Over the last year my bunion has gotten increasingly worse.

Over the last year my bunion has gotten increasingly worse. I got a cortisone shot around this time last year. It helped for about 6 months and the pain came back. A friend recommended I get brooks shoes in a wide, that helped tremendously. Today I woke up in a lot of pain and my husband said my foot looked swollen. Is it “normal” to go a while without any issues and then suddenly be in pain? What was your “aha” moment that made you go thru with surgery?