Hi AliM!

My daughter had to use crutches in addition to a surgery boot on her left foot for 9 months until recently when we got her into remission with the Calmare treatment. It's so tough, because it definitely helps get weight off the foot and helps with the pain, but then you get other issues, like hand pain, and it's just difficult to handle backpacks (she used the crutches at high school). She also got plantar fasciitis from being in the surgery boot for so long, which added to the pain, so if you don't have that already, you might want to look into gentle stretches to avoid getting it (or find stretches to do if you already have it). We tried to avoid crutches whenever possible, but sometimes we just had to have her use them. There's a lot of balancing to do with this illness.

As far as the grocery store trips and mall trips you mentioned, the grocery stores and malls around here all have the little motorized scooters - would that be helpful to you? It's just another option, and we found that it helps to use different aids so your body doesn't get too sore from any one aid.

Good luck!