Two-for-ones and extended warranties
What's that they say about "when it rains" ... ?
The little toe on my right foot has been hurting on and off for about a month. I thought maybe my skates were too tight, although they had felt just fine for the first two months, so I had them checked; there didn't seem to be a problem. I wondered if I had broken it, but the GP said that the x-ray showed no fracture. So I waited for the pain to decrease, but it increased, and by late last week, a hole nearly the size of a pushpin-head had opened between my fourth and fifth toes (sorry to be gross). Rather alarmed, I went back to my GP on Friday, and this time she sent me to Dr. Beckman the podiatrist, whom I saw yesterday.
He was a *very* nice, cheerful, youngish doctor -- he inspected the foot, x-rayed it again, and then asked me to come and look at the picture. The lower joint on my little toe was larger than the top one, and had a very obvious bone spur. He said I'd probably fractured it at some point in the past, possibly even years ago, and it had not quite healed properly. "But you should have been feeling this for longer than a month! Don't your shoes hurt?" he asked, then cocked an eyebrow as he looked down and saw that I had worn sandals in 45-degree weather. "No, I've only worn sandals for ages. My skates are actually the first closed-toed shoes I've worn for a long time..." my voice trailed off as I wondered why this had never struck me as odd before.
"Do I have to stop skating?" I asked nervously. I had brought my skates with me, and he inspected them. "No, wearing skates didn't cause the problem. (And they're very nice, by the way.) It just exposed what you've managed to mask, amazingly, by wearing open shoes year-round. Closed shoes, especially something like tightly laced skates, push your toes against each other, and the friction caused by the bone spur finally made the skin just break down completely."
The bottom line: I need surgery on the toe to remove the bone spur -- and then I should be able to skate just fine (and actually wear appropriate shoes in all types of weather), without pain. Still, I was blindsided. "You're kidding!" I said. "I'm already scheduled to have surgery with Dr. Smith on my shoulder next month!" (Dr. Smith the orthopedist works in the same office.) He perked up. "Really? Perfect! We can combine the two into one surgery. It'll be much easier on you, only having to undergo the anesthesia once."
I suddenly felt exhausted. I placed my elbows on the desk and rested my forehead against my palms for several moments, taking several deep breaths, but I wasn't really aware that I was crying until I sat up and my hands came away wet. I stared at them with interest. Poor Dr. Beckman was at a loss. "What's wrong? Isn't that good news?" He looked at the nurse for help in understanding this strange woman-creature. "I know how to fix this. I can help you." I cast a glance at my soakers, somewhat tempted, but wiped my tears with the backs of my hands instead. "Well, yes, objectively" -- I sighed deeply -- "but this is my body we're talking about. Why is everything breaking this year? I've always been healthy. I've never had surgery, and now I need two? I feel like the warranty just ran out or something!"
But even I could see the sense in what he was saying, so today I talked to the scheduling people, and we've rescheduled the new "dual" surgery for December 14. And THAT means I can't do to the Christmas ISI competition I had just decided to substitute for the January USFSA event, as it's on December 15 (so close!), but that's when they're both available, so there it is.
This has been the kind of month that separates the women from the girls.
Perhaps it's appropriate that this all came to a head at Thanksgiving. I am determined to keep things in perspective. I am thankful that the problem with the toe, which has apparently lurked silently for a long time, showed up exactly when it did. It is SO much better, both physically and financially (and that's a big one), to have one surgery than two. In addition, now my recovery periods will be simultaneous -- I won't have to take time off the ice for both injuries separately. I am grateful that I live in a developed country with excellent health care, and that I have *access* to that care through good insurance. I am grateful that I have a supportive family and friends around me. (Several people have offered to accompany me!) And I am comforted to know that I'm in God's hands. I may feel helpless, finding myself in a scary and unexpected series of events, but I belong to someone who never loses control of a situation.
The little toe on my right foot has been hurting on and off for about a month. I thought maybe my skates were too tight, although they had felt just fine for the first two months, so I had them checked; there didn't seem to be a problem. I wondered if I had broken it, but the GP said that the x-ray showed no fracture. So I waited for the pain to decrease, but it increased, and by late last week, a hole nearly the size of a pushpin-head had opened between my fourth and fifth toes (sorry to be gross). Rather alarmed, I went back to my GP on Friday, and this time she sent me to Dr. Beckman the podiatrist, whom I saw yesterday.
He was a *very* nice, cheerful, youngish doctor -- he inspected the foot, x-rayed it again, and then asked me to come and look at the picture. The lower joint on my little toe was larger than the top one, and had a very obvious bone spur. He said I'd probably fractured it at some point in the past, possibly even years ago, and it had not quite healed properly. "But you should have been feeling this for longer than a month! Don't your shoes hurt?" he asked, then cocked an eyebrow as he looked down and saw that I had worn sandals in 45-degree weather. "No, I've only worn sandals for ages. My skates are actually the first closed-toed shoes I've worn for a long time..." my voice trailed off as I wondered why this had never struck me as odd before.
"Do I have to stop skating?" I asked nervously. I had brought my skates with me, and he inspected them. "No, wearing skates didn't cause the problem. (And they're very nice, by the way.) It just exposed what you've managed to mask, amazingly, by wearing open shoes year-round. Closed shoes, especially something like tightly laced skates, push your toes against each other, and the friction caused by the bone spur finally made the skin just break down completely."
The bottom line: I need surgery on the toe to remove the bone spur -- and then I should be able to skate just fine (and actually wear appropriate shoes in all types of weather), without pain. Still, I was blindsided. "You're kidding!" I said. "I'm already scheduled to have surgery with Dr. Smith on my shoulder next month!" (Dr. Smith the orthopedist works in the same office.) He perked up. "Really? Perfect! We can combine the two into one surgery. It'll be much easier on you, only having to undergo the anesthesia once."
I suddenly felt exhausted. I placed my elbows on the desk and rested my forehead against my palms for several moments, taking several deep breaths, but I wasn't really aware that I was crying until I sat up and my hands came away wet. I stared at them with interest. Poor Dr. Beckman was at a loss. "What's wrong? Isn't that good news?" He looked at the nurse for help in understanding this strange woman-creature. "I know how to fix this. I can help you." I cast a glance at my soakers, somewhat tempted, but wiped my tears with the backs of my hands instead. "Well, yes, objectively" -- I sighed deeply -- "but this is my body we're talking about. Why is everything breaking this year? I've always been healthy. I've never had surgery, and now I need two? I feel like the warranty just ran out or something!"
But even I could see the sense in what he was saying, so today I talked to the scheduling people, and we've rescheduled the new "dual" surgery for December 14. And THAT means I can't do to the Christmas ISI competition I had just decided to substitute for the January USFSA event, as it's on December 15 (so close!), but that's when they're both available, so there it is.
This has been the kind of month that separates the women from the girls.
Perhaps it's appropriate that this all came to a head at Thanksgiving. I am determined to keep things in perspective. I am thankful that the problem with the toe, which has apparently lurked silently for a long time, showed up exactly when it did. It is SO much better, both physically and financially (and that's a big one), to have one surgery than two. In addition, now my recovery periods will be simultaneous -- I won't have to take time off the ice for both injuries separately. I am grateful that I live in a developed country with excellent health care, and that I have *access* to that care through good insurance. I am grateful that I have a supportive family and friends around me. (Several people have offered to accompany me!) And I am comforted to know that I'm in God's hands. I may feel helpless, finding myself in a scary and unexpected series of events, but I belong to someone who never loses control of a situation.