Time Is On My Side

Yes it is, or is it?  I discovered this week I have another attack to my system thanks to diabetes.  I have been diagnosed with Charcot foot.  Here is a brief description from drfoot.co.uk:

“In Charcot foot, pain perception and the ability to sense the position of the joints in the foot are severely impaired or lost, and muscles lose their ability to support the joint(s) properly. Loss of these motor and sensory nerve functions allow minor traumas such as sprains and stress fractures to go undetected and untreated, leading to ligament laxity (slackness), joint dislocation, bone erosion, cartilage damage, and deformity of the foot. The bones most often affected are the metatarsals and the tarsals, located in the forefoot and mid foot,”

So here I am with a boot on my foot and on crutches.  After a MRI tonight I will have a full cast placed on my foot for a few weeks.  This is affecting my right foot so no driving for me.

Wow no driving!  What am I going to do?  How do I get to the doctors’, how do I get to the grocery store and how to I get to Starbucks for my daily iced coffee or iced tea?

I have to do something which I find very hard to do, ask for help.  No choice here, my kids live back east so no family help, so I am reaching out, and I am finding people are wonderful.  I have offers for rides, visits, and even suggestions.  I needed to get crutches on Monday, and instead of paying full price, a friend told me to check out Goodwill Stores.  Many people donate their used crutches, I found a pair “like new” for a substantial savings, very important with my added medical expenses.  Getting help from friends is the easy part I am finding out.  The tough part, is dealing with yet another diabetic problem.  After spending 10 days in the hospital with a pulmonary embolism, I was hoping my health issues would stabilize.  When my foot became swollen I went to see my doctor who sent me to my foot doctor.  All of the classic symptoms were there, very strong pulse, my foot was warm, my bones were cracking, and my x-ray showed numerous cracks on it.  I cannot afford to become depressed because of my latest setback.

I am blessed with great friends, doctors who care, and an outlet to write about my feelings.  For the next few weeks I will be able to do a great deal of thinking and learning about Charcot foot and diabetes.  I will figure out how to change my lifestyle even more to slow any diabetic problems in the future.  I will have time on my side to talk with and visit with all of the wonderful people who send out prayers and offers of help.  A big THANK YOU, to all of you who let me lean on you.