Ouch

So lately I’ve been thinking how good my foot feels. It was about a year ago that I broke it, so it’s been natural to contrast how it feels now versus how it felt a year ago during the same activities. Saturday, April 28, we went to Festivale Internationale de Louisiane, a free music festival in Lafayette, Louisiana, and the contrast between last year and this was so marked it made me wonder again how I managed to go for almost another month before seeing a doctor about my foot.

Then Thursday night we went to a lecture on horticulture at the Old Governor’s Mansion. The Old Governor’s Mansion is perched on a slight rise in downtown Baton Rouge, and to get to the door, you have to climb what for me is a pretty steep slope. Coming from the other side of the drive, the slope is less steep, but getting to that side requires circling the block on one way streets and we thought we were late. To add to the fun, I wasn’t wearing my New Balance shoes, but a dressier pair of shoes that still have built in arch and heel support, but not as much overall stability.

I climbed the drive very slowly, but my foot still felt sore the rest of the night. By morning it seemed okay, and I was even able to putter in the garden, planting a few pots and moving the hose to water the new plants from the past couple of weeks. My foot felt okay, but later in the day I felt an occasional stabbing pain mid-instep. Saturday I baked the cookies, and again my foot felt okay, but more stabbing pains in the afternoon. By Sunday night, I got online and booked a morning appointment with my foot doctor.

“Welcome back,” Dr. S greeted me with a smile. 

“Thank you, but I’m not feeling quite as enthusiastic about this visit as you are.”

I explained about the Old Governor’s Mansion (having been there, Dr. S knew what I meant) and my subsequent symptoms. Dr. S poked around at my foot and found a joint that felt odd. “You think it’s dislocated?” I asked.

“Subluxed,” he corrected. After yanking my third toe until he was happy, or at least happier, with the position of the joint, he positioned a selection of adhesive pads on the top and bottom of my foot, wrapped it all with a bandage, and told me to keep the whole mess dry until Friday, when I can remove it. Also, I need to stay off the foot as much as possible. He then had one of his minions add more padding to the underside of my shoe insert, the idea being to alter the way my foot hits the ground when I walk so as to keep pressure off the joint until it snuggles back into place and the irritation is gone. I also need to return in two weeks, or sooner if it doesn’t feel better next week.

So it’s not broken again, although it’s beginning to look like I am doomed to wearing orthopedic athletic shoes in perpetuity, which will be interesting with a friend’s wedding coming up in September. In the short term, I am restricted to sponge baths and washing my hair in the kitchen sink.

So yesterday afternoon, as I lounged on my bed resting my foot, my husband came in and asked “Why is it so warm in here?”

It turns out although the thermostat is set on 76 (24 Celsius), the temperature in the house is at 82 (28) and not budging. Did I mention it’s in the 90’s (30’s) outside?

So we are having a heat wave, the air conditioner is broken, and I can’t take a shower or bath until Friday. Ouch. It’s still better than this time last year.