#podiatry

I haven't been able to find any modern socks that fit comfortably. I've got a stock of Bombas from before ~two years ago that continue to fit well, and I'm repairing them as they fray but I feel like I'm just on borrowed time.

The issue: I've got wide size-13 feet with high asymmetrical arches and insteps, and I can find socks that fit that comfortably, but then the hurdle becomes my ankle getting really uncomfortable right around the front of the joint. I've tried tube socks, diabetic socks, Bombas's modern stretchy socks - it's not an issue with the top being tight, it's just an issue with not sending my ankle joint right to Hell.

"FYI to the non-parents out there, it takes at least 15 pairs of shoes for a child to grow from a toddler to a teenager—that’s a lot of trips to the Footlocker.

Fortunately, an Indian entrepreneur from Pune has designed a line of shoes that slowly uncurl as the child ages, intuitively solving the problem and reducing unnecessary manufacturing waste.

Called Aretto, the shoes were designed by Satyajit Mittal and his childhood friend Krutika Lal. Their innovative knitted uppers are designed with all the qualities a parent would want their kids’ shoes to have—durability, flexibility, and washability.

“Children do not wear the right shoes for the first ten years of their lives,” Mittal, who designed the Aretto shoes with consultations with concerned childhood podiatrists, told The Better India.

“Between zero and three years of age, children’s feet size changes every three months, and you need roughly 15 sizes between zero and nine, before attaining final foot size at 13 years. We figured out the problem that while feet grow, their shoes do not.”

What the podiatrists explained to him was that children have a broader footprint than adults, due to their not having worn shoes for most of their lives like adults. Tens of thousands of nerve endings provide the feedback needed for children to understand how to use the miraculous musculature in their feet to walk and run.

Most infantile and childhood shoes don’t consider this, and based on the frequency at which parents need to buy new shoe sizes, proper foot function is probably never even taken into account, and the occasional stuffing of toddler feet into shoes too small or too large, can disrupt this critical muscle development.

“We wanted to give children the right fit for all cycles. We chose one shoe to cover three sizes that allow 18 mm growth. We took inspiration from how a flower blooms from the bud stage to the fully-flowered stage. The transition happens organically every day. We applied this concept to the shoe,” said Mittal.

“We started working on a shoe that flexes as per the feet. Simply put, as and when the feet grow either from the front or back or sideways, and when a child wears this shoe, it expands accordingly and takes the shape and contour of their feet. That’s why children feel comfortable wearing such shoes,” he adds.

The shoes are priced between Rs 1,800 and Rs 2,600, ($22 – $31) and are available internationally as well, provided that international buyers have either an Indian bank, or Google Pay, Amazon Pay, or WhatsApp Pay.

The shoes are fairly new on the marketplace but have already generated 21 lakh, or Rs 2.1 million ($25,000) in revenue."

-via Good News Network, 4/10/23

Note: This is very mundane in some ways, but it's also something that's going to legit make a difference for some kids/families. One annoyingly regular problem/cost off the backs to parents.

TLDR - they’re all obviously super supportive. I tried to make the professions match their personalities hehe

Shownu - Podiatrist

You gave the best massages. For a dancer like Shownu, sometimes he wondered if you were blessed with angelic healing powers or something when you helped him unwind after a long day of practicing. You always laughed at his musings and simply said its knowledge of muscles, but Shownu would continue looking at you with adoration and appreciation for how you treat him. Still, he’d worry about you essentially having to bring your work home, so he’s always prepared to return the favour if you want a massage too. The strangest outcome from dating a podiatrist however, was that he no longer buys someone high heels as a gift. Also as a podiatrist, you received far fewer emergency phone calls, so your date nights were fortunately not interrupted often, and you could make time to go to Shownu’s concerts too.

Wonho - Veterinarian

You and Wonho would definitely become the doting parents to lots of cute animals. Wonho probably comes to where you work to play with the animals. It’s almost like a date at an animal cafe, except you probably have fluffy patients to treat, but Wonho is taking up your time being your fluffy bunny. Honestly, you didn’t mind, but you were still on the clock, so... Wonho tries to engage with your work by putting on documentaries about animals, but he sometimes falls asleep, especially when he’s tired from his idol activities. You don’t mind, and think it’s super cute.

Minhyuk - Paediatrician

He would genuinely turn up at the hospital where you work just to say hi to your adorable patients. But then he’d pout when you weren’t there because you’re busy consulting or doing surgery. Because Minhyuk comes to the hospital so often, you usually go home together at the end of the day, maybe buying dinner from somewhere. He is very attuned to your emotions because treating children, especially ones with low chances of survival, does take its toll on you. More than once, you’ve cried about a patient, and Minhyuk has pulled you close, wrapping his arms around you and rubbing your back while you let out all your sadness.

Kihyun - Dermatologist

When Kihyun met you, Monsta X teased him relentlessly. There was something amusing about the young flexer meeting someone who specialised in skin treatments. Some people make comments about how you must be in a difficult position - you probably have clients who come in simply because of they want to see your celebrity boyfriend, and there’s also probably clients being referred to you by your celebrity boyfriend. These kinds of comments make you feel like people are devaluing your achievements, although Kihyun does recommend your clinic to friends, not just because he loves you, but because you’re good at your job. Sometimes, you’re a little too good at your job. All Kihyun might want is to lie down with his head in your lap, but you might end up simply looking at his skin to identify if he needs any treatments before comeback week.

