If you don’t know what a bunion is, you probably don’t suffer from one and you should be very very thankful. Allow me to explain.
For as long as I can remember, my mother and all her sisters have had terrible feet. My mother, for instance, has lean beautiful legs but when you look below her ankle, her feet may freak you out. The reason my mother’s feet look like this is because my late grandfather had bunion bones and genetically, his children developed bunions too. Well, so did most of us cousins alike unfortunately.
Basically, a bunion is sort of a bump on the joint at the base of the big toe that forms when the bone or tissue at that joint moves out of place. This forces the big toe to bend toward the others, often causing lots of pain on that area of the foot. With time, it may remain as it is, become stiff, sore and may even worsen as you grow older. It all depends on how lucky you are.
Bunions form when the normal balance of forces exerted on the joints and tendons of the foot becomes disrupted. This disruption can lead to instability and cause that deformity. They can be genetically passed down to you, be caused by the way you walk or even the type of shoes you wear. You wouldn’t know and even if you’re not born with one, it doesn’t mean that you wouldn’t develop it as you grow older.
My mother’s bunions, sadly, developed to be the worst amongst all her sisters’. Her bunions grew larger and became more prominent over the years. It has become so severe that her big toe has now forced the second toe to overlap the third toe on both feet. If you can imagine it, you’d know that it’s definitely not pretty.
Naturally, just like my mother, I have bunions on both my feet and they’ve gotten worse as I grow older. Obviously, they don’t compare anywhere near to my mother’s poor feet, but trust me, they are pretty bad. When I was a kid, clearly the bunions didn’t bother me because I pretty much only wore flip flops or sneakers anyway. But when I’ve started maturing into a young adult, I then realised what a pain bunions are to have in my lifetime.
Firstly, my feet are mostly always in pain. I could be taking a stroll down the park, be seated in the cinema watching that much-awaited flick, or even just laying down on my bed – my feet would still hurt like a b***h and it gets super uncomfortable. This isn’t the regular kind of pain I’m talking about. Imagine an excruciating, ringing pain that’s ongoing and never disappears. It’s always there at the back of your mind, and yes, even if you’re getting maximum pleasure from a steamy session in bed. When it hits you that all your body weight eventually goes to your feet because you depend on them to walk, duhh, that pain becomes 10 times worse.
However, I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to bear with that pain for the rest of my life. Compared to when my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer about two years back, well, although different, that sort of pain was unbearable for me and I’d never want to experience that ever again. So, who am I to be complaining?
Having said that, there’s just this one thing I’ll never be able to swallow – it’s a huge part of me being a female – and that’s not being able to wear pretty shoes. Forever, literally. Let me give you an insight.
Closed-toe platform heels? Nope, don’t even think about it. The wide front section of my feet always struggle fitting into the shoes and when they do fit, the pain will come instantaneously or within half an hour of wear.
Single-strap sandals or heels? You’ll be lucky if your gigantic bunion fits under or through the strap. I can assure that out of 10 pairs I try, my bunions would probably only fit under and through two or three.
Most comfortable pair of shoes ever? LIES! The front section of the shoes is way too narrow for my wide bunion feet. It took me months to break into mine and despite already breaking into them, they still hurt every single time I put them on.
Shoes that are way too rigid? Nope. Shoes which straps cut halfway across your bunions? Nope! Peep-toe shoes? NOPE! Going shoe shopping is a freaking nightmare for me and I hate it. I could go shoe shopping for hours and come home with nothing in my hands – not because I’m extremely picky, but because they just aren’t right for my feet.
Yes, I could get my feet fixed through surgery but just thinking about it irks me out completely. The surgery involves breaking open your feet, re-setting the bones the right way and possibly, shaving part of the bones off. I’m even scared of being sent to the hospital, so do you really think I would submit myself to having my bones shaved off and to be walking on crutches for months?
Although I’m not satisfied, I guess I’ve sort of settled. I’ll take the fate that’s been bestowed upon me. I’ll love my poor, ugly, deformed feet. To all my future boyfriends or husband, I’m sorry you have to endure hours and hours of me complaining about not being able to find the right pair of shoes. And mum, know that I love you with all my heart even though I’ll be living with ugly feet for the rest of my life. <3
If you have bunions too, sound off in the comments!
