Hi,
I am a 49 year old African American female that has struggled with my toe mystery for many years. I do not remember my toes being different until maybe fourth grade. I worn open toed shoes and flip flops and other popular open toed shoes in grammar school like the other children. I notice the change around 11 and that when this kid named Scottie called me “turtle toes”. I cried and cried and the asked my great-grandmotner why my feet looked different. She gave this old wives tell about my mother was marked my a turtle. Crazy huh!! From that day on I very seldom worn shoes that were open unless it hid the “turtle toe. I played basketball and ran track in middle and high school and always worn socks. When the other kids would take their shoes off and give their feet some air, I always made some excuse not to take my socks off. I danced all through school and always worn my dance shoes. I opted not to take karate because you have to go bare foot. I really wanted to take karate.
Like so many other stories that I have read, I too become a expert and finding the right shoes and hid the toe and don’t squeeze the crap out of it. My fourth toes sits and and just seems to wave to people “hello look this way and the weird toe” My mother has the brachymeatarsia too on both her feet like me. My borther has in on only one foot. I am the only girl with 8 brothers and I asked why me.
After reading countless medical article on the condition, I found out the it is more commom in females and the toes appears to stop growing between the age of 5 to 15. Maybe that is why I didn’t notice until fourth grade.
My husband and I went to Hiltonhead on our honeymoon and we were walking on the beach will he yelled come here and asked what kind of animal did I think made the footprints with only four toes-I was very hurt but responded-YOUR WIFE!! He tried to joke and play it off, but it was too late. You see, my fourth toe doesn’t even touch to ground. I leave a four toes impression in the sand and on the floor. It is truly embarrassing!! When ever you go to the pool, the beach, the mall in the spring, or anywhere there are bare feet, I search for someone with toes like mine. My husband says that I am obsessed with looking. I have any seen a couple of people with this condition other than my mom and brother.
If all of this is not enough, I am a teacher and after 27 years of standing on my legs, I have developed bunions!! When I went to see my primary care physician, he asked if I had an injury and got that toe cut off, I responded by pulling off my other sock and saying “no I have a matched set!”
Last year was the last straw when I developed toe nail fungus!!!!!!! I only wear closed in shoes all year round.
I thank god for feet. Sometimes its just hard to keep your chin up. I now have to decide whether to have bunion surgery and go through all that without being able to get my toes fixed. I did found a Dr. Lee in California who does the bunion and a new revolutionary brachymetatarsia surgery. Let’s all get together and see if he will take us all as a test group and able get the surgery done for poquo-free! (is that the word?)Hit me back. I am so glad to finally have a place to vent. This has been bottled up for 35 years. No one understand unless they have to walk in our shoes.