Hyungwon - Anaesthesiologist

A perfect pairing - he sleeps like the dead, and you get people to sleep like the dead. However, you always had to arrive before the surgeons to help prep the patient, so some mornings, you had to disturb Hyungwon’s slumber since you’d start work earlier than him. When you missed Hyungwon at work, you’d ask the nurses in the suite to cue up some Monsta X songs, although you hadn’t told Hyungwon this yet. Unlike other doctors, you didn’t have any stories about difficult patients to share, but Hyungwon liked to scare his nieces and nephews by telling them iii they misbehaved, you’ll stick a needle in them for being naughty. As much as you hated being made to be the bad guy, he did have a point, so you just laughed along.

Joohoney - Paramedic

Your schedule could be hectic - night shifts, covering shifts, and other things. Joohoney always worried whether you were sleeping enough on days like that, and he liked to prepare meals, or at the very least some snacks, for days when your schedule didn’t align well with how normal people lived their lives. His sweet baby personality would probably struggle under the intense and somewhat confronting situations paramedics like you dealt with, but if you wanted to talk about your work, he’d always be open to listening. He’d definitely be thinking of you any time he hears an ambulance siren.

IM - Neurosurgeon

OK CUT HERE FOR THOSE PEOPLE WHO MAY NOT WANT TO KNOW. GORE AND BUGS AND STUFF

For those who don't know, I suffer from high arches on both feet but significantly worse on the left. It causes painful calluses, painful feet, and prone to falling and spraining my ankle. I have fallen a few times because my ankle gave out under me. This is also part of the reason I switched to almost permanent use of my cane outside the house. Doctor is going to cut a v into the top of the innermost metatarsal then push the bone closed to flatten my arch. I'll also have my heal bone straightened. The end result should help with balance and foot pain. I don't know if we'll do the same to the right foot. It has issues but not as severe.

I've had surgery before but not with a long recovery like this. (Broken bones take six weeks to heal) It was a laparoscopic removal of an ovarian cyst, so only a week recovery.

Because of the unexpected cancellation of my surgery, I actually have the pain pills now for it. Which ironically if I didn't have I wouldn't have gotten through the horribly back spasm that had me bedbound this past winter. My pain doctor gave me a generous a amount that I feel confident I have enough for the surgery still, but even if I don't get will give me more if I end up needing it.

October 8th is...

American Touch Tag Day -  Dating back to ancient Rome, this game has been played worldwide with a variety of names and rules. Typically it involves a player running around, chasing other players, in an attempt to “tag” or touch them. Most forms of this game have no teams, scores, or equipment. Usually, the goal involves being the last player left untagged or being safe.

Fluffernutter Day - Where did the term “Fluffernutter” come from? Well, the advertising agency for Durkee-Mower created it in 1960 in an attempt to effectively market the peanut butter and marshmallow sandwich. Beyond the history of Fluffernutter, the culinary side of this remarkable combination of sweet and nutty interests us, too. By layering all the creamy goodness of marshmallow creme and peanut butter between toasted bread, some kitchen experts take perfection to the limits.

Hero Day -  If asked to define the word hero, many of us will name the qualities that demand a person rise above, the qualities that genuinely drive a person to be stronger, smarter, kinder and more than the average human being. They are the people who give when they have nothing to give. Heroes act before anyone else realizes there’s a problem. They volunteer to put someone else before them.

International Off-Road Day -  Off-road vehicles give access to the roughest terrain allowing you to experience the great outdoors in its wildest conditions. And that’s the beauty of off-roading. It means you can go even further and explore places you can’t get to with a traditional vehicle. With so much breathtaking scenery to explore around the world, off-roading takes you there.

International Podiatry Day -  Podiatry deals with the feet. Your feet are important. They allow you to walk 150,000 miles in your lifetime. This is equivalent to walking around the world six times! Since foot problems can be debilitating, it’s essential to take care of your feet. Getting pedicures, forgoing high heels, and wearing proper foot protection while working are all good ways to care for your feet.

Pierogi Day -  Pierogi is the plural form of the rarely used Polish word pierog. The semicircular dough is often stuffed with savory fillings before being boiled. After boiling them, the cook will either bake or fry the dumplings in butter to finish cooking them.

 World Egg Day -  There is a good reason that the egg is sometimes referred to as “nature’s perfect package.” Eggs are considered one of the most nutrient-dense food sources in the world. This delicacy is packed with protein, iron, calcium, potassium, folate, zinc, Vitamin D, and carotenoids. The egg also contains disease-fighting nutrients like lutein and zeaxanthin.

The bane of my existence earlier today! 😬

This weird cherrypicker thing rolled up on a truck at roughly the crack of dawn, and some guys fired it up close enough to the building that it took some serious neck craning for me to see wtf was even generating that noise.

Just about when my autistic night owl ass was finally heading off for some more sleep, yeah. 😩 Even equipped with the usual earplugs? Between the sudden heavy equipment and whatever somebody periodically keeps doing with hand power tools next door, that made for a great sleeping experience. Idk whether the fact that the noise was sporadic made it better or worse.

So yeah, the sucker is apparently sitting there overnight, still right under our apartment. (And the bedroom window! 🙃) We're on the corner, and it started out on the other side under us. So, maybe they're at least planning to move farther down that side of the building tomorrow? Who knows.

Kinda hoped that a closer look would at least enlighten me as to whose equipment it is/what it's even for, but nope. It's a lift, alright! Guess that info might be on the truck that helpfully brought it to visit us. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ But, it has taken the night off.

I do have to be up and out of here for another damned medical appointment at early o'clock--though at least that is with the foot clinic attached to endocrinology, where we've already been. (And less anxiety-producing in general, honestly. Decent idea of what to expect this time, and hopefully very low risk of getting lectured at! Which thankfully didn't happen last time at endocrinology either, but experience.)