I'm sure we've discussed shoes before, but I need to get this out of my system.

Today I went shopping for new shoes .... something feminine to go with the new outfit that I bought to wear to DS's wedding next week.

I knew what I wanted. I knew exactly what I wanted and normally I hate going shopping with a preconceived idea of what I'm looking for because in the past I've always been disappointed, but I found it!

Do you know how hard it is to find exactly what you're looking for in this day and age? Usually never, or most definitely rarely.

In only the second shop I went into I found the exact same shoe that I've been thinking of for the past week........wait for it........


............ in a stilletto heel!


It's days like this that I hate MS the most. Days when I remember life before MS. Days when I remember the sexy outfit with the stilletto heel! Days when I wonder if I'll ever look sexy again considering the flat or at least low heels, and sporting the ever present walking cane.

Many shops later I still didn't find that shoe, or anything similar in a heel low enough that I wouldn't fall off and break my ankle, leg, hip, neck....

It's bad enough this disease takes away our independence, but our feminity as well? That just sucks!

You said it Anne. It takes away just about everything from us.
I dressed up for Christmas Eve when I was going to evening mass. Well
with the outfit and my fur jacket "you have to wear heels".
Going from the car to the church, I didn't think I was going to make
it (they were not stillet. shoes either) When in church I was asked to assist
with bringing up the gifts, that was an honor I couldn't refuse, especially at
christmas eve mass. I walked up with a friend helping also, my legs were going this way and that way. I was so nervous, I think I made matters worse.
Made it. Then when it was time to go up and receive communion
I held onto each pew as I walked to the altar.

You can guess where those shoes are going, (to goodwill)

Jappy

Awwwwwww, could you have taken that heel off and added a lower heel?

A good idea Sal but the shoe was already the top limit of what I could afford so I wouldn't have the money for that shoe, plus alterations.

Since going on disability I just don't have the money for fancy expensive anything, and to be honest... a lot of my things come from the charity shops these days.

I just wanted something nice for DS's wedding, that's all.

The only time I ever tried to wear heels when I was younger (I'm only 40) was probably when I was about 11 or 12yrs old and I borrowed my mom's blue patent leather boots (that went up to the knees) to wear to a school choir function. (I was wearing a very long skirt...no one ever knew they were knee-high boots)

They were leftovers from the 60s when my mom wore mini-skirts. I liked how they clicked on the cement gym floor. Very stable heels, wide heels, so that I didnt feel like I was going to break an ankle in them.

I broke my big toe on the left foot about a year later, and again a year or two after that...and then broke my other big toe at some point. I've had arthritis in those toes since then, and it's getting worse. Inflammation is moving to some other toes. The arthritis will probably cripple me before the MS does.

The ruptured achilles tendon that I had in 2001 also kept me from ever wearing heels.

I wear sneakers or Crocs. Good thing I never had that big of an interest in shoes or high heels. Saved myself a lot of money on shoes. I have relatives who buy new shoes every couple of months tho. Surrounded by Imelda Marcos Wannabees... (remember her shoe collection? I could have worn those probably, I think they were all size 9 1/2)

Well, at least you reminded me that there is something I don't have to suffer losing. I was NEVER able to wear "lady" shoes. I've always had bad ankles, and then arthritic tootsies, and bad balance even as a teenager (hmmm). I've never worn stiletto heels in my life!

I have always worn "sturdy" shoes, and now I mostly wear a pair of merrell clogs, one of which I snipped slightly because my ankle never went back to normal size again.

You do have my sympathy, however, because a loss is a loss. I'm hoping that you miraculously find something just right, or at least satisfactory.

I've always had difficulty finding the right shoe fit, because I wear 11 narrow...
my DH loves it when I wear heels...but I'm so unstable and stiff nowadays that they sit in the closet in their boxes...I'm slowly getting rid of them, putting them in the Goodwill bags
I looove shoes...and purses...I have a feeling I'm going to be wearing grandma shoes in the near future, just to give my legs stability and sure-footedness.
MS Stinks!

Thank you ladies for your understanding.

I daresay when it all boils down, it's not so much about the shoe but rather the inability to be able to wear something pretty and feminine like this particular shoe. It's about looking at disposable underwear instead of sexy lace. It's about having a waterproof on the bed instead of satin sheets. It's about another chapter in the book of life, and it's all, entirely all, about MS.

Oh well, chin up! I'm going shoe hunting again tomorrow.

Ya know, I think I'd just take a hammer and whack off the heel thing, personally. I've never been much in touch with my feminine side. $6 deck shoes from wal-mart works for me.

Sorry. I'm being goofy today.

Tom

Oh,man, you spoke to me about the bed protection...I am still recouping from surgery...12 wks total...and am so worried about 'leaking"...but DH and I know that it is what it is, and deal with it