"Suspended in Mid Air"

    Did I tell you I injured my foot recently?  I couldn't for the life of me figure out what I'd done, but it hurt like hell.  I had a some difficulty obtaining an appointment with a podiatrist.  I didn't consider it a problem, however.  After all, it only hurts when I walk!  

     I began rooting through my closet trying on different shoes that I can wear that don't cause me pain, to carry me through until my appointment.  I discovered that my solitary pair of Sketchers are the most comfortable shoes I own.  (I am planning a trip to the Sketchers store, as soon I feel good enough to trek up and down the endless aisles of shoe heaven.)

      So, I finally managed to see the Doctor, and at first I was somewhat skeptical.  At his behest, I described my symptoms, including the pain I was experiencing, as well as pointing out the problem areas.  He was quickly scribbling notes, and when I stopped talking, he asked me if I was... experiencing pain!  I would have gotten up to leave except that I was suspended in  mid air in his examination chair, my feet six feet off the ground, waiting to be poked and prodded. At my age, I couldn't have jumped out of that chair if my foot wasn't injured! 

     They gave me an x-ray, and I was more favorably impressed during the second half of the examination.  I have a condition with a name a mile long.  Basically, what it means is that the muscle which runs the length of my foot has tears in it. From what I understand, it is as frayed as the hems of a hippie's bell bottom jeans.  

     The problem with this type of injury, of course, is that it never heals. Why? Because I keep walking on it!

     The solution is stretching exercises, limited walking for a few weeks, and...a needle in my foot.  I hate needles. And I know there are an abundance of nerve endings in the extremities, making this shot even less appealing.  So I sat shaking in the chair, on the verge of passing out.  In the midst of my terror, I couldn't help but wonder how I was able to bear three children, having needles and stitches in parts of my body that had never seen the light of day...I guess youth had something to do with that, or naivete perhaps...

     With my leg twisted like a pretzel so the doctor could reach the desired location on the inside of my foot, he sprayed it with some freezing solution, and pricked me quickly before I was able to faint.  With that, he whipped out an adhesive sponge the size of my palm, and slapped it on my tender arch. Literally.   He didn't apply it gingerly. He didn't place it on there carefully.  He slapped it on me, rather like the way sports figures slap each other on the backs when they win a game...I sat there, dumbfounded, and decidedly grateful that the numbing solution hadn't completely worn off...

     Kind of makes you wonder why I made a second appointment, doesn't it?  Well, I do have another appointment. Because, believe it or not, my foot feels better than it has in two weeks.  The reduced pain in my left foot enabled me to walk semi-normally today, alleviating the excruciating pain in my right leg, caused by my uneven gait... The down side of all this is that I'm going to need to start a diet after not being able to exercise for the next 2 weeks...For that matter, so will Buddy...