During that competition I was encouraged by several people with the old adage: "Break A Leg." Of course when it comes to performing on stage that means "good luck."
But little did I know back then that by the time 2019 was over, I'd be doing what they told me, in real life. Well, it wasn't actually my leg but it was my foot.
I wasn't doing anything dangerous or even courageous when this occurred.
It was while staging the boxes and materials needed for my wife's Color Street booth at the Holly Jolly Christmas festival on Sunday December 15.
The Friday before, I was moving some stuff we would need from the our storage room so it would be near our carport door. We would load it into my car sometime Saturday.
I was a bit preoccupied with thinking about all the decorating and shopping and all the other stuff that has to be done at this time of the year.
The combination of not paying attention, having just socks on my feet, stepping down onto the concrete storage room floor with my drop foot (the left one) at a bad angle and the law of gravity taking over, I ended up falling and landed on the side of my foot.
Now I've fallen and hurt my foot before but most of the time it just resulted in a sprained my ankle with various degrees of pain and injury. This time I knew it was different.
I spent the rest of that night on the recliner with my foot elevated wrapped in an ice pack. When it came time to go to bed, the left side of my foot was discolored with bruise like tint and I could hardly walk on it.
The next morning I went to the local Urgent Care clinic. The x-ray showed that I had cracked a bone on the left side of my foot; officially a fracture of the fifth metatarsal bone. I was put in a walking boot.
It made getting around a little easier but still very painful. I would have to follow up with my orthopedic doctor on Monday.
On Sunday, I went with my wife to the Sloane Convention Center in Bowling Green for the Holly Jolly Festival.
Of course, my foot was really bothering me but I had promised to help her. I took as easy as I could while still helping her.
She had a successful day. It was her 7th vendor event in the last 4 months and the last one for this year.
On Monday, I got a mid afternoon appointment at WKONA to see orthopedist, Dr. Riley.
He examined my foot and told me that from the x-ray he could confirm that I had what's known as a Jones fracture. It would take 4-6 weeks of non-weight bearing rest for it to heal.
Based on the amount of moving around I had done since I got the boot, I knew I could not be still enough to rest and not put any weight on that foot if I could still walk on it.
To make a long story short, I got honest with myself and I left the office that afternoon with a cast on my left foot and leg all the way up to just below my knee.
I had driven to the appointment myself and could have driven home but for one thing. When it came time to leave it was pouring rain. I couldn't get to my car without getting my cast wet.
Paula was leaving work so I had her come pick me up leaving my car in the parking lot. Paula would make sure the Kia got back to the house later in the week.
Paula was leaving work so I had her come pick me up leaving my car in the parking lot. Paula would make sure the Kia got back to the house later in the week.
This is the very first time I've ever had a cast. In the last couple of days I have learned that getting around on one foot, even with the help of a walker is slow, difficult and exhausting. We've purchased some medical equipment to help me get around the house and taking a shower a little easier.
Going in and out of the house is going to be a challenge which means over the next 4 weeks I'm going to basically be housebound. Not something I'm very happy about at all.
I have already learned a lesson in that from now on I'm not going to ever walk around the house without my foot brace on.
There's the story of how I got my very first cast. In my next post I will share with you how this is going to change the way I get to celebrate Christmas this year.
Thanks for coming back to my blog. See you next time.
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