
I have been needing to replace my athletic shoes for what feels like years and finally tried a new shoe. This week, I want to share the process I go through to buy new shoes to highlight that some tasks might be more complicated for someone with a disability.
Shoe shopping is by far the hardest thing for me to buy due to my hereditary spastic paraplegia. My feet are extremely sensitive, so I have to be mindful of manything bumping, touching, scraping, squeezing, or nudging my foot while I wear the shoe. I also can't tell if the shoe will be comfortable after I break it in. This means that for multiple years I have stayed with a running shoe that causes me neuropathy if I wear it for too long, but I couldn't find anything better.
I have three main hurdles when shoe shopping. My first hurdle is that I cannot tell what I am feeling. This is not limited to my feet and actually extends to most pain with the exception of my head and mouth. When I go shoe shopping, I can't tell if I am having neuropathy or if I need to break the shoe in. Because of this, I am afraid to commit to an expensive shoe because I don't want to have to replace it. To try to help solve this issue I have tried to ask other people to shop with me to ask them questions, but other people unfortunately cannot tell me what I am feeling either. My next problem with shoe shopping is my feet sensitivity. I am in a constant battle between arch support hurting but being potentially beneficial, my size being too big but finally not bumping my toes, my feet being too narrow for shoes, and the soles of shoes hitting me the wrong way. It can be discouraging to buy new shoes because of he in depth process. Lastly, I struggle with cushion. I simultaneously need shoes that are soft and supportive that are not far away from the ground. This combination does not really exist, and finding anything close to it is a challenge.
As of now, I bought a new shoe called the Brooks Glycerin 21, in a color I just learned I could have swapped on the website for pink and maybe regret that. I am taking advantage of a 30 day return period to allow myself to walk in the shoe and see how I feel. So far, I did a little under a two mile walk, and was only slightly uncomfortable. This is better than very uncomfortable, which is what happens most of the time. Certain tasks are harder for me because I am disabled. That is a part of my life I have to navigate and compensate for. I am limited in my ability to shop for shoes, and miss out on certain trends like Birkenstocks and Doc Martens because of my hereditary spastic paraplegia. However, I am then able to invest in high quality shoes that I know fit my needs. Once I find a shoe that works, I am a very loyal customer. Follow me on @Anniekrollblog on Instagram to find an update to see if I end up keeping or returning the shoes with the 30 day return policy.
I find that when I am able to reframe my accommodations as something that can benefit my health as I get older, I feel a little bit less sad about it. Sometimes, I have to do things differently, or spend more time doing something than my peers. I have had to mourn things like not being able to wear heels regularly, having to exercise in more mild ways than most of my peers, and having to pay attention to the distance of things when walking and what shoes I bring if I do walk. However, there are positives such as having this blog and being able to use my experiences to further my education that I don't think I would trade. If you know someone with a disability, it would be very helpful to learn what tasks are more time consuming for them. Having a buddy made going shoe shopping much less stressful, even though I still couldn't pinpoint how the shoe felt.
Thank you for reading about buying new shoes as a disabled person. If you have any questions or comments, reach out at @Anniekrollblog on Instagram or Facebook, leave a comment on the blog, or email me at Anniekrollblog@gmail.com. I hope to see you next week!
Thank you for the info, Annie. So helpful. Please let me know if the shoes are worth the investment as I too struggle to find comfortable shoes in my old age, especially because I also have a narrow foot. Keep up the great work. You're amazing!
What a challenge! I hope these shoes fit, and in the meantime, it's so nice that you can wear them for 30 days to see how it goes with them!