This morning I got a call from AdventHealth Hospital as part of the pre-op procedure. Before anything else, the woman made sure to cover that my financial obligation for the costs of the surgery not covered by my insurance were about $1,600. This was waaay more than I expected. So after thinking about it for an hour or so, I called the podiatrist's office and called off the surgery. Maybe the condition will get worse over time and I'll be forced into getting it done then, but for now, it's just an inconvenient achy condition I live with, like the arthritis in my other joints, mainly my hands, knees and shoulders that I just put up with.
The condition is called Hallux Limitus. Basically, the arthritis in my big toe has reduced the fluidity and motion of the first metatarsal joint (base of the toe where it connects to the foot) and, in my case, has also caused the edge of the bone to form spur-like growths of the bone which further limits movement due to pain and discomfort since these bone spurs literally stab from within into the surrounding tissue whenever I walk.
Back in November of 2018 I was setting up for surgery but after watching some YouTube videos of the operation (called a cheilectomy) and reading comments and posts on health related forums that account horror stories of god-awful post op pain and complications I decided to call it off.
This time around I took up interest in getting it done again mainly because I have the time and, I thought, the better insurance that would cover the costs. I was still skittish about the potential for complications both with the general anesthesia and the post op recovery but I put aside my anxieties for the most part since I really would like to be ache-free. So this time it was more about the money. But I won't deny that I'm a little relieved to not have to worry about the risks now.
The $50 insoles the doctor in Altamonte back in 2018 sold me do help a lot. I used to get large callouses on the sides of my right big toe (and to a lesser degree on the left since the problem is less intense there) and haven't had them since using these orthotics. I wish I could say that they helped me walk more but unfortunately my weight has been well over 300 in all the months from then to now so I can't determine if my inability to walk for any duration of time beyond a few minutes without resting is more the fault of my foot aching or simply having to carry so much weight.
So for now I do like the rest of the retched poor in this country and suffer with my ailments. Even Obamacare isn't free medical; certainly not like other countries that have more socialized medicine.
Well, I see Bernie is doing well in the Democratic primaries so far. Maybe he'll end up being the nominee and maybe he'll even win the election in November? He'll get those billionaires to cough up the dough for my toe! I feel the Bern!