Thursday, January 6, 2022

 Thursday, January 6, 2022

 

   My ankle hurt this morning. Walking to the bathroom was a challenge. Before I took Elsa out, I ran the massaging gun over my thigh and foot, both the bottom and the top. I could feel a problem with the metatarsals of the fourth and fifth toes. 

    I went for a shorter walk than usual. I only completed 1500 steps. Yesterday was the thir

 d time this year that I didn't make my goal of 10,000. I have 23 days left to make my goal of 360 days. Occasional forgiveness is built in. A missed day isn't counted if you made your goal the previous six days. I was determined to make my goal and then decided it would be better to think of my ankle. It is difficult to know when you're better off pushing through or resting a sore body part. Making that decision based on some unrelated goal didn't make sense.

   I had yoga this morning for the first time in a week. Yvette canceled our Tuesday class because she had been exposed to someone whose son had Covid and needed to be tested. (Yvette's test came back negative.)

   I had Yvette put on my yoga toes this morning. We have been avoiding putting it on the little toe of the left foot because it felt forced. Today, I had her include that toe. It wasn't as tight as it usually is. It hurt a little bit for a while and then resolved. This gave me more evidence the problem was with the metatarsals instead of the ankle. There was no sharp pain in the ankle during yoga, and the swelling reduced. 

  When Yvette puts my yoga toes, it is a good opportunity to examine my toenails. Yvette clips them for me after yoga once a month or so. Last month, I noticed the middle toe on my left foot had a yellow cast. I figured it was toe fungus, but my understanding was it was no big deal. Today, it looked like the toenail was lifted off the nail bed. Time to do something about this situation. I found a YouTube video on the topic. Okay. This is more of a problem than I thought. The problem can be treated with over-the-counter products if caught early on. Mine was well advanced. I need prescribed medication for this problem. 

   Today in yoga for the first time, I experience NO pain in my upper left thigh, NONE. This suggests that the ankle pain results from the improved condition of my upper leg and hip joint. I can only hope the ankle problem is temporary. I canceled my doctor and chiropractic appointments in favor of seeing PT Terry again on Friday afternoon. She seemed to be on to something. She detected some thickening tissue in that sensitive spot on my ankle. She was working on dissolving it with a massage.  

   Besides a pain-free yoga session, I had a surprising degree of movement in my left hip joint. My PT Katie said that with increased mobility after THR, I would probably suffer problems with my left foot because it was hypermobile to compensate for the rigidity of my left hip. The increased mobility in the hip would be too much for my poor foot.

   Terry taped my foot yesterday, much as Katie had. I had taken off Katie's tape at night. I could apply it myself with some ingenuity since I couldn't reach the foot. Terry had put the tape on in a pattern I wouldn't be able to do on my own. I went to bed with it on. This morning Yvette said you can leave this tape on for three to five days. She also slipped a sock-like thing with an inserted arch support I bought at some point. Who knows when or why! Terry worked on getting my foot into a neutral position. I couldn't fully feel the position she wanted me to hold. But it was clear that I needed an arch support. This gadget is worth a try. Chiropractors have tried to sell me arch supports forever. They cost a fortune and can't be worn with Crocs, my only shoe style. This will have to do for now. 

   Yvette also put on the looser pressure socks I ordered. She bought me a pair a while ago. There is no way I can get them on. She thought these would be easier for me. They are, but they aren't different from a regular sock on my relatively slender non-diabetic leg. Since I have neither condition, these socks are loose on me. They fit me like a regular sock. 

    I called Kaiser to find out when I had to be there to have a walk-in appointment today. I decided I needed an X-ray of that ankle to ensure there was no break or fracture. If not, I can pursue more aggressive treatment, chiropractory. I also needed a prescription for my toe fungus. The next problem would be figuring out how to apply it since it's on the toe of my left foot, the one I can't reach. The appointment secretary was able to make an appointment for me for 4 pm today. Perfect.

   Concerned the toe fungus would spread if I continued wearing a sock, I had to find a way to get it off. Yvette said she was leaving at 10, and I couldn't see her car in the driveway. I knew the neighbors had workmen at their fence line installing the rock wall. I figured I could get one of them to help me. Only one man was working there at that moment. He was securing the frame for the rock wall tower at the driveway entrance. I asked him if he could help me get my left sock off. I can get the right one off myself. He said, "Are you serious?" Yep. I can't reach it. This is Hawaii, and I am an auntie. We are treated with respect here. Lucky to live in Hawaii is no joke! There are so many wonderful things about living here. There's also the constant possibility of obliteration if Mauna Loa blows.  

       My home is not on Mauna Loa; it's on Hualalai. The flow from Mauna Loa wouldn't reach my house, but it would wipe out life as I know it here. The airport and downtown Kona would go. Apparently, my home isn't in a lava flow spot even if Hualalai blows. How do I know? The insurance company needed information, so we had to look it up.

  I had an appointment with third grade A. He was a no-show. Obviously, third-grade A is not responsible. This is the fourth or fifth time this has happened. Worse yet, Mom has given up apologizing. Instead, she says indignantly, "I was busy." I have hung on because I seem to be helping A., but this is it. They will have to pay a penalty fee for each missed class without letting me know, or I will quit. Quitting would be the best option. I can't imagine mom apologizing, no less agreeing to pay a penalty fee. She may be a millennial.

    At three-thirty, I left for my doctor's appointment I had made this morning. I was concerned about being just any doctor instead of my primary, who I just love. But it went well. He ordered an X-ray. Even better than the X-ray, he told me to come back up once I was through with the procedure. I was given a laminated blue sheet, saying X-Ray on it. It wasn't for the X-ray technician; it was for the nurse calling in the next patient. Within minutes of seating myself in the waiting area, I was called in. 

      The doctor said he could see he wasn't looking at a twenty-one-year-old's ankle and lower leg. But neither was he looking at a badly worn leg of an eighty-one-year-old. It was apparent even to my eye there were no fractures or breaks. He spotted a small bone mass on the inside of my ankle. The space between the bones still looked pretty good. All told, it was clear this was a sprain. He agreed this was an old injury kicking up. He also agreed it could be because of the changes I had made in my hips, creating greater mobility there putting strain on the hypermobile ligaments in my foot and ankle. He gave me some exercises; write the alphabet with my left foot; get range of motion without putting weight on it.

   The bad news was my ankle was not in good shape, and I couldn't walk normally. Moreover, I can't complete my goal of 10,000 steps in 360 days. I was 23 days short of my goal. It was hard letting go, but I made the healing of my ankle my priority. The bigger concern now is not exercising for a while and going to seed. Damn!

   The good news is walking up the steps was a breeze. My left hip didn't bother me, and I had more strength pushing up the stairs. I thought I was close to running up the stairs. At least, I had that image in my mind. I hadn't had a thought like that in fifteen years.  

    I checked on the relationship between Betty White and Ludden's kids. As I suspected. It wasn't an easy shift. The kids had just lost their mom, and their dad was madly in love with another woman within a year.  

   There's a weird factoid about Ludden. He was married to his first wife for 18 years before she died. Then he was married to Betty White for 18 years before he died. My mom had that pattern -18 stints. She worked for a company in Berlin for 18 years before she came to America to marry my dad. She was married to him for 18 years before he died. Then she lived with Mike and me for 18 years before she died.