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Saturday, September 01, 2007

Questions that You Didn’t Ask but that I Answered Anyway

Why did I increase the font size of my blog?

If you were to ask me that question, you must be under the age of 50! I increased the posted font size of Nick’s Bytes because I have to click on View—>Text Size—>Increase on 95 % of the blogs I visit so that I can read them. Therefore, especially for us old dudes and dudettes, I have increased the size on the text of my blog so that we don’t have to do it.

Did I heal OK from that fall through my deck steps three weeks ago?

Strange that I should ask myself that! Both of my legs were swollen and bruised after the fall, as was my right wrist.

Do primarily to the workings of the Veterans Administration bureaucracy’s Catch 22s (I loved that book!) I wasn’t able to see a physician, so I decided just to allow the bruising to heal. My right leg and wrist did. However, my left leg, although the bruises have disappeared, remains swollen and painful from my foot all the way up to above my knee.

So, this morning, after telling myself “to hell VA with rules and procedure,” I drove myself to the VA hospital emergency room where I spent the next six hours. Without going into the details of that adventure, let me inform the world that the reason for the swelling in my left leg is (1) a cracked heel and (2) a chipped knee (whatever those two diagnoses mean).

I now have this thingy on my left foot covered by miles of that stretch stuff. See:

The ER doc told me to use crutches and not to try to drive my car, especially since I need my left foot to engage the clutch. Ha! I left the crutches at the hospital because I’d probably break one or both legs if I tried to use the damned things and am using my walking stick (cane). That’s the way I’ve gotten around for most of the past thirty years and I don’t feel like moving up to crutches or (God forbid) the wheelchair they offered me.

So, after leaving the hospital with my trusty walking stick (someday I really must take photographs of my stick collection and post them here), I climbed into the CR-V, tested that I could depress the clutch even with that thingy on my foot, and drove home, stopping on the way to pick up some (you guessed it) cat food for Alex and cigarettes for me.

The doc at the ER has made a referral for me to an orthopedic dude or dudette and hospital is to telephone me next week to set up an appointment. In the meantime, I can still hobble around and do just about everything I normally do except scratch my left ankle that is now itching horribly.

How are Alex and I dealing with the heat?

Today has been heavenly! It was cool last night and we shared my bed. We not only needed a top sheet, but added a comforter, beneath which both the furball and I snuggled. When we arose at 5:00 a.m. or so, the temperature in my bedroom was a wonderful 62 F.

The present temperature is about the high for the day: 83 F (which not long ago was the low for the day).

How are you going to spend Labor Day?

I’m not sure, but not here:






That’s enough Q & A for now. I am going to post this, feed the cat and myself, and maybe rest for a while!


Don’t forget September 27th:


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20 comments:

  1. I'm sorry to hear you're having such a tough time right now. I had no idea the fall was so serious. A cracked heal sounds like the sort of thing that's going to take a long time to heal.

    I've found the best thing for aches and pains is a product called Icy-Hot. It's kind of pricey, but boy does it work.

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  2. YIKES!! - Where have IIII been? - I didn't even realize you fell thru your deck.
    Gosh, hope ya heel up lickity-split and the pain isn't tooooo awfully bad.

    ps. Sorry if my blog is hard to read, lol

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  3. Unfortunately, I'll be spending Labor Day laboring...But, at least I'll get time & 1/2... :(

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  4. ouch on the cracked heel. A good friend had the same thing happen awhile ago and its taken quite a few months to heal. (no pun intended)

    get better soon Nick!
    xx
    pinks

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  5. Wow! Big type, hurt foot, cool nights! You answered a lot of questions no one asked. Thanks and heal (or is that "heel") soon.

    XXXX

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  6. So glad it is cooling down for you Nick. You and Alex can get some rest hopefully and maybe you will both heal.

    Hugs,
    Laurie

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  7. Sounds like you colonials should look at what you call 'socialized medicine'. First, though, you need to remove the profit motive from the medical equation.

    I prefer dealing with the heat here than dealing with the cold back home. Only just though.

