The club foot

The last couple of days have been uncommon in that I experienced one of the more curious and rare manifestations of my multiple sclerosis. I had not really named this manifestation, that is, until yesterday when I christened it and called it "The club foot". Unfortunately, I experienced this sensation in both feet. Let me explain the sensation.

About 4 days ago, my feet started tingling and I experienced regular instances of pins and needles. This graduated to more pronounced tingling during the following days, which, under normal circumstances and with the right frame of mind, may have been construed as pleasurable. However, as a veteran of various relapses and flare-ups, I anticipated that the pleasure would not be mine!

This was borne out the day afterwards when all feeling in my feet was disengaged. I could not feel the socks on my feet nor the texture of the carpet I was walking on. I could not feel whether my foot was airborne or on terra firma. I was not capable to distinguishing whether the ankle was contracted or flexed, without performing a visual check.

It goes without saying that mobility was, dare I say it, profoundly challenging and the source of a vast vocabulary that would have made hardened sailors blush like victorian young ladies on their first date. Each step I took was neither painful nor pleasurable, but it was hazardous and comical. I have the ability to "step outside of myself" and view myself in a very objective manner, furthermore, I can see the comical side of a great variety of situations. Whether this is a defence mechanism, or not, is largely immaterial; however, it does allow me to react to the situation in a positive way. I believe that this is important.

If I were to react to situations in a negative way, the situation would be aggravated and one step closer to a less than favourable outcome. Although I do have access to a motability scooter, I refuse to use it ... at least ... until all the modifications I requested have been completed. I do not ask for much, but I insist on having all terrain capability, fuzzy dice and a flame job. Once more I find myself rambling on.

This sensation or, more precisely, the lack thereof, lasted for two days and had various knock-on effects; such as lack of sleep, reduced mobility and back pain. The latter was caused by the awkward walking manner that one is forced to adopt. These "after-shocks" are as difficult to cope with as the principal event.