My Feet.

My feet. 👣

My wife sometimes comments on the ridiculous number of shoes I have around the house. (It’s true, I really do…) Slides, stretchy gym shoes, special orthotic boots… That’s because I can only wear any given type of shoe or boot for so long.

The damage to my ankles and feet, caused by my RA, makes it difficult to stand for extended periods of time, let alone walk very far. Thankfully, we have some low- to no-impact ways for me to exercise here at home. (But I still LOVE going for walks and hiking, when I can!)

When I meet someone for the first time, they might notice my hands, or see that I walk a little funny. While my hands tend to get most of the attention (especially when I’m playing keyboards), my feet are literally carrying all the weight.

In addition to my hips and knees (which were all pretty much destroyed by my disease), my hands and feet suffered substantial deformities as well.

Both of my ankles collapsed. You can see how almost all of my toes point outward at a nearly 90° angle. The overlapping toes result in painful calluses, that I have to remove on a regular basis.

I sometimes joke that it’d be much easier (and practical) if I just had removable carbon fiber flippers for feet (not to mention how incredibly fast I would be in the pool!) But in all seriousness, my feet are definitely something that will need to be addressed some time in the future. I’m exploring my options!

The damage caused by my RA can be just as painful — if not more so — than when I’m having a flare. (Those are definitely no fun…) That’s the truly “invisible” aspect of arthritis — the chronic pain and fatigue that no one can see.

I’m not posting this for sympathy — just for awareness. It’s true that most people are fighting battle you know nothing about — I just want people to know a little bit more about arthritis, and how it affects the millions of us who live with some form of the disease. 😉

Thanks for reading. And if you’re someone, like me, who’s living with arthritis of any kind — just know that you’re not alone. 🙏❤️

#PSNeverGiveUp #RAwarrior #arthritis #arthritisawareness #feet #chronicpain #chronicillness #arthritisawareness #arthritisfoundation #petescalia