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Sunday, November 05, 2006

An Ode to My Left Big Toe

Well, not really. Perhaps you remember I was complaining about a sore spot on my left foot at the end of September. I've been to the podiatrist twice, to find out what it was and for additional care.

What it was, was a giant blister. About 3 weeks later, the top skin had finally abraded, and then it started to hurt again. Back to the podiatrist - he removed some dead skin and sent me on my way, with instructions to keep it clean, dry and warm, and to keep an eye on it.

Clean and dry I can do, keeping an eye on it, I can do - but warm? Me, the ice-cold bloodless wonder?? I puzzled about that for a while, then came up with what has been a good solution so far. I am an occasional spinner (fiber, not bicycle); as a fiberholic I have collected more roving than I can hope to spin, were I to spin 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for a month. Roving is a great insulator. So, every morning I take a 6-inch strip of roving, open it out and fluff the fibers, and wrap it loosely around my toe. It's warm, it's great padding, and I suppose it could even be considered stylish! Today's fashion take: 50% mohair/50% wool hand-dyed in shades of moss and olive green and golden yellows, called "Olive Garden," provided by White Creek Wools, Deford, MI.

Why worry so much about a stupid blister, you may ask? A knitting friend with diabetes ignored a blister on her big toe until it turned gangrenous. She lost her toe, and has had multiple surgeries on her foot since then. Anti-angiogenic therapy drugs have a reputation for causing problems with patients' extremities. I don't want to find out the hard way that the same rules apply to me, thanks. I've never learned to dance but I'd like to have fewer strikes against me beyond normal klutziness and lack of rhythmic sense.

I don't know how long I'll have to keep this up. But I can always use an excuse to buy more roving!

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