The Road to Mobility

Every journey I have taken over the last decade+ has been a Road to.... this one is no different. This one is the Road to Mobility. In my last post I detailed how the issues I was born with have turned into OsteoArthritis, leaving me in a great deal of pain when I move. Note, I don't mean run or walk, I mean move. I can't even cross my left leg as the Arthritis is so painful.

I am taking action to get moving again. The doctor and I feel braces are the key to my success, as opposed to serious operations, or amputation(which was discussed). I am going to use two different braces. Tomorrow I will take ownership of an off loading brace for my left knee. Off loading means the brace is configured in a way which will pull the bones rubbing together apart, and allow me to move with considerably less pain(or no pain).  I was fitted last week, and I could tell from the moment I put it on so much relief.  The brace company is configuring one for me.

The other brace is a bit more complicated, but then again, we are talking about my right foot, which has been a mess from the day I came into this world. A certain brace was highly recommended by my doctor, alas the insurance company has said they won't pay for it. For a while they prevented me from even getting it on my own. It's called the ExoSym. As you'll note in the video, this is quite the device.

I've been in contact with Ryan Blanck, the creator of the brace, he believes strongly this will give me mobility like I have not experienced before.

My doctor and I think we can be success in an appeal to get the insurance to pay for part of the brace, but I am still going ahead with this. In fact, I got the thumbs up today, and dates for fitting have been set.

Does all of this mean I can run at some point? I don't know, but I do know I want to be pain free, or at least in less pain as I move.

I will talk more about this as I get closer to the fitting in a few weeks.

Many people have reached out to me about operations and why I'm not trying those? Part of the reason is I can't be out of work for the extended period of time that recovery and PT would demand for a replacement, and it is not just one area, it would be more than one replacement.  I'm trying to become a tour director, and my success depends on me being available for tours and mobile. This made the most sense to me.

We'll see what happens. I'm very excited about this and ready for this new road to begin.

Charlie