Life and Limb

Yes, the blog’s been neglected this month. So has everything else. The new hole in my ankle is my excuse and my valid reason.
The Charcot Foot has relapsed with new complications. People who have read the older posts about the Charcot development may remember that I did not get Charcot Foot in a normal way. It is an esoteric diabetic thing, but normally stems from unfelt breaks or fractures in the foot. Mine resulted from tendon damage. During a "second" stage of Phase One, my circulation reduced During that time when nutrients could not find effective delivery to my swollen foot, the central bones of my ankle collapsed and a minor toe problem gangrened inside of three days. Luckily, somehow I did not have any part of the foot or toe amputated, although some meat was shaved off of the big toe. I’ve been in a Crow Boot since to reinforce the structural weakness of my ankle.
I am now a patient of podiatrist Thomas Mancini, who has offices in North Providence and East Greenwich Rhode Island. Doctor Mancini did great by me in every way. Instead of rehashing the bad things involved in last year’s mess, I’ll refer newer readers to the label for "Sturdy Hospital" and an old post titled "Doctor Dumbass."
So what went wrong this time? I over-exerted. I had to be a little more active with some things through the final weeks of March. That bothered the leg tendon in the thigh somewhat. Just having to walk to the adjoining building from my apartment is some 75 stairs each way. Having to make that walk so many times took more out of me than "it should."
April started with a project of moving things out of the house and setting up for sales in a booth at an antique co op. I arranged to hire an old friend ahead of time, a big brawny guy who can handle moving 40 boxes better than a limpy gimpy blind guy can. The fault in that plan was in hiring someone without a job. This friend has not outgrown his lazy streak since we’d had more exposure to each other. He called on the appointed day with supposed willingness but plenty of work-aversion ideas and theories. I went to the back up plans, which required more direct effort of me and did not get the entire project done in one day. It’s still not finished.
The efforts inflamed the tendon from toe to groin. This re-triggered the Charcot Foot. The foot swelled. Being trapped in a fitted brace that was now too tight, the collapsed ankle bone ulcerated the inside of the ankle against the boot. The Crow Boot is tight and warm, an ideal environment for bacterial growth.
My roommate was away that week. I can neither see nor really feel a problem on that lower leg. I realized it was infected by the smell.
Infection on that leg is literal risk to life and limb. Unchecked, an infection can flood my entire body pretty quickly, or it can root into local bones and necessitate removal of those bones and the part of the leg they form.