Barbara's Bunions

by Rosie Peters

Barbara Brewer dumped her shopping on the kitchen table and hobbled through to the lounge in her floral papered bungalow. Plonking herself down on her favourite easy chair, she pulled off her shoes. "Oooh that's better," she said to the photograph of husband George.

Barbara recalled how he always put the kettle on when they got home from shopping. She missed that.

"I could do with a cuppa," thought Barbara, "and I should put the groceries away but I must rest my feet first." She eased her shoes off and stretched her legs out on a large dusky pink padded stool. Barbara picked up the remote control and switched on the television. A male voice choir sang and Barbara, trying to ignore the pain in her feet, lustily joined in the singing.

The doorbell rang. Gingerly, she pulled her legs off the stool and padded out to the hall.
"Hello Mum," said the woman at the door. "I wondered if you'd like to come with me to Toby's sports day this afternoon."

"I'd love to Karen, but my feet are so bad. I really couldn't manage any more walking."

Barbara could see the look of disappointment on her daughter's face as they went through to the lounge. "I'm so sorry dear. I hope Toby won't mind too much but now I've taken off my shoes, I'm not so sure I'll get them on again."

"Sit back down, Mum. Let's look at your feet. Oh, my goodness. Both your big toes are red at the side. They do look sore." Karen leaned over the footstool. "The right one has a yellow spot on it. Perhaps it's septic. I think you should see the doctor."

Barbara knew her daughter was right and agreed to contact the surgery. "They can fit me in at four thirty," she said after putting down the phone, "or else it would be in two days."

"I'll be able to take you after the sports day, Mum." Karen eyed her watch. "I'll come back and get you."

At ten past four, Barbara, with feet squeezed back into her black patent court shoes, hobbled out to Karen's car for the short drive to the surgery. Barbara felt sure that Dr Strong would be able to give her some pills which would make her feet better.

The surgery receptionist greeted Barbara with a smile then said "There's a medical student sitting in with Doctor today. Is that ok?"

"Fine," Barbara nodded.

It wasn't long before she was in Doctor Strong's consulting room. Student doctor Mark bent over Barbara's bare feet. "Looks like bilateral hallux valgus," he said.

"I thought I'd just got bunions."

"You're both right," said Doctor Strong smiling. "Hallux valgus is the medical term for bunions and bilateral just means you've got bunions on both feet. How are they troubling you, Mrs Brewer?"

"They're ever so sore, especially the right one. It's painful to walk, and at the moment I can hardly get my shoes on."

"These don't help you." Doctor picked up one of Barbara's shiny shoes. Have you always worn shoes with a pointed toe?"

"I have. I like to be smart you see. When I was younger I wore a much higher heel. I was used to it. Wore high heels and pointed toes all the time. Everyone did."

Doctor nodded. "Mark, could you explain to Mrs Brewer the possible causes of her bunions?"

"Certainly," Mark said. He looked at Barbara and smiled. He pointed at the red area to the side of her big toe. "That lump is the bunion and basically it's a deformity of the base joint of the toe. There's a prominent sideways angle which causes the lump. You can see that the bones of the big toe are pushed over towards the other toes."

Barbara looked down at her feet. She could see what he meant. "But why have I got bunions?"

"We can't say for sure why your feet are the way they are. There may just be a slight weakness of the joint. Has anyone else in your family had bunions?"

"No, but my mother's got arthritis in her feet. She's ninety though. Do you think there's a connection?"

"Possibly, but having bunions doesn't mean you're certain to get arthritis."

"Well that's a relief." Barbara turned to the older man. "What can you do for me doctor? I don't want to end up with feet like my mum."

"I can give you advice and treatment Mrs Brewer. Firstly, you need to wear shoes, trainers or slippers that fit well and are roomy. I suggest you don't have high heels or pointed toes. Did you know that of the many people who go barefoot in the world, only two in a hundred have bunions? Here in the western world where most people wear shoes more than forty in a hundred women can have the problem."

