Another day of going to work, another day of going home. It’s only Wednesday. I was so excited to take off my shoes when I got home. I’ve always loved the feeling of just being able to wiggle my toes freely after having them stuck in a shoe for so long – plus, my new flats were arriving today and I couldn’t wait to try them on. I got home, took off my shoes, and walked to my room.
My room is located in a very unique place. From the dining room, I have to walk past a door that opens up to a dark, narrow hallway to get to my room. It’s not a long hallway, but when all the doors to the hallway are closed, there’s no light in sight.
I changed into shorts and a t-shirt, sat down, took off my socks, and swept my feet over the carpet. Ah, it’s so soft and comfy. I saw my package on the floor. I had ordered two different style flats because I wasn’t sure which style would be more comfortable for my feet. I’ll take my time trying on my new shoes after dinner, I thought.
I walked out of my room, excited for dinner, when all of a sudden, BAM! My right foot hit something in the hallway. Pain shot through my pinky toe as I let out a loud yell. There was a box sitting in the hallway, right against the door frame. The stubborn box did not budge when it hit my toe. With much pain, I limped the rest of the way out of the hallway, which was only a few steps away. Who put the box in the hallway?!?!
There was finally light and I looked at my toe. It looked short and fat, but I was very glad that my nail was still in place, with no signs of blood. I looked at my left pinky toe. Do they look the same? No. My right toe definitely looks wider. Great. The impact from the stubborn box must have been so strong that my toe is now swollen.
I was hungry, so I started eating dinner. I tried getting some steps in while I watched TV, but my toe was screaming in pain so I had to sit down. Can I move it? A bit. Can I bend it? No. It must be too swollen to move properly. My mom came and added some ointment to my toe. The smell was strong.
By the time I was done with dinner, my toe had started to change color. It was a very light heather blue. I sighed and slowly limped back to my room, feeling slightly happier that I still have my new shoes to look forward to but at the same time, devastated that I wasn’t able to try on the two pairs because now my toe is swollen and there’s ointment all over it. I should have tried them on before dinner.
The next day, my foot became more colorful. I saw an area of dark fuchsia surrounded by light heather blue. My poor little toe! As the days went by, my toe hurt less and the bruise seemed to slowly fade away. Day after day, I tried putting on my new flats, but my swollen toe was just too big to fit. A few weeks later, I was finally able to try on my new flats.
A month passed by without a day of me not looking at my toe, wondering when it would look normal again. There were days when it would still be in pain when I walk, but what concerned me most was the fact that I still am not able to bend my toe. What is wrong with my toe?
I finally scheduled an appointment with the podiatrist. He looked at my toe and said, “It’s still bruised!”
I looked at my toe. “It is?” I asked out loud.
The podiatrist sent me to a room next door to get an x-ray of my foot. I stood on my left foot while my right foot rested on top of a box. The staff took an x-ray from three different angles, then brought me back to the first room.
The podiatrist came in. “Well, the good news is, you didn’t break your toe. The bad news is, it’s dislocated.”
Oh great. My toe got dislocated from walking into a box. The podiatrist wrapped my foot with a thick bandage wrap, then instructed me to keep it wrapped for a month.
“Can I still run and play pickleball during this time?” I asked.
“Absolutely not. Although you are young and fit, you cannot be that active while it’s healing. I’d recommend continuing taping and at most walking for exercise to that foot for one month. You can still do upper body and core exercises as you will. Thank you for being honest,” he responded.
What a bummer!
The first few days with my foot wrapped was horrible. My toe was in excruciating pain, keeping me up all night. Was my toe moving back in place? Is the bandage wrap too tight? This is more pain than before I had it wrapped. I had so many questions but no answers. It was so difficult fitting my foot in my shoe too, let alone my new flats.
I wrapped my foot every day with a new bandage wrap, but soon, I started getting a rash. A month later, I returned to the podiatrist.
“Oh no, I am so sorry,” he said when he saw the rash on my toe. “The bandage wrap is supposed to be non-reactive.”
I got another x-ray of my foot. The good news is that it looks like my toe has healed. The bad news? I have a rash on my toe now. The podiatrist prescribed me with an ointment, and that is the end of my toe story…except…I am still not quite able to bend my toe like normal.