Franken-boots

Stock up on milk and toilet paper...Frankenstorm is coming!!  I guess depending on where you live that might not really matter to you, but I live in an area that's supposed to get hit pretty bad.  That's the current prediction anyway.  I get why it's being called Frankenstorm...because it's scary and conveniently close to Halloween.  It's also ironically similar to something else that's happening in my life...

I broke both of my feet.  And now I have to tramp around in these Franken-boots for a month.  Cuuute.

So when I say "I broke both of my feet" it sounds like there was some tragic accident that caused the sudden breaking of both of my feet.  That, however, is not the case.  It just turns out that the foot pain I've been experiencing since June was actually broken-ness.  I feel like I should explain further...

So.  The reason a fracture was initially ruled out was because of something called a bipartite sesamoid.  Which the doctor thought I had.  Here's how this happens...

There are two little bones in the balls of your foot called the sesamoid bones.

See those two orb shapes in the middle of the picture.  Those are the sesamoid bones.  A bipartite sesamoid looks like this...

See how one of the orbs is in two pieces?  So anyway.  A bipartite sesamoid can be caused by a fracture, but it also can be a genetic thing.  It's just the way your bones formed and it doesn't cause any problems.  The doctor had an x-ray of one foot that she had taken when I was having arch pain.  That x-ray was where she first noticed the bipartite sesamoid, and when she took an x-ray of the other foot there was an identical sesamoid situation, which caused her to believe that it was simply inflammation of the bones. 

After time off didn't help (I know this post is just repeating information I've given in the past, but I'm trying to keep it flowing in a logical manner) she wanted to take an MRI to rule out fractures.  The treatment for inflammation is cortisone injections directly into my feet, which would be detrimental to any fractures.  So I did that.

Okay, new stuff.  I saw the doctor for my MRI results on Thursday and she told me that BOTH of my feet are broken.  I couldn't believe it.  I was 100% positive that my feet were not broken and that the MRI was a waste of time and money.  I mean, my feet don't even hurt all the time.  It's completely random.  But I guess I'll have to trust the medical professionals on this one.

My doctor said she was shocked too.  She told me that when she got the results back she double checked them herself in case the radiology techs were seeing things.  When she came to the same conclusion she had a colleague look at them too.  Everyone agrees that both feet are broken.  My doctor told me that neither she nor her colleague had ever seen anyone break the bone I broke, the way I broke it, in both feet simultaneously.  Which is why she never suspected the break initially.  I asked her how long she though they'd been fractured and she told me probably since I first started being bothered by the pain.....which was about four months ago.  Crazy.

As for the Frankenboots.  I have to wear them most of the day although I can take them off to sleep and shower.  It's against the law to drive with them on, even the one on my left foot, so I take them off for that.  I'm also allowed to continue swimming since it doesn't put any weight on my feet, I just need to take a few weeks off of flip turns and starting block usage. 

All in all it could be worse.  I pretty much just laugh at it.  I mean, who the hell breaks both of their feet at the same time and doesn't realize it for four months?  My life is a mess.