A couple of weeks before I started the Big Hike, I had some inflammation in the first joint of the second toe on my left foot. That’s right in the ball of the foot and each step was painful. The podiatrist gave me an injection of cortisone and it was feeling pretty good when it was time to start hiking.
But almost immediately after I hit the trail in Yosemite Valley, the inflammation flared up again and I could barely walk. I hobbled along after the others, but I was in a lot of pain and was anticipating that I might have to drop out after we reached Tuolomne Meadows.
So I called my podiatrist and had him phone in a prescription of Celebrex to the pharmacy, and Gisele overnight delivered it to Tuolomne Meadows (for a $50 postal fee!). It arrived two days later just before I got there, and as soon as I started taking it the inflammation started to die down. Though I still experienced some discomfort, especially in the afternoons, it was tolerable and I was able to finish and enjoy the trip. I find that Celebrex works at least as well as Naproxen and with fewer side effects such as stomach upset, but unfortunately it is much more expensive.
This morning I saw my podiatrist, and we are going to schedule surgery. It seems that a bunion on that foot is throwing everything out of alignment causing the inflammation in the second toe and several other problems. Hopefully the bunion surgery, which he describes as simple, effective, and quick to recover from will take care of the problem permanently.
7 responses so far ↓
1 Donna // Aug 15, 2013 at 2:01 pm
I’ve known a lot of people who had bunion surgery and were very glad with the results afterwards. Hope you do well. You can borrow my surgical boot if you want. 😉
2 Richard // Aug 15, 2013 at 6:50 pm
First your shoulder and now your foot. Man, you’re a wreck! Probably from too much basketball. If you want to stay healthy, quit exercising so much…..
3 Mom // Aug 16, 2013 at 7:29 am
Richard’s back, Dale’s shoulder, Donna’s foot, Don’s shingles, your bunion—and lots of other maladies. What a bunch of imperfect beings I produced.
4 Daryl // Aug 16, 2013 at 4:41 pm
On the positive side, my orthopedic surgeon said that the pain I recently felt in my left shoulder is not a serious tear and can be treated with physical therapy that I can do at home. At least that’s one less surgery to worry about.
5 Daryl // Aug 16, 2013 at 4:42 pm
Donna,
I could probably only use your boot if I bound my foot like an 18th century Chinese woman. That would probably defeat the purpose of the surgery.
6 Les // Aug 16, 2013 at 5:21 pm
Sorry to hear about your foot, but you we quite resourceful as always in finding a solution so you could do the trek. Look at the plants more carefully and you walk slower and less far, but there is less wear and tear…that is my solution.
7 Daryl // Aug 16, 2013 at 7:25 pm
Dale and I joked that if Les were there we would be moving much more slowly, but would probably be learning a lot about the plants. Les, you would have enjoyed the trip, except for the hard hiking and climbing parts. The scenery and diversity of plants were spectacular.
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