It’s been a rough week, what with all the pain and lack of mobility, but things are looking up!
I went to the clinic yesterday and got cleaned up. They took the wick out and we determined that I was far enough along in the healing process that it would not need to be re packed again, which was great news. My foot looked like this:
But the doctor thought it looked good. She even used the word “fabulous”. The bad news was she wanted to irrigate and clean that bad boy out. The next hour was one of the most painful hours of my life. They even gave me a morphine shot, which didn’t seem to do much but make me dizzy and nauseous. But then at some point she pulled out this:
It’s probably hard to see, but I had a needle-thin spine or thorn that was about 5 mm long in there! So, now we know what caused it, and now that it’s been removed the healing has really speeded up. Hard to imagine I would wake up this morning, see this:
and think, “Wow! That looks great!”, but that’s what happened. The swelling is nearly gone, the wound is closing up, and it no longer hurts even at rest. The doctor said if things go well, I could be back on the trail within a week. Obviously, this is great news. Getting that splinter out of there was a major turning point, and it should be smooth sailing here pretty soon.
If I hit the trail next Sunday, that would be 16 days off trail. And not just off trail, but lying about with my feet up. I may have to rebuild my trail legs from scratch. I’m curious how much muscle I’ve lost. But that’s fine. At least I’ll be back on trail soon, and then we’ll see if I have time to still make it to Canada.
A New Place To Dream 
Great news! So glad they found the source of the infection. I’ll bet you will get your trail legs quickly.
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Thanks! I hope so too.
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All the best on a complete recovery and hitting the trail again. Got two bounce buckets in the mail today. Looking forward to your visit. 🙂 You’ve been through a lot!
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Looks like hell, but glad to hear it’s doing better! Too bad about the morphine not working. Makes me wonder what they gave you actually.
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Oh my that looks painful!!!!! Although I believe you will recover quickly now that they found the source.
I will pray for your speedy recovery.
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I guess it was worth the pain to get that thing out. Imagine if it stayed in there, it would be tough to heal.
Did that thing work it’s way through your shoe?
Glad you are on the road to getting back on the trail. An unplanned vacation within a vacation.
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Damn, I have to plan better vacations. Mine aren’t very relaxing…
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That is great news Adam! Despite the pain and downtime, you are very lucky she found the splinter in that mess at all. I’m sure your legs will remember the trail in a short time, but take it slow for a little while.
After a 13.5 hour trip, I’m back in Oregon, but my heart is still in Alaska. We had a stunning time there and were treated like royalty. Very humbling as you must feel following your little ordeal.
Take care. Hope to see you soon.
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Toe is looking even better today. I should be headed your way soon. I’m envious of your Alaska trip. Now that’s a vacation!
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