Pain and No Pain

Over the last month or so walking has become increasingly difficult.

It started in my left foot, my left heel to be more specific.
Every morning walking would be agony. After walking on it for a few minutes the pain would subside and I got along pretty well. Lately, though, the heel pain would come back over and over throughout my day. If I sat at my desk in the office for an hour or so and then try to walk down the hall it would feel like burning hot knives were being stabbed into my heel until I walked it out again.

In addition to my left foot I was having some trouble with my right foot. It started out as a slight pain between my 3rd and 4th toe. If I walked on it very much, like every evening when I would do my exercising it would really start to burn. I started to suspect I may have a fracture there. There were a couple of other painful places on my left foot, but those were the two main complaints.

It took having the pain become so severe that I was starting to hobble around like a crippled old person, both feet in agony before I went to a podiatrist.

That was yesterday.

He listened to my complaints, examined my feet (I apologized for having hot sweaty ones, and he said he's done this for so long he doesn't even notice anymore), and had his nurses x-ray both of them.

Then he came in with the news:
Left foot:
1. Plantar Fascitis
They wrapped it in a splint and it's felt marvelous since. They will probably make an orthotic for me to wear until it heals up.
2. Hammertoe
which will require a small incision underneath to the tendon so it can straighten out. This will be done at a later time.
3. Bunion
which is just starting to form. It causes some swelling and pain in the joint, but isn't too bad. This is another thing that we'll fix at a much later time.

Then on to the Right Foot:
1. The one and only thing wrong with this foot is a Neuroma.

I had a neuroma removed from that same spot 28 years ago, but sometimes they grow back. Mine did. He told me I could have a shot of cortisone into it to help deaden the pain and also to help shrink it back down to where it wouldn't cause me anymore problems. I told him to go for it. He gave me the shot, which seriously didn't hurt as much as the neuroma. He kept saying, "almost done, almost done, are you okay?" Ha ha. He must have thought I was a real pansy.

I couldn't believe how good I felt this morning. I got out of bed and walked, yes WALKED across my floor. I didn't hobble, lurch, or limp. It was so wonderful. All day at work I just kept looking for opportunities to walk. I probably overdid it because tonight I am once again having a lot of pain in the neuroma.

I go back in 2 weeks to see what else needs to be done.

Pain is a very disabling thing. When you're in pain it seems to cloud everything. I had people asking me all the time if I was tired, or upset, or not feeling good. I really didn't realize the extent to which it had affected me.

Today was a revelation. I was more outgoing, I was more energetic, and I was definitely happier. It made me very grateful for doctors who know the healing arts, for medical advances, and that my particular health problem is very treatable and I will recover fully. It made me ponder on those who are so much less fortunate than I. People who have chronic pain for years. People who have illnesses that linger and diseases that they may never conquer.

Through every life a little pain must fall, cause it really makes the painless days shine.

Village Shopping, Pumpkin Carving and a Pretty Puppy

While in Utah we visited Gardener's Village. It was a really fun place to go. Everywhere you looked it was Halloween in all it's fun fantasy-ness. (is that a word?) Here are a few shots from our stay:













Joni and I carved pumpkins today. I did a cat and she did something else. I think it looks like an alien, she thinks it looks like a devil. Mike thought it looked like a cow, ha ha. Whatever it is, its cute!





We had Oscar clipped a few days ago and he's been freezing ever since. Today Joni bought him a sweater. Now he is one happy puppy.

Bomomo

I don't know who puts these things together.

I don't know how it works.

I just know that when I find places like THIS,

I have way too much fun.

And spend way too much time.

Tree Art

These are so cool! I love the people. They are surreal. I would probably be a little bit spooked if I walked in this garden after dark though. Enjoy!

Get Creative!

I found this website.

A total waste of time.

....but it's fun!

You should try it.

Art Share

Big Scary Baby Mouse

We have a doggy door.
One of those little openings that our puppy can use whenever the urge-to-go-outside hits. I love it. I can work all day and not worry about Oscar dog dancing around with his legs crossed. We also have a underground radio fence, so I don't have to worry about him running away, or getting lost, but that's another story.

