We left off when my right foot had healed and I was walking down the aisle at our wedding with confidence.
The day of our wedding was incredible. I was so happy that I ignored the fact that my left foot had swollen enough that I couldn’t fit it in my wedding shoes. No big deal, we were on a beach so I went barefoot. It created 2 of the largest foot ulcers I have had to date. I was no stranger to ulcers; I now travel with a foot care kit.
When we got back from our honeymoon I went to get it checked out. I was put on portable IV for the infected ulcer in my big toe, but they still couldn’t explain the swelling. It was quite inconvenient, as not many shoes would actually fit on that foot. Many months, and many x-rays later, they found the culprit, another charcot fracture. Over the course of about 2 years I was fitted for hard casts, walking casts, air casts and other various uncomfortable footwear. We had finally decided on an air cast and a scooter. I was non-weight bearing for 6 months, riding in style with the knee scooter (scoot-scoot if you will).
As I watched the shape of my foot change I began to wonder if I’d get to keep it at the end of all this. Scoot scoot became a dreaded name in my house, and still is to this day. It was easier than the crutches for the most part, unless there were rocks, hills, cracked pavement, stairs, hills…. you get the point.
It was a real pain in the ass to not be able to walk. I was lucky that we had only 3 stairs to get into our house at the time, and I had a lot of help from my kids, my husband, a close friend and my family. I was lucky to have help with my laundry, getting to and from appointments and cleaning the house. I mean, what kind of best friend drives 45 minutes to hang out on my couch and do a mountain of laundry? I felt guilty for not being able to do it myself, but also grateful for a closet full of gain scented clothes. I had to learn to accept help.
After my foot had stopped fracturing and moving, we had to make a decision about what to do with it. It had left a bone that pushed down on the bottom of my foot, basically creating a permanent ulcer. My orthopedic surgeon gave me 3 options: leave it and wait and see, a minor surgery to shave off the pesky bone, or a complete foot reconstruction. Seems like a no brainer, right? But option 3 came with a high risk of infection which would potentially result in an amputation. So I chose the middle option; shave the bone and hope for the best.
The surgery was quick and I was able to go home the same day. I was non-weight bearing again – this time for 2 months. I wasn’t really thrilled with the result as I still have a giant bump on the bottom of my foot, and my foot is still misshapen, but I can walk on it and I’ve found a few pairs of normal looking shoes I can wear.
At this point it seemed to be one thing after another. I wanted to end this chapter of my life and move on to happier and healthier pages. My body had other ideas, and it came to be in the same doctors office I had sat in so many times before.
“Kari, your kidney function seems to be rapidly declining. I think we should send you for some extra blood work, and a kidney biopsy. I’m going to refer you to the chronic kidney disease clinic.” My heart sank.
This was the big one.
Kari's Kidney 