I have Hereditary Motor Sensory Neuropathy Type 2 (HMSN) also known as Charcot Marie Tooth (CMT).
In a nutshell, this means I have very little feeling in my feet, this lack of sensation starts much higher up my leg, but gets worse the lower you go.
This was later described to me as ‘Imagine you are driving from London to Edinburgh, most people would use the motorway and main roads, I on the other hand would go through all the back roads, would eventually get there but late, however sometimes I would get lost on the way and never make it’. This is how my nerves work.
My right knee was fused straight (arthrodesis) back in 2003, after the bones in my knee collapsed. It was described to me that the bones in my right knee were like honeycomb. Full of holes and no substantial structure to them, hence a total knee replacement (TKR) was not an option.
I also have drop foot in both ankles, therefore have no control of either ankle and have worn orthotics for many years.