On Sunday, April 21, while unloading my SUV of 3 bags of groceries, 2 cases of toilet paper, as well as 2 floral pots of summer annuals for Mum’s front porch, I glanced down at my feet to see the sock on my right foot soaked in bright red blood.
Horrified, I proceeded to the guest bathroom & slipped off the offloading footwear I had been wearing, & then my blood covered sock. A small piece of skin & the toenail of my second toe, also known as the long toe, flew up through the air, landing on the bathroom floor. Where the toenail had once been was a patch of red, which trailed along the front of my foot, filling up the crevices of the rest of my toes. I slipped off my t-shirt & jean shorts, & hobbled to the shower where I turned it on. The water ran over my leg & foot, as the blood mixed with the water, swirling around on the tiles of the shower floor & down the drain as if I was the dying star of Alfred Hitchcock’s PSYCHO. I pour some isopropyl alcohol over the toe & foot, & hobble back to the tub where I can sit.
“Are you okay?” I heard my Mom say from the other side of the bathroom door. “Do you need any help wrapping your foot?”
“I’m okay.” I say as I sit my nude body down on a towel covering the side of the tub. I pull a few bandages out & apply them to the impacted toe after drying it off. It’s not bleeding like it was, & the bandages go on with ease. I got dressed again, as I had a movie I had tickets for, & I was damned if I was going to miss that.
Fast forward 48 hours, & the nurse at the wound care clinic is just as horrified by the new wound on my right foot. The long toe is yucky, & its healing will take time. Which sucks, as the great toe on my left foot has been healing, although it’s been taking time. She invites another nurse in to look at the latest open scar. The other nurse notes that the great toe on my right foot looks like it’s on the verge of opening up again. Because diabetes. Both agree, I should go to the ER, where I am now. Waiting.
Today I finished the last of my oral antibiotics. Wound care thinks I’ll probably be re-admitted for another six weeks of IV antibiotics treatment. Fun.
This was originally posted to Flickr and Instagram.
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