My Poor Little Tootsies

I had my toe surgery last Friday. They still hurt.

***WARNING: Gross stuff ahead***

I've had a problem with ingrown toenails on both sides of both big toes since I was in my early teens. However, my oldest sister went through you-know-where to get hers taken care of. Hence I have avoided a permanent solution to the problem for a long time, often resorting to what they call "bathroom surgery" (not pretty).

It got so bad lately that I was having a hard time standing up at work. Teaching kinda requires standing up for a bit. I finally got the guts up to go to the podiatrist.

He looked around and did some minor nail trimming. The bad news was that the problem was only going to be fixed if he basically removed part of my toenail on the right side of my left toe. I was scared and he knew it, so I didn't have to make an appointment then. When I did, I got a little prescription for valium to calm me down.

I had to take one to sleep the night before and two before the appointment.

My toes had just gotten worse, so he ended up removing portions of both sides of my left big toenail and one side of my right big toenail. My mom drove me to the appointment and I asked her to come into the room with me for moral support. She's a medical type too, so I'm sure she was curious. The worst part of the actual "procedure" was the shots to numb me up. Didn't watch at first, but when I realized that it wasn't going to hurt, I didn't mind as much. It was like it wasn't happening to me. Blood doesn't really bother me, either. He actually used a tourniquet on my toes. Heh. Odd how something like that could amuse me.

It hurt like blazes after the numbing agent wore off, but the darvocet helped. I basically spent the whole weekend on the couch with my feet up. I didn't even sleep in my bed because it's a loft and I was afraid I'd hit my toes going up and down the ladder.

*** End Gross Stuff ***

I'm mostly off the darvocet and onto advil now. When my toes are hurting, I walk like a penguin -- a big fat emperor penguin. I think I'm even the right height.

I'm sleeping in my own bed, but I have to keep the covers off the toes. I have to wear open-toed shoes and I'm terrified someone will step on my toes in a crowd. Then there's the daily soak in epsom salt and the bandage changes. Honestly, I think they look funny wrapped up --- like teenie casts for your tootsies.

If this works, it will be well worth it. I'd rather be in somewhat more pain for a little while than in lesser pain constantly. If it doesn't work, there may be a podiatrist reported missing.