"Mmm, looks like it's down to my shoes then."

"That's likely," said Doctor, "and footwear that's tight or badly fitting can put extra pressure on the big toe joints leading to friction of the skin."

"Is that why that bit's red?" said Barbara, pointing to a shiny area on the side of her right foot."

"That's correct. It's got infected too. That yellow stuff is pus. You'll need to keep it clean and covered and I'll give you a prescription for some antibiotics. Put your feet up to help the swelling go down, and you might need to take some painkillers for a day or two. Paracetamol or Ibuprofen often helps. I see you're not on any prescribed medicines. Do you take anything you've bought?"

"No," said Barbara. "I don't take tablets unless they're absolutely essential. I feel the same way about operations too. I won't need an operation will I Doctor? I've never had to go into hospital." Barbara could feel her heart beating faster as she thought of a surgeon cutting into her toe.

Doctor looked up at Barbara and smiled. "We don't need to think about operations just yet. It's far too early. It's true that an operation to straighten the joint could ease your symptoms, but so could a change of footwear. A bit of padding over the bunion sometimes helps too."

"Maybe, but my friend had a bunion and she had to have an operation."

"It's possible that your friend's foot gave her a great deal of pain and inconvenience. If we can get you free of pain from your bunions it's unlikely you should need surgery. Let's just wait and see. If things don't improve, come back and see me. I can always refer you to the Community Podiatrist."

"What can they do?"

"Podiatrists can advise on many types of foot problem. They can also arrange for special footwear or appliances to put in shoes to ease discomfort."

"That sounds good. I'd like to see one of them if my bunions don't improve." Barbara screwed up her face as she forced her feet back into the shiny patent shoes. She felt a sense of relief that foot surgery wasn't the only option.

"I think we can agree to send you to a podiatrist if needed Mrs Brewer."

"Thanks, Doctor. Goodbye."

Mark stood up and held open the door. "Thank you for allowing me to examine your feet."

Barbara smiled and limped out of the surgery to her daughter's car. "Karen, I've got something called hallux valgus."

"Whatever's that? Is it catching?"

"No, it's the medical name for bunions. One of mine's infected because the shoes were rubbing. I've got to get roomy footwear."

"Trainers perhaps?"

"I'm not keen. I like to look well dressed." Barbara straightened herself up and brushed a loose grey hair from the blue velvet collar which exactly matched her eyes.

"You know, Mum, it's not smart to be bent over with pain and limping. Perhaps if you considered comfort before fashion, your feet would hurt less. You might even have better posture which would certainly be more elegant than hobbling like you are now."

Barbara nodded. She felt resigned to the fact that she would have to change her style of shoe if she was to try and avoid an operation.

When the car pulled up outside her house, Barbara grinned. "There's Toby. What a lovely surprise."

"I expect he's come to tell you about his sports day. He did rather well."

"Hi Gran," he shouted as Barbara cautiously got out of the car. "I got a first in the hundred meters. Hey, what's up? Why are you limping?"

"Your gran has bunions and one of them is infected," said Karen.

"Hallux valgus, you mean." Barbara pushed the front door open and limped to her favourite chair. "Well done Toby! I'm really proud of you."

"Thanks Gran."

Barbara pulled off her shoes and sat down.

"Toby," said Karen, Your feet are the same size as Gran's. Slip your trainers off a moment and let her try them on."

Barbara slid her feet into Toby's trainers and fastened the Velcro straps. A broad smile spread across her face. "Well they're certainly comfortable. Karen, fetch me my catalogue please. I think I'll see what sort of roomy shoes they've got."

Karen put an arm around her mother. "That's great, Mum. I'm sure you're doing the right thing, and if new shoes don't help, then I'll take you back to the Doctor."

"You'll look dead cool in trainers, Gran," said Toby.

"If my feet feel comfortable, then I'll be happy," said Barbara, opening up her catalogue.