Best Foot Forward

Over the summer I traveled to Pittsburgh to reunite with two of my best gal pals. Emily moved to Pitt about a year ago, and Jessica and I are both Manhattanites. The three of us met in Philly in the summer of 2015 and we have shared a friendship anchored by a decade of memories and laughter.

Pittsburgh was a delightful destination. We explored neighborhoods like Shadyside and Lawrenceville that were moving towards growth and revitalization with new cafés, murals, and indie shops. The arts scene was authentic, unpretentious, and locally celebrated.

The Warhol Museum was a highly prized landmark with the legendary 20th century artist Andy Warhol being one of the city’s favorite sons. When I was a teen, I was fascinated with pop art, Andy’s muse Edie Sedgwick, and the psychedelic-avant garde jams of Nico and The Velvet Underground, musicians that were discovered and managed by him. Nico’s debut album is titled Chelsea Girls, and I have been a Chelsea girl myself for 3 years!

Andy’s artistic range was considerable- spanning from simple sketches of graphite on paper, to commercial art, abstraction, portraiture and filmmaking. The collections were comprehensive in honoring his memory and embodied a depth into his career than any installation I had seen before in the Whitney Museum of American Art or the MoMA.

There was a unique aspect of the museum that called out to me: multiple floors offered tactile renderings of his sketches, so visually impaired visitors could use their sense of touch to perceive and intuit his artwork. This accessibility feature led me to reflect on my current healing process with a temporary disability I have been living with the last six months.

I underwent back-to-back foot surgeries three months apart from each other; the first operation was at the end of February. Yes- I am so glad that I don’t have a third foot! The medical procedure was due to a chronic injury and deformity (ugly word intended because it is accurate). The diagnosis was ::sharp inhale:: a nasty case o’ bunions. Ask me anything about minimally invasive foot surgery and I’ll likely have answers.

I spent 6 weeks on orthopedic boots during the months of March-April and May-June. I learned many valuable lessons about pacing and patience. As I walked the streets of Manhattan slower than I normally would, I began to notice the others who were also moving at this pace. Many New Yorkers were also in boots, wore crutches, and sat in wheelchairs. I hadn’t before put this amount of consideration into the accommodations for those with limited mobility. The American Disabilities Act was enacted in 1990, yet the landscape I scanned was largely non-compliant, failing these protected groups.

In the final miles of recovery, I am blessed to have spent time with my closest friends, people who have known me for a long time and continue to know me– in periods of both health and healing. My trip to western Pennsylvania was a gift: I came together with lifelong friends and located a space for me to reconnect with adolescent art history curiosities.

The evening before I left, we walked a grassy trail and the air quality was so excellent that I could taste it. My next appointment with the orthopedic surgeon is in a few days when she will clear me to run again. I reasoned with myself, and knew I was already ready. The earthy terrain would be softer on my feet than concrete.

I jogged the trail at dusk under a canopy of trees, among fireflies that winked at me, nearby prancing deer, and cicadas that chimed so loud they competed with the sound of my inhales and exhales. The last few yards of my brief run were uphill.

At the summit I found my friends waiting, and we stood there watching the sunset that kept us company too.