I woke up ready to tackle a good day. But the cat peed on my bed. UGH!!
So I was pissed off (yes I went there) and started the first of what would need to be three loads of laundry (I use two comforters). I grabbed the second load and hustled through the house feeling annoyed, and snagged a chair leg with my left "ring toe," the one next to the pinky. I cussed and hobbled to the washer to get the laundry in, slamming my hand on the machine in aggravation and pain, knowing it would subside, right?
Something odd caught my eye while I was loading the comforter in, so I took a closer look at my foot after the cycle was started and was horrified to see my toe at a strange angle. I knew this was bad and there was nothing I could do at home to fix it. I hobbled in to tell Bex and interrupted a phone call. She said she'd take me to the ER. Tam was almost to the house, so instead I asked if she could drop me off, so she did. We had a nice ride, listening to Chris LeDoux and catching up, though about halfway the numbness that had enveloped my foot started to fade. She warned me they would probably have to try to put it into place and said I should yell KELLY CLARKSON when they did it. I asked why in the world I would do that and she asked if I'd seen the move 40 Year Old Virgin, which I had not. She explained that's what he yelled in the hospital scene.
I was horrified to see the ER busy when I hobbled in. It took a while for them to take my card, and then another wait of a half hour to get to triage check-in. I didn't get to a room for two hours. That was filled with people watching and hobbling to the bathroom twice before getting a wheelchair and letting them move me, and I couldn't stop crying, tears going constantly into my mask. It was a parade of weekend warriors on one of the first nice Sundays in a while. I overheard that a few ambulances had dropped people during the time all of us were waiting with ice on wrists, knees, heads. An elderly woman who had fallen, a woman who admitted to the nurse that she wasn't taking her meds regularly and had gained 10 pounds overnight and was short of breath. For a time I sat across the room from a balding middle-aged man who constantly moaned and groaned and grunted with ice on his knee with no tears while constantly on his phone. While I silently cried.
The doc was great when he came bopping in and apologized for the wait more than once. He need to pull on the toe to see if he could straighten it. The options were two shots (I know how bad shots feel in feet) or do it without. After spiraling in my brain for a minute, faced with two bad choices, I opted to be the athlete and let him do it without numbing it. A deep breath in, exhale, and YANK. I yelled. Couldn't help it. Then he had to do it again and I yelled again. Not mad at him, it had to be done. I told him when he was done that my friend had told me to yell KELLY CLARKSON when that happened. He chuckled.
Then it was off to x-ray, which was an adventure in at one point trying to pull that toe away from the others to get a good side picture of it.
The results were that there's no fracture and doc thinks it was dislocated and he put it back in place before the x-ray. It was still looking a little wonky, so it's taped. I have a nice boot that keeps it protected and helps me walk without pain. I'm not sure when I'll be able to wear my funky toe shoes again.
Bex came to pick me up. I went outside to wait and there was a ton of people out there. I hobbled my way to the edge of a group of two picnic tables to sit facing away from the 10 or so people who were gathered like they were having a picnic. More joined them from the ER area, so my estimate is that there were about 15 people there, including a toddler.
Bex picked me up and we got sandwiches on the way home. I arrived back at the house a little over five hours after I'd left it. We did chores and then settled in for the night.
I fell asleep on the couch and Bex woke me a couple of times but then I fell asleep again before I could get myself up. The third time she helped me get to bed.
Hoping for an easy and productive week!
Other than the toe injury, we are safe and well. I hope you are too.
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