Tuesday, 20 April 2021
Bear with me while I maunder on with the saga of my darn big toe, which kept me awake again, to the tune of four hours of sleep. Since I was awake at 6, 7, and 8 AM, I called the medical clinic at 8 and, to my amazement, got an appointment at 11:20 with my primary care doctor. Then I spent some time having an anxiety attack that she would tell me I must stay off my feet, and I’d have to say I can’t…or that I’d need toenail surgery or some other unpleasantness.
The appointment was right on time. I told my doctor I was embarrassed to be back for yet another problem and that it is not like me to run to the doctor for every little thing…but that for several years my left big toe would sometimes start hurting badly at work. Taking off my sock helped but it still burned at the tip. It was intermittent enough, with long breaks in between, that I hadn’t sought help, especially since it would feel better when I got home. But since Sunday, it absolutely would not stop hurting and the burning sensation was moving up my leg. Her recent request for a blood panel had brought the welcome news that I’m not diabetic…Perhaps gout?
Her words were kind when she said that because of my years of physical labor (45!), she could feel scarring inside the bottom of my foot…so it’s getting flatter which makes my toes longer so I need a size bigger shoe, especially since the way I work throws the most weight onto that foot. I laughed in delight, could it be that simple? Yes, she said she herself had gone from size 7.5 to 9 (and she’s definitely younger than me) and that with the work I do, I must be able to wiggle my toes freely in my shoe in order to maintain good circulation. She also suggested that I might have injured my toe recently. Any gardener will know that the occupation is full of bumps and bruises that one usually forgets afterwards, so I could have stubbed it, dropped a shovel handle on it, or any number of things that blended into the general ouches of the work day.
Doctor also had complimented my ear as being healed and beautiful inside, so I could stop the insomnia-producing ear medicine. Oh how I look forward to a good night of sleep tonight. And how fortunate I feel that the solution to my problem might be an easy one.
I remember what a friend told me, who goes to the doctor frequently for a problem that makes mine look utterly trivial: The reason we retire when we are old is so that we have time for all our doctor appointments.
Meanwhile, Allan had worked at the Ilwaco Community Building garden while my foot was attended to. He found a fern that we had both missed trimming….
…and a hellebore still blooming.
So at home again, I ordered by mail from Gimre’s, the excellent shoe store in Astoria, a bigger pair of New Balance jet black athletic shoes. (I do not quite understand how a pair of shoes can cost $150. I take comfort that this might mean they are made with ethical and well paid labor.)
I puttered slightly, still in too-small size 9 shoes, planting some of my ladies in waiting, including this Chamaecyparis ‘Ellwoodi’. As I had predicted I would, I removed the olearia that I’d planted in this front garden spot and that would have gotten much too wide. At just six inches of growth per year, I might not live long enough to see the chamaecyparis reach its full light-blocking height, but I do love its color.
I remembered my idea for a rebar thingie that we had found at the free lumber pile. Allan helped me roll it to the front garden and put in in place to keep the cardoon and a big clump of tall veronicastrum from flopping over smaller plants.
It has an opening in the cross pieces on one side. I was amazed that Allan was able to shimmy backwards through the hole once the thingie was in place.
I planted the two new plants that Jane, the Mulch Maid, had brought me. First, back in one of the new Bogsy beds, a fern that has not yet unfurled all the way.
And then a plant that has filled me with plant lust when Jane had posted these photos of it in her Portland garden…
Photo by Jane Finch-Howell Photo by Jane Finch-Howell
Its common name is shredded umbrella plant. I planted it along the front of the hydrangea and gunnera bed, trimming the hydrangea back to give it room. (This bed was expanded outward by about six inches last autumn.)
I am thrilled. I hope it runs all along this bed.
On the other side of the path, I have a maple problem brewing. The one in front is a seedling from my former client Ann Saari’s beautiful garden. (I had passed Ann’s garden onto younger gardener Terran because it’s on a steep hill.)
Ann herself planted it from a seed, and it has gotten this big in front of her house.
I keep meaning to move my offspring of that tree in winter because it is going to swamp the paperbark maple behind it. And once again, I forgot.
Meanwhile, Allan had set a couple more driftwood poles at our property line…
…and had mowed the Norwood lawn.
He admired the calla lily next door, in Alicia’s garden.
Just before I went indoors to give my toe a soak in some warm water, I noticed Skooter using a bag of Harvest Supreme mulch as a pillow.
After a long relaxed evening, featuring the season premiere of the always inspirational show, The Deadliest Catch. Those crabbers on the Bering Sea know how to work through pain. We’ve also been watching an unusual detective series on BritBox called River (we loved it, and it stars the appealing and delightful Nicola Walker).
I was about to fall asleep when I had the solution to how I would work tomorrow without my toe being cramped (till my new shoes arrive): I would borrow a pair of Allan’s shoes! Then I slept for almost eight delicious hours.
Good news on the toe front!
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That last sentence made me smile. So glad you got eight hours of sleep. And wonderful that the solution to your sore toe was a larger pair of shoes. You might be interested in knowing that New Balance is a Maine-based company. I qualify this because as with so many companies, a lot of what they sell comes from overseas. However, there is a factory store about fifty miles from where we live, and the shoes are of good quality. May your feet—especially your toes—be happy.
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Thank you, very interesting about NB.
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I am glad the toe problem turned out to be a simple one!
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I hope so as it is still bothering me, but not as much…
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That is a cute little chamaecyparis. Trees tend to grow fast in our northwest climate, so it may surprise you with growth. I’m happy to hear the toe problem may be solved!
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Thanks!
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So glad your toe problem is solved. I’ve had a bump on one two for months. I thought it was a callus or a splinter. Then this weekend my toe swelled and turned red. Dr. cultured it, prescribed antibiotics. Just found out I have MRSA, a serious drug resistant infection. The lab is running test to see which antibiotics it responds to.
Yes, New Balance, and Soucany, shoes are Maine based companies (my home state) but most are now made overseas. So are Bass and LL Beans.
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Oh my gosh. The thing I had that was misdiagnosed as a spider bite in late feb turned out to be MRSA…so Dr Spider Bite had put me on too weak of an antibiotic…which is why I had to do another course of antibiotics. It does seem to be gone but for some odd reason my doc hasn’t had me tested to see if I am “colonized”. I will pursue this when I see her again in July (or sooner if I have another problem). Nothing was ever cultured to give a clear answer. I found it very scary but when I mentioned it to a few friends, I found out loads of people I know have had it, or their brother or close friend had it, and got better.
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Keep me posted on what the lab says. I’ll be thinking of you and your toe!
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I hope that the prescription works. It sounds quite convincing to me.
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I also adore Nicola Walker, so thanks for the recommendation of the series River. Have you seen either The Split or Unforgotten? She stars in both (as a cold case detective in Unforgotten and a divorce lawyer in The Split.). The Split has the added treat of starring Stephen Mangan, who I also love.
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I have seen Unforgotten….I think…but not The Split. Will look for them thank you.
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No, I hadn’t seen Unforgotten, ordered dvd set from Netflix and put The Split in my saved queue.
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I’m so glad your toe is going to be okay. Love the “rebar thingie”. I’d like to have one! I wish I had a free lumber pile to scrounge around in. (Used to have something like that in Austin, but not where I live now.) Also, if you were diagnosed with MRSA, please follow up in that regard. Not to worry you (and I know I probably have just by writing this), but it’s not something to play around with. I know personally of four people who have had it, and of the four, three had serious consequences and two never totally got rid of it.
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