Tuesday, May 1, 2012

one last update




Because I know everyone is anxiously awaiting a new report on my snake bit foot, and yes that is me barefoot in the grass so no I didn't learn a damn thing, here's a pic.

Six weeks after the bite my foot is almost back to normal. The color is good, I think, but still a wee bit puffy around the ankle.

And because everyone was so polite and didn't gawk and point out my short toe the whole time I will tell you how I came to have a 6 yr. old toe. Actually, it's not 6 years old, it's 62 years old just like all the rest of me, but it is the size of a six year old toe.

When I was 6 years old, yeah, funny how that works, my best friends, the twins from down the block who were almost six, were playing with me in my back yard. It was spring and hot and I thought I would get us all cold cokes so I went in through the back door to the kitchen and got three cokes out of the refrigerator.

Back then, soft drinks came in heavy glass bottles, and I, struggling to hold three cokes and close the back door, let one of the bottles slip from my grasp and it crashed right on top of my little six year old bare foot on the concrete steps, yes, yes, the irony does not escape me.

The coke bottle smashed into pieces, fizzing coke and blood going everywhere. Apparently, toes bleed a lot. The friends were sent home and my parents rushed me to the hospital for stitches in three toes. What no one ever thought to check was to see if perhaps a bone had been broken as well.

Anyway, Easter was coming up and my mother had allowed me to have heels for my Easter outfit. If they were an inch, I'd be surprised but to me they looked just like the high heels my mother wore. I think I still had the stitches when I crammed my aching toes into those shoes but I was determined to wear them.

I got my stitches out and eventually, the ache in my toes went away. It wasn't until we noticed years later that the toe had failed to keep pace with all my other toes that we figured that it had broken and mended badly back then.

I'm sure cramming my foot into that pointy toed 'high' heel didn't help matters any.

Maybe that's why I'm not a big fan of shoes in general and heels specifically.



17 comments:

  1. well, i'm all for barefoot, too. however, if i had gotten bit by a copperhead, i might think differrently! :)

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  2. Swelling? You should see my ankles, talk about swelling. Regardless, that 6-year old toe is what makes you special.

    I can't imagine going barefoot in the back yard after being bitten by a Copperhead. No way at all. However, that's some pretty grass and it does invite bare feet.

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  3. I live in Florida long enough to know that shoes are un-natural. Of course telling that to my pediatrist as she diggs out glass is another story. House shoes? Really?
    Glad you're healed pretty much, and glad to see another stubborn woman.

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  4. Yeowch.. your poor feet sure have taken a beating over the years. I'm glad to see you're healing well. It sure is a slow process though. It's looking much better but how does it feel?

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  5. Barefoot can be dangerous. My husband says I should write a book about thing NOT to do while wearing fip flops. I have had some really creative injuries and still am barefooted or wear flip flops.

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  6. When I went to get a pedicure last week, the guy looked at my feet and said, "Do you garden barefoot?"
    Well, actually, I wear shoes AND socks when I garden but that's because of the red ants. But the rest of the time? Barefoot or mostly.
    Isn't it funny how our bodies hold our histories? They do. Little toes and scars and wrists that are thicker than they should be from broken, poorly set bones and oh, we wear our lives in our bodies.

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  7. Your foot looks much better now.
    Shoes and bras were inventions that I don't care for in the least.
    Oma Linda

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  8. I injections last week in both of my feet.Glad you are back on your feat.

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  9. Dear Ellen,

    Wear boots out yonder.

    Love,

    Cousin David

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  10. Dear Ellen,

    Wear boots out yonder.

    Love,

    Cousin David

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  11. Good to see the swelling down - up until we moved to England I spent most of my time barefoot - which is probably why I have never learned to walk in heels.

    I'm just giggling to myself about you waiting for someone to say "Hey Ellen how come one toe so much shorter than the rest?" as we all thought, "How weird the snake bite has infected the rest of her leg and foot but not that toe ...

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  12. Ouch!!!! That had to hurt...both times. Ha!!
    Glad you have totally recovered from the snake bite. Looking good!!
    Hugs
    SueAnn

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  13. Oh boy, that had a hurt like crazy. A friend of mine did the very same thing to one of her toes just before ski season. She didn't ski all winter, and is just starting to get around again. Sheesh. Little toes, big headaches.

    Glad you're on the mend. Shouldn't be long now. :)

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  14. You mean my grandson's toes will get even longer. Oh, well, I'm sure there are size 15 shoes. So pleased your snake bite adventure is ending.

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  15. Your foot/feet look great. I still wonder about the nests of baby copperheads in your close proximity though...I'd be wearing waders if I were you!

    That short toe? Funny! It's a nice reminder to always maintain part of your 6-year-old self.

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  16. sweet tootsies ellen . . . big or small i love 'em all!!! steven

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  17. I haven't gone barefoot outside in the longest time - mostly because of my hip - I needed the extra support shoes provide. BUT, I have a new hip now so maybe I'll go shoeless out in the yard some this summer!

    Glad you're getting back to normal. (I'm not going to make the obvious "normal" comment here - heh).

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I opened my big mouth, now it's your turn.