I had a check-up with the foot surgeon for my toes today and had some bad news.  My toes are still swollen and don’t bend well, so I asked the doctor what he did in the surgery to correct them and if they will ever bend again.  The answer is “yes” and “no.”

Yes, my toes will bend at the first joint below the toenail and at the third joint where the toes meet the metatarsals; however, the correction required shaving a little bit of bone off each side of the second joint.  Then the pins were inserted so that the two bones could fuse during the healing process.  As a result, the second joint will never bend again.

All my life, I’ve been able to curl my toes around small objects to pick them up off the floor.  Then I bend my knee to lift my foot and I grab the object with my hand.  It’s quicker and easier than bending over.  It looks like I’ll never do this again.  Darn!  It was a handy little trick!  On the other hand, I’ll be able to wear shoes without getting blisters on my toes, so it’s probably a good trade-off.