Can you ever get the country out of the lady?

( I started this post a few years ago and it was promptly lost in the Ethernet. Just found it again and decided to post it because I still had a sense of humor, weird though it may be, and since I now have that problem again, but in the other foot, I’m sure there will be another trip to the ER and another painful interlude coming up in the future.)

Maybe. But it isn’t easy. I lived in the country most of my life and have always gone barefoot. In the summer I was barefoot outside as well as inside. Winters I wear socks in the house and only put on shoes when I go outside. Living in town now and in an apartment building I have to wear shoes when I go out, or if in the power chair, just heavy socks.

I sew a lot, making doll clothes and quilts. And with no feeling at all in my fingers I usually drop a lot of pins and needles, finding them when I step on some and sit on others. Most people say “OUCH” when they see that, but I have MS and don’t have much physical pain, so while I might say something like “oops, I found it” I’m never very concerned. So when my foot began hurting a few days ago it didn’t really concern me much. I had already washed my feet once this month, but decided to take the socks off and wash them a second time. I guess it was a good idea to take the socks off, even though they weren’t stiff yet. Imagine my surprise when I saw the foot was red and swollen just around the big toe! So, being an independent person and a DIY’r, I decided to care for it myself and began picking at a small scab. Whew! what a mess. I won’t go into detail here because I’m trying to eat, but suffice to say it was infected!

So, for the next few days I washed the foot, just that one of course since the other one was okay, put antibiotic cream on the area and bandaged it to keep the sock from making it worse! Okay, okay, so I’m exaggerating a little bit, but seriously, by Friday it was hurting and I made the decision to have my son take me to a clinic to get an x-ray.

The doctor there was telling me how I would have to begin a wound management program to clear up the infection, how it would entail going every day for treatment, blah, blah, blah. Then they showed him the x-ray. He looked a few times before informing me that I have a sewing needle embedded in my foot, but most important, I had to go to the ER for immediate treatment, maybe surgery. Huge sigh!

While I was signing out of the clinic, he told Mike about it and I could hear him tell the doc that I had said in the beginning it was a sure bet that I had a needle in there.

Back out in the rain, climbing back up in the truck, arguing with the seatbelt about who was boss there, getting help from a laughing daughter-in-love, finally getting the seatbelt fastened in time to take it off again at almost the same time, I finally slid out of the truck and grabbed hold of the walker again. Only one person was allowed to go in with me, so while Mike stayed with me Janette went shopping.

I only remember a few of the details of that visit to the ER, just that the PA who was working on the toe couldn’t get the needle out so he just made the entry bigger by means you probably don’t want to know and sent me home to wait for the needle to emerge. While he was working on the foot my darling son took off for the cafeteria rather than holding my hand. Was I surprised at that? Nope! He’s the one who fainted when his youngest son was born.

Okay, such is my tale of past experiences with needles in my foot. And now that I’m remembering it again, I have to say that I was still at the Roosevelt House at the time and had the horrible indoor/outdoor carpeting that catches everything that is dropped and hangs on to it until someone pulls it out manually (or by stepping on it). I am now in a place with hardwood floors and needles and pins are easy to see and corral with my magnet. Still dropping them but so far have only sat on a few needles that embed themselves in my lift chair. Just a mild OUCH for most of them but none embedded in my derriere. At least not yet.

it’s out!

Last night, after a day of agony from the needle in my foot I removed the dressing prior to the shower time and an inch long piece of metal popped out. Now I can’t decide if it really was a needle or a pin, or even a paperclip. I called a Podiatrist yesterday for an appointment to see if he could get it out for me, or at least try something. If I had known that was all it would take to get the silly thing to come out on its own I would have made the call on Monday!

So now no more antibiotics, no more warm soaks, no more big bandages, just a little band aide for a few days to cover the site it went in and then, barring my finding another one the same way, I’ll be okay. As i told my son, my foot is now as empty as my head! I really must try to remember to wear shoes though. I’ve caught myself a couple of times jumping out of the chair and starting across the room barefoot. Way too much for a brain dead person to remember.

It was a lovely trip to the doctor’s though. Green grass, green leaves on the trees that had finished blooming, and blooms on so many of our dogwood trees. I didn’t notice any azaleas today, but we weren’t exactly on a sight seeing tour, so if it is as pretty tomorrow as today I’ll sail forth in my power chariot and take a tour of our “Dogwood and Azalea” trail, just a few blocks from my building. If not very pretty I’ll hang out at the library for a little while. It’s been forever since I visited there. At least it has seemed like forever to me.

One of my favorite emojis

One of my earlier dolls, now living with her full time mama.

Hey, it seems that a lot of things are beginning to shape up here. I actually managed to insert a couple of photos before the beginning or the end of the post.