The Boot

Ah, the boot! I picked it up at my doc's office Wednesday, had a tutorial on how to put it on, and then wore it all day at work yesterday. It is so much larger and more cumbersome than I'd imagined. (And I have a pretty vivid imagination for such things.) The boot is actually an Aircast (removable plastic cast) that goes up to my knee. It is meant to protect and immobilize my foot so my plantar fasciitis can heal. If I'm diligent about using it, I may prevent surgery and missing at least 6 weeks of work. I DO NOT want surgery!

The boot is so large my pant leg won't fit over it so it is exposed in its vast entirety, shown off for all the world to see. This also exposed the entire cast to my constant hosing at work. Therefore, I cover the whole mechanism with a garbage bag that I tie above my knee. It works fairly well, but makes me sweat so much the inside is probably equally wet (though MUCH less disgusting with animal manure, etc.) than if I just hosed it. I also need to figure a way to modify the garbage bag so I'm not constantly stepping on the "extra" with my good foot. Otherwise, the boot is surprisingly easy to work in. It's hard to kneel to clean out drains and it's hilariously hard to walk backwards (something I never realized how often I do) but it's actually pretty comfortable and not even close to as heavy as it appears. The boot has a really good slip-resistant sole and our floors are so textured I haven't slipped at all.

The goofy thing is so dramatically large and obvious it shocked a bunch of my coworkers who didn't know about my ongoing foot problems. It seems like I should have a much worse problem- like a broken bone at least. I think a lot of people thought I had been injured "yesterday." I suppose the important thing is that when I got home from work my foot hurt much less than it has in ages! I can take it off if I'm at home relaxing. I sleep with a much smaller night splint that keeps my arch stretched. I've had the night splint for almost a week and it seems to be helping some on its own. I really feel like I'm taking a major step in helping my problem. I will continue stretching, ice and orthotics, but it seems like if I'm diligent about using the boot and night splint my problem will either get better or at least I'll feel like I did everything possible if I end up needing surgery.