SOUTH KINGSTOWN – University of Rhode Island sophomore Haley Pastolove discusses the struggles of going through her everyday life on a college campus with a fractured foot.

           Pastolove, an out-of-state student from Jericho, New York had just come back from spending the recent Thanksgiving break at her family’s home in Boca Raton, Florida. At her family’s Thanksgiving dinner she wore a pair of heels for six hours plus in the home, where she was left in pain with her feet covered in bruises.

           Thinking it was just a bruised foot, she let it go and thought nothing of it and continued to enjoy her vacation and time with her family in Florida. Upon returning to school, she noticed no improvement in the bruise, and found herself in more pain than a bruise would normally create.

           After waking up one morning and being in extreme pain as soon as she got out of bed, she knew something more serious was happening here than just a bruised foot. On the morning of December 2nd, Pastolove decided to go to health services on campus and figure out what the problem was.

           They immediately took x-rays and after being there for well over an hour, the doctor told her she had a stress fracture on the side of her foot and a fracture to her metatarsal bone. She was immediately given a boot to wear to try and heal the fracture before it got worse.

Pastolove, no stranger to fractures or breaks, was thoroughly shocked when she learned that she had a stress fracture on                the side of her foot. Seeing this as a major inconvenience, Pastolove was unhappy and frustrated with the situation. Being a person who likes to get out and walk around and take drives, she knew she was going to have to take it slow given her current situation.

           “I love going for drives, and with this stupid boot it’s a huge inconvenience for me,” she said. “They did tell me I’m aloud to drive, but every time I want too, I have to carry a shoe around with me and take the boot on and off, and its so tiring.”

Being an on-campus student at URI, she talks about the struggle of getting to class while wearing the boot for her fracture.             “This campus is one big hill, and lugging a huge boot up not only that but stairs too is so tiring,” said Pastolove.

 “I have to leave extremely early to get to class on time and people laugh at me when I try to get up the stairs which sucks, and the weather has been horrible lately which hasn’t helped my situation either,” she said.

           On the morning of December 12th, Pastolove revisited health services, where she was told her foot was healed and she no longer had to wear the boot.

           “I was so happy, I don’t have to struggle everyday anymore,” she said.

            Pastolove, who has bounced back to her old day-to-day life, is grateful to be back on her feet. Feeling as her boot slowed her down and caused her distress, she could not have been happier to have it removed.