Feet, Don't Fail Me Now

As I wrote the title, I was thinking, "Feat, don't fail me now," a lyric (and song title and album title from perhaps my favorite band, Little Feat. But since I'm writing about literal feet, I decided to go with that instead. I saw my podiatrist today with the intent to move up my little toe surgery to spring break. I got it all set up and went to my primary care doctor's office to schedule a physical -- and within an hour canceled both appointments. I'm getting conflicting information from my podiatrist, and he and his staff weren't especially forthcoming with information today. Last time I saw him, he said if I had just the "fifth toe" surgery (as opposed to having my bone spur removed at the same time), my recovery would be only four to five days. When I was talking to the surgery scheduler (or whatever her title is), she said I wouldn't even come in for my post-op recheck until a week afterwards. That does not bode well for my being back to work four days later. "Oh," she said, "you can get a knee scooter." Do I already feel like I'm a hundred years old? Am I hoping to teach for this college beyond this semester? Yes is the answer to both of those questions.

So I have decided to hold out on having anything fixed until the first week of May, after I have entered final grades. This will be much less disruptive to my life, and (hopefully) I can live with my foot problems until then, although I'm not happy about having to make less-than-fashionable footwear choices. But I will be happy about being asked by the college to return because I have done such an awesome job. I can't do an awesome job if I can't stand up. I know many teachers who sit to teach -- in fact, at one institution where I taught, I was told that I should sit down while teaching, as it made me more relatable -- it's not my style. And I have other ways of making myself relatable, thank you.

This was an agonizing decision, acting now or waiting, but I think I made the right choice. Best of all, I'll really get a spring break! That beats spring-break-with-foot-surgery, hands down.