Foot status: getting near the end

80: I've tried the things that probably had, oh, an eighty percent chance of curing me. (Seeing doctors.)

40: I've tried the things that had maybe a forty percent chance if I'm generous (physical therapy, orthotics, surgery).

10: I've tried some things that had maybe a ten percent chance (myofascial therapy, "anodyne" infrared therapy, chiropractic care).

I'm going to guess acupuncture is also in the 10% range. I might be a bit generous to put it at ten, but what the heck, I'll be generous today. Given that the podiatrists can't help, seeing one more type of doctor -- an orthopedist rather than a podiatrist -- is probably also in the 10% bucket. I'll try those two. Babying my feet as much as I can possibly manage for six months to a year is probably also around 10%.

5: Getting a doctor recommendation from retired physician / square-dance-friend in the Los Angeles area is maybe in the five percent range. I haven't done this yet.

1

Then I'm into the one percent bucket. There are endless things that might be charitably considered to have a one percent chance of just fortunately luckily happening to work for my problem. Note that none of this gets any less expensive, though its potential to help me becomes vanishingly small.

I can bleed away my time and energy and money fighting this problem less and less effectively, or I can spend my life living (what's left of) my life. Once I get into the one percent list I'm likely to opt for the latter. Not only do I not have infinite time or money or energy, I don't have infinite reserves of emotional strength for the hope and the disappointment.

In short, I'm not going to do much from the one percent list.

One way or another, this story probably ends in 2006.