    Spending L Day working. Just like almost all American holidays I'm told, "You're English, you don't celebrate this holiday back home...you're working." When I say 'almost' I mean all of them except those when nobody works. Starting to see a pattern developing.)

    I'm used to it now though.

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  8. Hi Nick ~~ So sorry your heel is cracked and will take a while to heal. I totally understand the big ptrint. I guess you know that Control
    and the plus sign (+) will increase the size, and negative (-) reduces it. So glad the weather has cooled down a bit for you. I wonder should you keep off that foot, and use crutches for a little while. You could be doing more amage.
    Thanks for the comment and glad the jokes brightened your evening.
    I did pass on the Nice matters award to you and several others on 14th August. Not sure if I let you know. Take care, Regards, Merle.

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  9. So glad it's cooler for Alex and you.

    So sorry about your heel and leg.

    I really like the bigger type and I am under 50!

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  10. Hope your heel heals soon!

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  11. cracked heel sounds painful

    hope you get well soon

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  12. Sorry Nick - you've been in pain all this time? & doesn't it hurt to use the clutch?

    Get better quick!! & then post your stick collection:)

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  13. THOMAS: Thank you. I’m familiar with Icy Hot; my aunt used it for her arthritis. There is also something I found several years ago that is perhaps even better although it’s much more expensive. It is called Dragon Balm and is supposedly a compound that was developed centuries ago in China.

    LIL BIT: Yikes, yes, I did fall through the deck steps, but only had one real post about, “Dummy”, in which I chastised myself.

    Your blog is no harder to read than most of the others; I just have to increase the font size, which is something I do almost automatically these days when I open a blog.

    THE LONE BEADER: Sorry you’ll be working on Monday but glad you’ll be making extra bucks!

    PINK: So you’ve heard of a cracked heel before? I hadn’t. I hope the swelling goes down; for the past two weeks or so I have only been able to wear open sandals because my foot has been too swollen to fit into shoes.

    CHINA GIRL: Yeah, I did kinda create mishmash with these Qs & As, didn’t I?

    LAURIE: Thank you. I fear the coolness isn’t going to last, but there is the hope of autumn coming soon.

    MICHAEL: Thank you for dropping by. As an old left-wing, socialist, pinko, folk-singing tree-hugger, I’ve been pushing for socialized medicine since I was 18 years old and first encountered the concept.

    I hope you enjoy working on Labor Day (?) Since they don’t give you that because you’re British, do they give you the Bank Holidays you’d have across the pond?

    MERLE: The doc suggested that I stay of the foot and keep it elevated. However, living alone, except for Alex, doesn’t really give me that ability. I really do need a keeper!

    ANDI: Thank you, m’dear.

    EX-LOUISVILLE GUY: I knew someone would say that, Jim.

    ANONYMOUS: The pain isn’t nearly as bad as the swelling and itching.

    RHAPSODY: For three plus painful and swollen weeks! Of course, I have an extremely high tolerance for pain, beside which I am obtuse enough to believe that it would heal itself. I never suspected that it was more than bruises.

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  14. Oh dear, Nick, you have done yourself a mischief. Glad you had something done about it, though and I'm so happy the weather is cooler for you and the Furball.

    Aren't Govt agencies a pain in the proverbial? According to them, everyone's the same and all put into little boxes with no room for any sort of vagaries that come with being human. Makes you wanna shriek lots of four letter words, doesn't it...lol!

    Take care Nick and please watch your step!

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  15. PUSS-IN-BOOTS: Yes, I certainly did do myself some mischief! And have come close to doing more because this thingy the hospital put on my foot has a slippery bottom and I’m almost slipped down 3 times today. I guess that serves me right for not following their instructions to remain in bed with my leg elevated!

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  16. Too bad it is so far to your house, I would have enjoyed repairing those steps for you - one of the things I to do. Hope the heel and such heal quickly. ec

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  17. Not pleasant, Rev Saint! Not pleasant at all! May you be whole again in next to no time.

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  18. I really adore the size of your text. It is so simple to read.

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  19. I for one love the size of your text!
    My goodness me, thank heavens you're ok after your fall.....apologies, i had no clue. I hope you pamper yourself and don't let Alex boss you around!

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