Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Go With Your Gut - And Use A Damn Step Stand.

Today's (OK, tonight's post,) post isn't necessarily diabetes related, but it is health related. Also: Go with your gut - even if you think you're overreacting and it's probably nothing.  
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Last Thursday night I was in my kitchen, getting the ingredients together to make blackbean and sweat-potato soup. 
It was the first N’orester of the season, the wind was howling and the rain was falling - it was definitely the night to make fresh soup and and stay in. 
The black beans were rinsed, the sweet potatoes were cubed, the veggies were cut and all I needed was my favorite soup pot - which was perched on the top shelf.

It was my own damn fault. I should have reached for the step stand to reach my favorite soup pot on the tippy-top of the shelf. 
Sidebar & Visual Aide: I have a four tiered shelving unit that is home to all my cooking supplies. 
In the summer I put the big old pots, the ones that are used for making soups, stews, and sauces on the very top shelf because during the summer I’m all about summer salads.   
Anyway, I was feeling groovy and felt the need to stretch out my limbs.
And as I mentioned, fav soup pot was nestled inside an even bigger pot on the tip-top shelf. 
And while I managed to grab onto the innards of the first pot with both hands, favorite soup pot started to wobble and as I moved away from the shelf, said fav soup pot came careening down down and landed squarely on the top of my foot.
It hurt like a motherf*cker and I swear to God I saw stars, felt nauseous, and screamed bloody murder all at the same time. I could feel the color drain from my face and I stood there crying like a baby. 
Then, I got it together and checked for any damage. I took of my sock off and examined/ wiggled my aching foot. It moved in all directions - it ached on one part, where a very faint and not so big bruise was taking shape. 
Since I bruise if you look at me wrong, I wasn’t overly concerned and fully expected it.
And like the trooper I am, I took my second favorite soup pot ( because I was no longer on speaking terms with the offending favorite soup pot,) wiped the inside out with a clean dishtowel, threw some EVOO into the pot and started sautéing onions, veggies, garlic and spices. 
15 minutes later my soup was simmering and I was icing my foot - which I continued to do for 24 hours. 
Cut to the weekend: My foot didn’t feel any worse nor was there copious amounts of bruising .... but it didn’t feel any better, either. And that itself was really weird - that didn't feel right.
Also weird, my foot felt better when I was wearing shoes than when I wasn’t. 
Yesterday morning my foot still hurt and even though it was probably nothing and I was most likely over reacting, I called my Ortho...just in case. 
I kept telling myself that it was better to spend $50 on a specialist co-pay and have it be nothing then to not go and have it end up being something. 

Here's the thing: IT wasn’t nothing. IT was most definitely something - something that's normally very hard to see on an X-ray and involves my navicular bone, and which according to my Dr., is an incredibly tough bone to crack - unless of course, you happen to be me.
Turns out I either have a stress fraction or a bone contusion of said navicular bone and I need to go back on Tuesday for another X-ray and to find out if it’s 2 weeks in a brace or 5 weeks. 
The brace itself looks nothing like a brace. It’s a malleotrain mesh flexible support brace. It's gray and purple and looks like a compression sock sans the toe part and with silicone banding in it - I can  wear it under normal socks and with my asics gels or my dressy flat leather boots. 
I can get from here to there, I can drive ( yep, it’s my gas peddle foot,) and I can go out to dinner with friends. 
But I need to rest said foot. No exercise - lots of sitting and no standing when I can sit, and no high heels. 
I’m not thrilled and I will admit to being upset to the point of tears yesterday.  
But a day makes all the difference and I know it could be worse. 
I have 2 friends battling cancer right now and another friend with a badly broken foot - I am counting my blessings, keeping my fingers crossed and doing exactly what the Dr. tells me.
I have no choice but to make the best of it - I have to make it work. 
I have a lot to do and travel plans in November, so the fact that it happened now is better than if it happened then.

So why am I sharing? 

Because this injury didn’t come with a lot of bruising, I could bear weight on my foot, walked around and had great bloodsugars all weekend, but my bone was still injured.
And if I hadn't gone to the Dr., I would have found out later, when the bone actually broke. 


So if something doesn’t feel right, go with your gut and get it checked out.

And for God sakes, use a step stand!

4 comments:

Doxie Mom Who Loves All and Holds Hope!! said...

Wishing for the best!! HUGS!! Speedy healing!! <3 <3

Charity said...

HUGS!! Hope everything turns out for the best!! Thinking of you!! Healing wishes!! <3 <3

Susan said...

Oh bother... BAD soup pot! Take it easy and take care of that footsie! Love and hugs!!!

Araby62 (a.k.a. Kathy) said...

Yup. A couple weeks ago I was bitten by something and thought it was just another mosquito, until it swelled up the next morning and formed a huge blister in the middle. I'm in brown recluse spider country so I spent the 4 hours in ER thinking, well, if it isn't that it's definitely something - I've never gotten a blister from a bug bite! A week and an antibiotic later it's finally on the healing side, but if I hadn't had it checked out and gotten Bactrim who knows how bad it might have gotten. Doc thought it was a spider for sure and said it was a good thing I thought to have it looked at, especially being T1. Hope your foot is on the mend and sending warm soup vibes :)