This Little Piggie..

This is not a pretty story, so if you are delicate you might want to skip it! I've had a problem with my right foot for a year now. When you are diabetic that's the way life goes. Things heal slowly and the further down your body, the slower! Instead of taking care of the infection like I usually did, I let it get a good start before I got busy trying to get rid of it. Bad on me! I was given a strong anti-biotic that did not like me and did awful things--like make me throw up, almost pass out and put a rash on the lower part of my leg and because I had on cropped pants, turned it red and made it feel really bad! I had to stop taking that and was put on a different anti-biotic. My ankle was about the size of a softball and my foot was larger than the left one. My leg turning red was the result of my going outside for awhikle--standing under a tree part of the time. It felt like a burn and has stayed that way since last summer! It can also itch intensely to the point where I have to scratch it or run in circles! It hurts to do it and just drives me wild!

I have spent several hundred dollars trying to heal all of this without success. I kept thinking after I finished the anti-biotics that it would get better. Nope. Saturday night I was in a itching mode with the thought that I didn't care if I bled to death, I was scratching! Well, my reward for this was that I started getting pain across my foot that felt like nerve pain and I couldn't tolerate it after an hour. I was having such sharp pain, I was in tears. Usually, I tolerate pain pretty well, but this was unbearable. I tried taking tylenol but it had no effect. After over an hour of this, I decided I was going to have to drive myself to Shelby whateverit'scalled to have someone look at it and give me something for pain!

I made it there and, of course, my foot stopped hurting before I could be seen! I decided since I was there I'd have a dr look at it and see if he said anything I hadn't heard before. So began the long process of an ER visit at 1 am. I wasn't alone but I'm sure the ER at UAB was filled. You fill out papers and then sit and wait..and wait. Just as I was beginning to think I could make it to Mon, I was put in an exam room. There was a tv up in the corner and guess what was on--infomercials. One after another! No way to turn it off, mute it or unplug it! Cruel and unusual punishment!

Everytime I considered leaving, there would be noise in the hallway. I think they do that just to fake you off and think they're on the way in! A nurse came in and filled out more papers and left. Hours later, a young dr popped in for about 5 mins tops! He looked at my foot and said I needed some anti-biotics and if we couldn't get the infection out, I might lose my toe. Well, the next dr that tells me that might get a knee to the groin, too! I just wanted to scream, I know that! Tell me when it's about to happen, not every other trip to the dr's!

So I paid my bill and put my infected toe in my car and at 5 am, drove home! Oh, I did take a very strong anti-biotic before I left and he gave me a prescription for that and pain. I hope this very strong, very expensive (good thing I don't faint) pill works some magic. I'd like to hang on to my toe and I'm very tired of this drama!

I wonder what the foot would look like without a big toe? Not that I really want to know!