I am no stranger to pain.
I have experienced pain so intense that simple life functioning activities were impossible and my mind experienced hallucinations, such as in the days after my cancer surgery when I was sliced open from my ribs to my crotch.
While that is the greatest pain I’ve ever experience those 24 years ago, what I have been going through in the past week with my right foot come right up there in the top pain experiences of my life. Something, presumably an infection, set into my right foot. The pain increased quickly until I was in constant waves of pain. The slightest movement fired electric waves of agony. When I walked, I used Dad’s canes, and I was barely able to hobble, taking steps measured in inches.
I am diabetic, and I already had a partial amputation of that foot, so I’ve been in great anxiety about keeping that foot. When I went to the ER several days ago, I took my “just in case I’m admitted” bag, with extra clothing. I put down a lot of dog and cat food and I fully expected when I left home that I would be returning without my foot. I went to the er, and they gave me a prescription for antibiotics and Hydrocodone and I went home.
I’ve been taking antibiotics and hydrocodone while either in bed or in my recliner for the past few days. Slowly, day by day, the pain is subsiding, and now it appears I will likely keep this foot, this time, although there is still enough pain to make me realize I could still lose that foot if I am not persistent in my recovery.
I was my father’s caregiver for the last fifteen years of his life until he died about 2.7 years ago. As such, I often helped Dad with his physical therapy. I became very familiar with the human body and ways to exercise someone who can’t easily stand and has to do isometric exercises. I started to flex my foot to regain some range of motion, and it HURT a lot. I decided to “move into the pain” my moving my foot slowly into the positions that caused the most pain. I figured that the movement would pump blood into the infected areas, thus both moving oxygen and the antibiotics into the affected regions. I considered that increase flow could also cause the infection to be able to spread into other tissues, but I figured that more blood would counter any bacteria spreading.
It was quite frustrating to be in such pain. I could not stand up quickly, and several times I ignored knocks at the door because it would have taken me a lot of time to get to the front door, and in this neighborhood, unknown knocks tend to be someone selling something I don’t need nor want. A more frustrating thing was hearing the puppies doing something they probably should be doing, like knocking something over or tearing something up. Before, when I had a pain-free foot, I could just get up and stop the puppers, but the pain kept me sitting.
The puppies didn’t understand why their favorite chew-toy (me) wasn’t getting up to play, and I was frequently covered with a living blanket of five puppies and one of my cats.
I’ve been frustrated in that there is so much to do in my house, and giving the schools are now on break, this is the time I’d planned to do it, but the pain has kept me immobile. I’ve had to get used to the idea that all I can do is be patient, sit or lie down, do isometric exercises with my feet and legs, and hope I continue to get better.
Still, this again reminds me how frail my human body is and how much my health is an ongoing increasingly complex project.
Hopefully, by next week, I’ll be able to return to work as a substitute teacher.
OK, that's enough rambling, for now.
Wednesday, Jan 3, 2018 · 5:49:46 PM +00:00
·
jtg
My foot got much worse overnight.
There is a big hole oozing puss on my heal near the foot pad. It appears that there had been a puss packet under the skin there that burst.
There is less pain, but now I’ve got an open pus oozing wound. This looks like it will be difficult to treat and I may end up not being able to work for weeks or longer. I’ll be needing help if this is the case.
I’m returning to the ER today and see what they do.
If I’m admitted, I’ll also need help with critters. I’m going to leave food and water for them, but someone will need to check in on them periodically. I’ll post more if I'm admitted.
#jtg