My New Fashion Accessory

While Kevan and I were in Tennessee I started having pain in my foot whenever I would walk on it.   I thought it would go away so I tried my best to ignore it.  After a few weeks we came back to Florida and we went to an RV Show in Tampa.  I realized by the end of the day that I had something seriously wrong with my foot.  So, I finally broke down and went to a foot doctor.

Unfortunately, I came home with this....

I found out that I have a stress fracture on the arch of my foot and because I walked on it for 2 months I also have tendonitis.  I learned that when your body is in pain you should go to the doctor when it starts, not months after you've been in pain!

I've had my cast on for 2.5 weeks now.  Over these last couple of weeks I have come up with a pro and cons list of wearing a cast.  Let me say, the con list is FAR longer than the pro list.  When I was young I thought it would be so cool to break something and have to have a cast or crutches.  Let me tell you, "IT.IS.NOT.FUN"!  If you think it might be, read my list below:

Cons:

1. My foot/leg itches and I can't scratch it!!  It is awful!!
2. I don't like my new waddle.  I'm no longer level so I waddle around and I'm sure it looks pretty funny.
3. I can't shave my leg under my cast!  Ewwwwww!!
4. The cast material is VERY rough so it scrapes off my skin if my other leg rubs against it.  At night I have to put on 2 knit socks because I either scrape myself or Kevan's skin off during the night.  One sock I cut the toes off of so it would slide all the way on and then the other sock goes on the bottom (see pic below).
5. During the day (while working at my desk) I like to sit "Indian Style" in my chair....I can't do it now!  It is very frustrating and it is very hard to concentrate because I'm not in my comfortable work position.
6. I can't drive because it is my right foot.
7. My husband has to chauffeur me.  It is not good for my marriage.  I am a backseat driver and am totally a little scared of his driving.
8. I miss putting my jeans on in a normal fashion.  Now, it takes me about 4-5 minutes just to get them on and about 4-5 minutes to take them off.  Jeans are not made to maneuver around a cast.  They are not a very giving material.  But, I am very happy and blessed that I can even get them on.  I love my jeans!
9. I miss having two socks on and not having to stretch a HUGE knit sock over my cast in order to warm my toes that are sticking out the bottom.
10. I can't sleep because I am a stomach sleeper.  I can't lay on my stomach because I would have to twist my leg in order to lay it flat OR let my leg stick up in the air with my toes smashing into the mattress.  Even my sleep number bed can't help me with this one.
11. I can't walk long distances or for a long period of time. 
12. I am a bath person and I normally take a bath almost every night and read.  It is VERY hard to get in and out of a left-sided tub when you can't step into the tub to get in.  It is also really hard to get out.  Luckily, my husband built me a wooden bar so I can set my leg on it instead of it laying in the tub getting wet.  BUT, this doesn't help with getting in and out so I only take a bath about once a week now.
13. I can't use my ankle.  Do you know how often you use your ankle?  A LOT!  If I'm sitting in a chair usually my foot would be flush with the floor.  Nope.  Not with a cast.  It is in the permanent L position. 
14. Did I say....I can't drive and it is REALLY bad for my marriage.
15. I walked on the cast without my "special shoe" so the bottom of it is kind of cracked.  It makes cracking noises when I walk sometimes.
16. I'm constantly wanting to take my shoe off and then I realize it's a CAST!  It doesn't come off.

Pros:

1. I only have to shave one leg.  :o)  (see cons list #3 above)
2. I only have to wash 1/2 the number of socks I normally do since I can only wear 1 each day instead of 2.  :o)
3. I have a chauffeur (see cons list #6, 7, & 14 above).

Ok, so that is all I can come up with for the Pros list.  One cool thing I also want to mention is this really cool cast cover I purchased from Amazon.com.  I slip it on before I take a shower/bath and it leaves my cast completely dry.  It is pretty awesome.  It was only $13 and should last through the whole 6 weeks of my cast's life.  If you know someone with an arm/leg cast this is definately a wonderful gift!  Here is a pic of it on.

Here is a pic of my fancy knit sock(s) I wear to bed.  One down side to this is that my male kitty LOVES socks like this so he is always trying to play with it or bite it.  It is funny, but I'm scared I'm going to step on him and hurt him.  Isn't it cute though?  It's pink!