I'm trying to be good

by wearing slippers instead of going barefoot in the house tonight. I mentioned the plantar fasciitis as an impediment to walking more/losing weight to my sleep doctor. He reiterated what a podiatrist had told me in the past, to not go barefoot, but he explained just how much damage is done to the fascia of the foot when a person does go barefoot, suggested I use slippers at home, especially on hard floors, and even use flip-flops in the shower. So even though I hate shoes on my feet and find slippers to be hot, I'm walking around with cushiony baby blue terry cloth slippers I got somewhere years ago, and they do seem to be helping.

My appointment went well, except I registered, got up there, and realised I'd left the CPAP machine in the trunk of my car, so I had to go back down and across a large parking lot to get it. I'm using it about 10 hours a day on average, which he said was very good. I do need to lose some more weight of course, and could go off the machine completely if I can. In the meantime, he's going to put in an order for new supplies (hoses, nasal pillows, etc.)

At work they were giving away some used children's books, and I found an old one that brought instant memories of my childhood to mind. It's called Georgie and the Robbers:



There's a whole series of Georgie books. This one is from 1963 and is darling. There's a little scribble on the cover and the name 'Sara' inside, but otherwise it's in good shape.

After work I went and got my allergy shot, then turned a book in to the library (it's right next door to my allergist) and got some more books to take home. I'm going over to YKWIA's and watch 'iZombie' with him later tonight, but I came home to get some food and work on some things. I have a lead on another job to apply for, with a closing date of Sunday (weird timing, hmmm?) I've been listening to the radio and eating. Time to do something else. Good night if I don't write any more tonight.

Years ago

I was plagued by something called plantar fasciitis, which is an inflammation of the fascia on the bottom of the feet that hurts to high Heaven, particularly when you haven't been standing or walking for awhile.  I was in two of those 'walking boots' of velcro and plastic, one at one point, and one at another.  Then the ankle tendonitis set in.  My feet were a mess, mostly because I had a job at a gas station where I was on my feet for up to ten hours a day.

Then I moved to just a desk job, although I still had foot problems.  And then I got hit by the car, broke my metacarpals and ankle, and was off my feet for three months completely.

And everything resolved as I healed, so that when I went back, my feet didn't feel like they were on fire or in pain anymore. I was still dealing with the injury, but so much was better.  And it stayed that way for a couple of years.

Recently, I've been having trouble with my feet again.  They get painful when I walk, particularly at the beginning of the day or when I get up after sitting or sleeping, and at the end of the day, and it's hard to walk through the pain. I know it's the fasciitis again.  So when days are rough and the pain is great, I break out a soda bottle full of water that's been frozen, and run that under my feet to take away the pain as much as possible.

But the last few days I've been away from my iced bottle and have walked all over the place on rough sidewalks, in museums, and on the streets of Chicago.  At times it was a toss up as to whether my feet or my back would give out first.  I'd slow down, and like the gazelle on the Serengeti limping along but trying to stay with the herd as protection against the lioness, I persevered, figuring I'd be an easy mark for any crime if I didn't keep up.

Now I'm home. I walked not so much today, under 4,000 steps, actually.  And I don't think I could do much more.  It's probably time to go back to the podiatrist, although I'd rather not be in the boot again.  But since my ankle injury, I have an excellent podiatrist (he even does ankle replacements), so maybe he has a better option, or at least something that will help, since I'd really like to increase my walking as the weather gets better.

I would blog something meaningful tonight

But my plantar fasciitis, tendonitis, fibromyalgia, IBS, and sinuses are all having a flareup right now, most likely because we had a huge weather front come through earlier and the temperature has plummeted. My tendons have been popping in my knees and ankles, and the joints are throbbing now. I ache all over. I keep running to the bathroom, and I'm becoming decidedly snotty. In other words, I'm falling apart. I think it's time to take some ibuprofen and just head on back to bed (I took a two-hour nap right after getting home, then talked on the phone for an hour and a half, now it's back to bed. About the most useful thing I've done is feed the fish.)

Anyway, sorry for the lack of decent post. Hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow. Good night.