If this turns into a more prolonged problem, whether surgery is recommended or not, I already have a plan to get multiple opinions from different doctors. There are one or two in this area that were recommended and participate in my insurance plus a third practice that several people recommended but doesn't accept my insurance. And there is the option of going back for a consult with the doctor in NY who did the original surgery back in the day. And my cousin is a nurse at in an orthopedic surgery practice so she might be able to recommend someone, either in NY or a couple of hours away in Virginia where her in-laws live. So I really hope that it never becomes an issue, but if surgery is recommended I will make sure as much as I can that it is really the best course of action.

One thing that I am thinking about now is that, back when this problem first started around 1990 or '91, no one prescribed the kind of rest that has been prescribed for me now. A doctor in Chicago gave me a cortisone shot, the one in NY had me wear orthotics and I don't remember what else we may have tried before finally going ahead with surgery. But I did so much walking back then and no one ever told me to wear a boot or use crutches or do anything to rest the tendon and let it heal. I suppose I cut back somewhat, I remember wearing sneakers all the time (with business suits), but I was still walking to and from the subway to get to work and walking to the grocery store and the bank and the drug store and the dry cleaners and all my other errands. It seems kind of obvious now, but apparently I wasn't smart of enough to do it on my own and no doctor recommended it.