This is my newest and most expensive shoe purchase . . . tragic, isn't it? These little ladies don't have any glittery sparkle or faux jewels, no peep toes to show off my lovely french pedicure, or even a colorful fabric bow! After three weeks of desperately searching all over Manhattan for a decent (and affordable) pair of athletic shoes--accompanied by a bucket of tears from a multitude of painful attempts at shoving the swollen "ham hock" into shoe after shoe after shoe--I finally resorted to an online search for a shoe store that could offer custom fittings.
I finally found the Running Company today and visited their East Side store. After explaining to them all the procedures that I have had, how much artificial hardware is now co-existing alongside my bone structure, and how my left foot is an entirely different size than my right foot, I had managed to get an active audience out of nearly the entire store's staff. There were a lot of ooh's and aah's (and "Wows!"). . . what can I say? I'm a small-time celebrity these days (or more simply said: an aspiring carnie).
After all that, we tried on a few pairs before settling on this bright blue pair (OK, granted the grey trim creates a nice complement to the jewel tone). One hundred thirty dollars later and I am the proud owner of a pair of running shoes that I can actually fit my foot into . . . not a pair that I truly wanted or that is comfortable for that matter (there's never really been such a thing as a comfortable pair of shoes in my lifetime, just varying degrees of discomfort.)
Sadly, the pursuit of pretty (and comfortable) shoes continues . . .
4 comments:
Sitting here with my "hamhock" aching, I can so relate and get so much support from reading your blog. I know this really isn't your style of shoe, but the shoe /"boot" that is the best for me is a Merrell hiking boot, mid height top. It is the only shoe that I can wear to walk trails (albeit, flat trails) and even wear daily when at the end of the day I have no swelling or pain. Today I am going to ride my bike in them as when I wore my walking shoes for biking, my foot looked like a papaya the next day. I live in a biking, hiking mecca (Bend, OR) so this shoe is common. Don't know how it would fly in Manhattan.
Let me know if I can help as you move into a totally different type of Pretty Shoes.
Kathy
I haven't had surgeries for my CMT but I am always in the same cute-shoe (but can I walk in it?) pursuit as you. I live in Florida, so sandals are a biggie for me. Nothing back-less or between the toes or with a heel...or heavy. I bought adorable Keen's online and they are so heavy that it turned my foot drop into foot plunk! I gave away about 100 pairs of shoes that I used to be able to wear but can't anymore. Sob. Keep up the good hunt!!!
good thing you get the shoes that suits with your footwear needs..choosing is one of the toughest thing to do
Finding shoes for CMT feet is an exercise in frustration. However, I am buoyed to know that in Manhatten - the greatest shopping Mecca in the world (Oh, how I love NY) - there was still difficulty finding shoes. I thought that my locale (the deep north - no, not really, just Ontario Canada) was the biggest problem. Alas, the shoeworld just doesn't mesh with CMT.
Love your blog...just stumbled over it via Tim's blog.
Cheers!
Post a Comment