A recent incident has uncovered the possible repercussions of wearing the wrong shoe size. Choosing to wear the wrong shoe size cannot only cause discomfort but can also cause something worse, like your leg being amputated.
Written by Abeer Athar |Published : June 15, 2025 2:17 PM IST
Martin Ralph, a UK-based resident Uk had to undergo a foot amputation surgery for a part of his foot after choosing to wear tight and fitted shoes for a wedding. In the sequence of events, the 61-year-old UK resident was given the new pair of orthotic footwear in time to complement him on his big day on July 27, 2019, as reported by a source.
The man felt the shoes were tighter than his actual size and made the producers aware of the situation, but despite his constant complaints of them being too tight and uncomfortable, he constantly kept being reassured by NHS staff that they just needed to “break in.” Thus, he decided to wear the shoes to his wedding, but due to the discomfort and inability to walk, he had to resort to the second option and out of them off just a few hours later.
Post few weeks later, he developed a strange condition like an abscess on his right toe. Panicked, he immediately rushed to the nearby hospital.
On his arrival, the dormant tissue was removed, and his toe was washed out. But what made the situation concerning was when the doctors spotted the first joint, and thus he had to go for a toe amputation surgery.
He later said that his feet were wrongly and incorrectly measured, not just once but three times, and when he raised concerns about the same, the man was reassured that they just needed”wearing in.”
The NHS made the wrong measurements
He had measurements taken at Amersham Hospital, but they were all measured incorrectly. He even told them during the time of the fitting that they were all incorrect.
The man went back and forth, concerned about the same, but was reassured by the person in charge, who did the measurements, that he just had to wear them in and would get the right fit.
However, things turned topsy-turvy when, halfway through the wedding day, one of his feet started getting particularly sore, eventually leading him to change out of them.
He informed that he usually wears orthotic boots, but this time he wanted to go for something else to wear for his wedding.
He was more than excited to receive them on the given time and date, as he had been anticipating them for months.
In the middle of the wedding, he started feeling uncomfortable with the shoes, tried to remove and re-wear them, but the problem persisted, and he continued to struggle with the same uneasiness.
But later, when Martin took off his socks, what he saw left him in a state of panic; his toe had become swollen and was three times its actual size. A few weeks later, the situation escalated, and he ended up noticing a large blister on one of his feet that eventually got bigger and worse.
In the due course of time, it became infected and started to spread up to his right leg, and the UK resident also reported that he was warned by the doctors that his leg might need amputation too. The doctor told him that it was infected and could be treated by antibiotics, but later a red line started to appear that showed how serious it was and ended up reaching up his leg.
The doctors told him that he was either going to lose his toe or his leg, and he eventually got him into the ward and said they were going to clean it. But when the patient woke up, they could feel pain.
On asking the doctors, he was informed that it was too far gone and that they had already amputated his toe.
When the doctors removed the cover, he could see his bone. Eventually, as the years rolled by, the dad of four had to deal with further troubles with his foot and ended up losing three more toes.
A simple decision to choose a different shoe, perhaps a different size, can cost a foot. The man who once was the owner of a cleaning business, now can’t run the business as he struggles let’s pain and can’t walk unsupported.
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