They didn't have it in my size, so the salesperson brought a dark grey pair to check the size. I tried them on and found them to be very comfortable. My heel pain went away almost at once. I found a light grey pair with little hearts on them and a magenta pair. They knew they had the magenta pair in stock but had to check on the other.

   They didn't have the heart slippers in the stockroom. There was an order that had come in but had not been put away. When she checked the order, there were no heart slippers, but she did find the grey with pink edging which were the ones I chose first. I tried them on. They were a perfect fit. I took the box to the counter and paid for them.

   Once I got home, I started wearing them. My feet feel much better and I hardly have any pain except for a little first thing in the morning, I'm trying to remember to do my stretches consistently. The only time I don't have my slippers on is when I'm going to be sitting for a long time. It's taking a bit of time to get used to them, but it's getting better. I don't like having to wear slippers in the house, but at least they are helping. They are also kind of cute.