Coverage for surgery. Any advice?

I agree with Pam. After going to podiatry appointment, find a shoes tore where they actually measure feet,. Alternatively, podiatrists office may measure and sell diabetic shoes. Let us know how this works out!

For mom, we found shoes that actually fit. She had been cramming her size 8.5 W into shoes too small for decades and her toes are all crunched together.
Same with her bras and slacks. We bought a fabric shoe with more flex than a leather one. Look at Easy Spirit "Frankie"

ba8alou, I do the same thing, going to all the doctor appointments and sitting in with my parents..... because I learned once we got back into the car, Mom and Dad would start talking about their doctor visit and what the doctor had said.... good heavens, what appointment were THEY at???

Have you gone to these appointments with your mom? When our mom got to be 80 or so, I realized that what she was reporting to me what the docs said didn't sound like stuff docs would say...so I started making a sort of girls day out of some of her appointments. It turned out that the information was quite nuanced but my mom was no longer getting what was being said. We go out to lunch and she'd say, so the doctor said... and I'd say gee mom I wrote it down. What she said was.... you should try this. Would cortisone shots help?

By orthotics, I mean the kind of custom orthotics that my podiatrist made, did molds of my feet. Cost like $400. Not covered by insurance. Worth every single penny, I was in agony without them.

Will orthotics help? I have hammer toed feet and my podiatrist says that surgery for my problem is not generally successful...and I'm only 60! Orthotics have helped tremendously.