Thursday, March 25, 2010

Hurts so good . . .

Yesterday I was putting away some laundry when the hardwood floor bit me . . . right through my sock.  (I know, I know, always wear shoes.  But to be honest, I never wear anything but socks around my house.)  I sat right down and pulled the offending wood out of my foot.  But it still hurt.  So last night, I had Pete take a look.  And yes, a small splinter was still in there.

We grabbed my surgical instruments of choice, a new lancet and a pair of tweezers.   We pulled over the floor lamp and Pete began the extraction procedure.  And it hurt.  HURT!!!!  Hurt so bad that I cried out in pain and little K.C. came running over to see why I cried.  (I told you she was a sweet little cat.)  This little splinter was in deep, and Pete and I ended up doing a tag-team kind of thing until I finally got it out.

Okay, not exactly the bloody stump of a foot it feels like.
I hate splinters, especially in my feet.  It goes back to a childhood trauma involving a huge chunk of horse chestnut shell and the bottom of my foot.  Just the thought of it makes my stomach clench in terror.

But there is a silver lining.  There is always a silver lining.  Although this little splinter of wood and its extraction hurt, it sets my mind at ease.  I'm glad it hurt.  Because it means those little nerves in my feet are still working just fine.  It means for now, when someone tells me about their grandmother with diabetes who had to have her feet amputated, I can tell them that my feet are just fine.  My little cut hurts so good.

**** As an end note, I need to add that I do not recommend ignoring doctors' orders and walking around without shoes on.  Do as I say, not as I do.  I also want to assure you that Pete and I are checking this wound twice a day to be sure it's healing as it should. ****

8 comments:

  1. I'm w/ you on the shoes. I almost never have anything other than socks on. However, during the winter I wear a lot of slippers....
    I know the joys of the hurt though. :) It's nice to know something like that hurts. Which for normal people is just weird. And for us is just normal. LOL

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  2. 1) I have had this happen to me TWICE in my apartment. (Oldish wood floors are gorgeous and deadly.) Poor thing! I bet you're walking all funny now, too, to compensate for the wounded spot.

    2) I have that "Yay! The nerves still work!" thrill every time I get a hurt foot, too. The flipside, of course, is the terror when I have a callous and freak out about the loss of sensation...

    3) What do other people use to get splinters out?! I use lancets for minor surgery on me, my husband, my cat - what do pancreas-typicals do?!

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  3. I prefer barefootedness... I know... terrible... but like you, everything hurts still and I do look at my feet. What I am comfortable with may not work for anyone else.

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  4. Yuppers Karen - you've got it right - you could feel it! Whoo! Whoo! That's what I've said when I've gone thru' what you have - don't lancets come in handy besides pricking the occassional zit? After many years of being a diabetic - I've still got feeling in my toes, where many of my less long term D's don't have that.

    BTW, if I could walk barefoot all the time (on a remote beach would be nice - ahh Calgon take me away) I would - but I do attest to now wearing either flip flops of $ Store Crocs now (my Hippy years of dirty soled feet are over - sigh). Yes, barefoot most times, even in winter (in the house only - do put on boots/socks when I leave my Bat Cave).

    So, ladies and gents take good care of your D as best as you can - and then we can all be foot models with Sears Robuck!!

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  5. I am a fairly newly diagnosed diabetic and am always really anxious about my feet... please don't let me lose one... or both.
    I wear crocs in the house most of the time.
    I am glad you got rid of the owey and that it was an owey.
    Heal well!!

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  6. OW! I HATE splinters!! I'm glad you got it out though, at least it will heal faster that way :)

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  7. I'm the total opposite and won't let my bear feet touch any part of any floor if I can help it. Even getting out of the shower, I step on the bath mat, dry off my feet & into slippers. Paranoid? Probably but most likely because of what I saw my father go through. But pain in the feet IS a good thing for us so I'm glad it hurt ;)

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  8. Ouch! I'm glad it came out alright. I too use lancets for that kind of stuff. I'm also glad you guys are checking on it often.

    I am a lot like Stacey in that I don't often let my bare feet touch the ground. Maybe my momma trained me well when I was a kid?

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