Coping With Brachymetatarsia

When I was 9 or 10,I noticed that my 4th toes were shorter than the rest of my toes. I showed my mother,who quickly reassured me that they were “fine”. My toes weren’t fine and thus began my lifelong battle with this freak of nature. I was teased as a child and heaven help if someone who knew about my condition decided to share it with the rest of the world. I’ve tried to hide my toes for 35 years and it’s been hard to deal with. Forget trying to find a pair of shoes that fit right and the flip-flop rage has made it even worse. I was married and my ex never minded my feet. He thought they were cute! My current boyfriend doesn’t mind either and thinks I am ridiculous about not wanting to show my feet, but those feelings of being different from the rest of the world come back to haunt me over and over again. I had only one child because I was afraid of passing it on. Fortunately, he doesn’t have the condition. My Mom has weird toes, too, but her 4th toe goes down, not up and she doesn’t have trouble with shoes and her feet look NORMAL. It was nice to read some of the comments from others living the same life I am. I know things could be worse. I constantly have to remind myself of the blessings I do have. If the worst thing that ever happens to me is that I have “freaky” toes, than I guess I’m pretty darn lucky.