Things We All Take For Granted

Each and every one of us wake up in the morning, open our eyes, our feet hit the floor, sounds, sights and smells engulf our senses. It is just another day like so many before. If you are like me, you don't give this routine a 2nd thought. It is what we do, day in and day out. It is when something is wrong and we are hurt or injured that this routine is given the attention and appreciation that it is due. For the last 2 months or so, I have been having problems with my foot...the left one to be precise. It started hurting while I was going for my daily walks...something that I enjoy doing and something that I do to try to stay in some fashion of being fit. A small step towards that goal of being fit but a very painful one lately. I have been going to physical therapy for the last 2 weeks. To be honest, it has done little to ease the pain in my foot. There are brief periods of time when my foot hurts less than other times but the pain is always there, waiting for me every morning when I wake up and plant that first step onto the carpet as I get out of bed. It has become my buddy..greeting me each day with a "howdy do" and "how are you doing this fine morning besides me being a total pain in the a--, I mean foot". I know that this is rather a small nuisance compared to what others go through each day. The hobbling around as the day wears on, has really given me pause as to how much I really take being able to walk around pain free, for granted. I have had repeated visits to my podiatrist, received injections, gone to physical therapy, bought several pairs of new sneakers, bought several sets of inserts for each set of those new sneakers, done copious amounts of stretching exercises, taken numerous numbers of pain pills, used a lot of Lidoderm patches that numbs the sore areas of my foot for a couple of hours, iced my foot down repeatedly and gone through many tubes of various ointments. I have had some type of laser treatment done and several rounds of ultrasound treatment. The therapist told me about another type of treatment...can't remember the name of it but it doesn't really matter because my insurance doesn't cover it. I find this kind of silly that they won't pay for this other treatment...I think that it might be similar to the laser treatment but they will cover any surgery that I might need to get done. Go figure. Each day that goes by, I get a little more frustrated and my appreciation of those bygone days, when my foot didn't hurt, are have grown in leaps and bounds. Tomorrow we will be heading out for a week in the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg, TN area. I have packed everything into my suitcase, that I could think of, that would help my next week of being on my feet a little less painful. Upon my return, I will go to 2 more weeks of therapy and if there are no changes by then, I will have to give surgery some serious consideration. I really miss those days when I took the "simple stuff" like standing up and walking for granted. Hopefully, someday in the near future, I will be able to do these simple things again, without any pain at all. I can assure you one thing....I won't be taking any of those things for granted again. See you in a week or so. Hopefully I will have some nice photos and stories to share. If I happen to hobble by Dolly Parton, I let her know that you said "hi".