It’s okay to divulge a kind of secret I’ve been keeping from you for a while. All’s well that ends well, for sure!
For the past two months or a little more, my left foot has been behaving abnormally when it comes to my gait. I’ll explain what has been happening as best I can in layman’s terms…
You know how, when you walk, you put your heel down first and then sorta roll/bend your foot from heel to toe during each forward step?
Well, my right foot does that, same as always and forever, but my left foot doesn’t. For the past couple of months, perhaps a little longer (maybe since getting on this mountain goat-level-incline-type ridge???) my left foot hasn’t been doing that. It’s like it’s “stuck” in “flat-footed mode.” I have to place the whole foot down at once.
And when I stand still on the floor, I can lift the front part of my right foot off the ground with my heel still on the floor; I have no ability to do that with my left heel on the ground. The front of my foot won’t elevate. It’s like it has no “lifter” tendon or muscle to make it do that.
Any number of things can cause this kind of gait anomaly
I went on the Internet early this morning to see if I could find out what could cause such a thing. Anything from a ligament/tendon strain to a slipped disk to a mini stroke to Parkinson’s can cause gait abnormalities, but nothing I saw online described exactly what my weird foot was doing, so I made an appointment this morning to get a prescription for my UTI and to have a doctor take a look at my foot and see if they could determine what’s causing the issue. (The total cost of the exam was $18.00! The UTI antibiotic was $25.)
The doctor who saw me had me walk, asked me questions (Any pain? No. Any strain? No. Any other weird sensations? No. Balance? Decent but not optimal because of the funky foot, so I walk slower than I normally would to be sure I don’t trip or have a loose rock unfoot me.)
She felt the bottom of my foot and all along my leg to make sure she didn’t feel anything out of whack or find my left leg or foot cooler than the other, or numb and unfeeling. Nope.)
So, she said she thinks it’s probably a simple tendon or strain issue that will resolve itself over time. (Maybe getting off this freaking precipitous hill and on stable, unrocky pavement will resolve the matter. I will know within weeks!)
She gave me a few physical therapy exercises that I can do for the next month or two. She said try that and see if it resolves. If it doesn’t, she gave me a referral to a foot and leg specialist at the same clinic who can take a look and run some tests if need be.
AGE-RELATED GAIT MATTERS
Based on my research last night, as we humans age our gait can change for any number of reasons, including inner ear imbalances, injuries, prescription drugs that cause dizziness, TIAs (temporary mini-strokes) and Parkinsons Disease. (There is no Parkinson’s in my family, so that’s probably not an underlying cause.) That’s why so many elderly folks end up with canes or walkers, because their gaits, balance, or strength change enough that they can’t trust themselves to remain vertical when they walk without assistance.
Anyway, I had my chief fear eliminated with this visit today.
I was pretty nervous about it, since I have no insurance down here. I do have a MediSmart discount plan, which both the clinic and my pharmacy honor, so the cost of my visit and treatment today, as mentioned above, was under $50 total.
More Good News
Jon told me to check with his personal driver (the man who drove us to San Jose for my fingerprinting and immigration appointments) to see what he would charge to drive me to SJO from my rental in San Isidro and bring Lisa and me back to it afterward. His RT price was a mere fraction of what other drivers quoted. Instead of $50 to $70 each way, Jon’s driver is charging significantly less than that to take me both ways to pick up and drop off Lisa.
Whew!!! I am sooo relieved!
Adelio lives near San Isidro (that was a big surprise to me!) so it isn’t out of his way to come get me on the way to get Lisa. What a champ. He has my business from now on whenever I need a driver.
(Marianela doesn’t live near SI, so she’d have to charge more to drive me around, darn it.) I will usually be taking the bus into town, anyway. But it’s good to have a driver nearby who is truly affordable, that’s for sure!
While I was in Grecia this morning (Marianela drove me both ways), I got the UTI prescription filled and then got another Subway sandwich because the antibiotics require food in my stomach before I take them, and I hadn’t eaten all morning, so I was more than ready to eat.
After I did that, I walked across the street to Cafe Delicias and bought two plastic cartons of Coquitoes (coconut treats), one for Marianela and then texted to let her know I was ready to be picked up and driven back home. She immediately asked how I was, because I had been a kind of nervous wreck on the way in and had told her why, since this was my first doctor appointment in Costa Rica and I’m not terribly fluent yet — but the doctor was pretty fluent in English, so it all worked out well.) I was able to communicate totally in Spanish at the pharmacy, though, when I got the prescription filled.
About 20 minutes later Marianela stopped by and picked me up and drove me home.
While I was in Grecia, I walked about 4600 steps so after I got home I put on my hiking boots and went down to Calle Esteban Salas to put most of in the rest of the 7500 steps I want to walk every day. I’m up to 6876 steps as of 2:45 so I know I’ll reach my goal by nightfall just padding around here in the casita.
So, that’s today’s “adventure.” I feel very relieved and tranquil now to know what I know and to know enough physical therapy exercises to correct the gait anomaly.
I’m sure getting off this hill and on solid ground will work wonders too and that is only 26 days away now. I just have to be sure to stay upright and uninjured until that day arrives. And yes, I’m being ridiculously careful!!!