That's the good side about having a doggy door.

There's also a bad side.

Cats can also go through the doggy door.
We currently have 2 cats. How we got those 2 cats are also other stories for other days.

Cat #1. Named "Spider-Slayer", "Spike", "Gandalf Salrong Blah Blah the Grey", or more commonly called "Kitty". He is young, easily spooked, and very soft to the touch. He loves to sneak out the doggy door and park himself underneath the bird feeders out on the deck. The good news is that he's not a very good hunter. The bad news is he's getting better.

Cat #2. Named "Burns", not to be confused with "Mr. Burns", another cat we had until last winter. Burns is a pretty old warrior cat. He's been through many a battle. He's had his back leg totally shattered, broken off tooth that abcessed through his lower jaw, has urinary tract disease, and had his eye poked out. (The vet was able to put the eye back in and fix him up pretty good, but we're pretty sure that eye is blind.)

He's also a master hunter.

Every evening like clockwork Burns will announce his arrival with the nightly kill. His meow takes on a different timbre and we immediately know he's got a mouse. We run for the stairs, his favorite mouse eating spot. If we're really fast we can usually grab Burns and throw him outside before he gulps it down. He's learned he needs to eat it really fast before we take it away from him. I don't think he even chews. It just slides down in one long slurp.

We've learned to close up the doggy door every evening about dusk. Once in a while, though, we forget.

The little mouse critters are usually very dead before Burns brings them in, but once in a while he will bring one with a little fight left. That's when things get interesting. Burns has usually wounded them enough that its fairly easy to plop a bucket on top of them and wait until Mike comes home to remove it. I should rephrase that and say it's wounded enough that Joni can plop a bucket on top of it, I'm probably standing on the dining room table cowering in fear.

Me and mice don't jive.

A couple of nights ago I was home alone and I heard "the meow".
Crap.
I run upstairs and don't see Burns anywhere.
I go outside to see if he's ingesting his meal outside (he's learned to do that sometimes so we won't take it away from him).
No Burns.
Oh well, I think, and go into my bedroom.
OH CRAP!!!
Burns has a tiny little baby mouse on my carpet in my bedroom and it's VERY MUCH ALIVE!!!
I'm torn between running down the hall screaming in terror and nervously watching from the doorway. I'm swallow my bravery pill and watch. Burns lets the mouse run around and then pounces on it. It was a very tiny baby mouse. I just knew Burns was letting that thing have way too much freedom. He was going to lose it. I couldn't take it any more, so I went to close up the doggy door. (Why didn't I do it 15 minutes ago?) I turned around and there was Burns. He really wanted me to let him go back outside.

Wait a minute. Where's the mouse?

I knew it. That mouse was so little Burns didn't think it was worth the effort.
I threw Burns back in my bedroom and shut the door. I really wanted him to catch that mouse! He had totally lost interest.

I didn't think I'd be able to sleep in my bedroom knowing there was a rogue mouse loose, but after putting everything up high and making sure none of my blankets were anywhere near the floor, and, oh yea, after taking a sleeping pill, I managed to sleep pretty good.

Fast forward to the next evening. Joni came into my room and said, "mom, come here". I followed her out to the living room where she pointed at "Kitty". He had his nose buried under the recliner, his tail swishing rhythmically back and forth, just as it does when he's under the bird feeders.

We had located the big scary baby mouse. Mike, Joni, Andy, and I were all home, so I did the sensible thing and retreated to my bedroom. Mike, Joni, and Andy are all experienced mouse catchers. They threw Oscar in my room with me and went to do the deed. (Oscar is no help in mice catching.)

I heard shouts, felt thumps and bumps, and more yelling and shouting. At one point Mike yelled through my bedroom door, "WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT OPEN THIS DOOR!"
Like that was going to happen.

Finally the din quieted, Oscar quit barking, I heard the front door open and shut, and then Joni came in.

"we got it."

I knew they would. I thought about helping them, but I would have just gotten in the way. *grin*