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My name is Nancy and I came from Egypt. I live in Cairo. I was born with a birth defect.
I had a bigger foot than the other and I started to wear different sizes of shoes. So, with
time, my right foot developed a bunion, and it has been increasing with time. I started
with one size difference and I ended up with three sizes difference between the two feet.
So, it was always a painful experience to get the shoe, to find the right shoe. I was
never able to get out of my tennis shoes. It wasn't comfortable at all. It was really
painful all of the time. I was never to able dress like a girl. It's not easy.
In our third world, they would consider this a cosmetic surgery. We don't have the specialty
back there. I have been saving for five years to be able to come and do this surgery. I
don't think it's expensive at all. I think it's very reasonable and it's worth it, in
simple words. Sometimes, it's not easy to make the decision to travel half of the world
and put on your life savings. For me, it was my life savings. You'll put lots of money
and put your feet into the risk of a surgery. You would want to know what to expect.
Two years ago, I started to search seriously and take steps towards doing something. I
wrote to people in India, in Costa Rica, in the UK, a couple of centers in New York. Most
of the time, I didn't like the answers I got. Like, "Well, we need you to be here so we
can decide if we can do something or not." Or, "OK. We can do something about the bunion,
but not the hammertoe." Or, "Well, we need some more x-rays. We need to put you through
these machines to see the bones and everything." So I didn't like any of it. I wouldn't go,
all the way just to find out if it can be done or not. I needed to hear, "Yes, I can
do it," first.
I came to find Dr. Moy’s website. It was the best site I have ever seen. Because I
got to meet the doctor before I actually met him. So, I sent them a couple of photos, and
then I got a reply from Penny. She said "Well, yeah, Dr. Moy can do it for you." And that
was it. She didn't say, OK. We need more anything, investigations, we need you to be here to
tell you if we can do it or not. No, she said, "Dr. Moy can fix this for you." This is a
very good start, actually. This is exactly what I needed to know, that somebody knows
what to do. And he knows that he can do it. After everything happened online [inaudible
00:03:19] and everything, it was not easy at all to get the Visa. I needed to secure
some amount to prove to the embassy that I can make the trip, and I have just enough
to funds to go stay there and come back. I booked everything online, the hotel, the flights.
Everything was just as easy as I have never expected it to be.
I arrived on the same day of my appointment. I came right to the center. I had my first
consultation. Two days later, I was in the surgery room having my surgery done. I woke
up from the anesthesia, and I had to put on my clothes. I was able to stand, walk to the
change room, put on everything and get out. I had the surgery. It was bone surgery and
I am able to walk. That was like a miracle. In the old days, you used to see them lying
on beds. They're feet are elevated, and it's hanged, and they can not just sneeze. And
I was able to walk, walk around on the very first hour after the surgery. So it was amazing.
Let me tell you something. Sometimes when you read about something on a website, or
on a magazine, or watch a commercial on TV, you still have this little bit of doubt. You
can't imagine that it's so good to be true. Would I really be able to walk right after
the surgery? After I was awakened, I put my feet on the floor. I was able to walk, and
I said "It was true. Every word on the website, and everything I read about was really true.
It's true." I knew then that, well, I'm not going to have any pain after the surgery because
it said so, and I had this little lot. I have stitches. I have bones removed. It's something
big, something major. It should hurt. After, I was able to walk, I thought, this will never
hurt. And it didn't.