Could you?  Would you?  Share publicly your worse body part?  We all have one.  Mine are my feet.  Please do not judge me by my feet.  They’ve been through a lot and to this day still are running as I hit the floor in the morning.

I think my feet were my workhorse from childhood.  Barefoot all the time in the summer,with several bee stings on the bottom of them to support that.

Then on to the inevitable, 4 inch heels.  I spent good money on those let me tell you.  Other than the bunions that were developing, some of them felt like slippers.

Oh ya the bunions, those hurt.  They got so bad that as I got introduced to running  and the 4 inchers were gone, the sides of my runners would literally be ripped open.  That  little she-hulk thing that was happening on my feet, didn’t feel so good.  The only thing to fix that was surgery.  “Back in those days”, it was foot casts.  6 weeks of what I am sure was similar to “concrete shoes”.

It was this surgery that taught me lessons.

The first, pain.  Pain to identify, master and get a little help.  I had never and until this day have never, experience such pain.  Ooo, demerol.  “Nurse, it’s time” I would plead.   “In 30minutes” was the reply.  So, I suppose patience was another skill that this surgery taught me.  I think it was being left to 30 min waiting and getting through it, is when I really turned TO the pain.  Made it my friend, partnered with and mastered it.

So for 6 weeks both my feet were encased in plaster with these cute little Kindergarten, sort of blocks worked into the bottom.  In mastering the walker in just a couple of days I was discharged.

By this time I had become a full fledged “gym rat”.  I had to get to the gym!  I had to workout!  Get all this post-op stuff out of me, get the blood pumping, get the endorphins going.  And off to the gym I did go.  The only thing I avoided doing was lunges.  Squats, press, even a very careful placement of the blocks would allow me to ride a stationary bike.

More running, weight training, three pregnancies and LOTS of waking was the story of my feet for the next 20 years.  And, oh, the bunions, never returned.  Considering I see lots of folks whose surgeons follow the new procedure and have re-growth happening, I will take plaster.

I suppose casts is what should have been done when I had my toes fixed 3 years ago.  My right foot had developed a ganglion right on the top which was painful and dang, I just couldn’t get into the exact yoga move with it there.  Three of my my left foot toes had become hammered and clawed.  Although slightly painful, they were, well, ugly!

As I was dropped off the day of the surgery I thought, “I could just walk away from here and not even get it done”.  “Their not a big deal”.  What was really holding me back was more to do with self-worth.  I did it and I have never had such a pleasant experience in a hospital and recovery.

In anticipating what my feet and body would be enduring and recuperating from, I “bombed it” with supplements and other natural means.  Pain was minimal to almost not existence.  My one wish, to this day is that I wish it had hurt more…….I would have stayed off of them.  Bandages were not enough to stop me.  In removing the pins 4 weeks later I was informed by the surgeon that one had broken off inside.  No big deal, as long as I can make it through customs.

To this day my toe did not heal properly, but I’m ok with it.  Just another story to add to my collection.

The real reason for this post was to talk about the health of toe nails.  You have an understanding of my attention to my feet, what they have been through and how much I depend on them.

In between all of the above happening I did experience one occurrence that left me wondering “whats up”.  My big toe nail started to grow thicker.  Number one point, this is not as uncommon as you may think.  It was, at the time,  more of a nuisance but was growing thick that it would become painful as it rubbed against the skin under my nail.  In posing the question to my Chiropractor one day he confirmed that he was plagued with the same condition.  “It’s a fungus and you can take some medication, for the rest of your life, to treat it” was his reply. Ya, right, like THAT’S going to happen.

I started my investigating into the matter.  At the same time I started to religiously take supplements.   One day after several months of following the supplementation routine, a joyous holler came from the bathroom.  Not only was the thickness gone, but gone as well was the yellow color.

Thick toe nails can be the signal of many things:

diabetes
circulatory trouble
immune-deficiency disorders
poor nutrition

Ladies, I know we all like to be pampered, but, for your health sake, treat your toes like any other “private part”.  Allow only for your eyes and care.  I’m sure the esthetician that you regularly go to is trained to recognize any changes as they appear.  Gosh, one toe must get to looking like the next hundred that they see.  Only you will notice the difference and possibly warn off any impending complications with your health.  Enjoy an at home pedi!

Instead, invest or re-direct that money to healthier food or nutritional supplements.

Theodore Roosevelt said  “Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on the ground”.

I’m asking you to keep your eyes on the stars AND on your feet, your tomorrows will need them