Hey Bio,
Good for you on following your intuition re: going barefoot. Proprioception is a big deal! It really helped me in the healing process. I know that for a fact.
I too was a former athlete that lost it all - at one point I was not able to walk and didn't know if I ever would again. The 24/7 pain and insomnia was what scared me the most though.
I can sprint barefoot pain free now.

Full recovery IS possible.
Here's a list of all the stuff I did that helped me along the way - feel free to pick and choose whatever resonates and leave the rest. Some of it's kinda weird, but for me, weird was the way to go.
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread205597.html
All the best!