Oh my goodness!!!!

We just came back from the podiatrist. Dr. Baird wasn't in so the other doctor saw him. She's very good.

She took one look at the big round blob of blood-filled thing on his foot and exclaimed "oh my goodness, what happened to you"??

I asked her "Is this a separate blister or is this part of the ulcer?" She replied "This is the ulcer and it got infected, look at the red lines going up from this side, I DON'T LIKE THE WAY THIS LOOKS" she said.

I said "well, I don't like it either, what do we do now?" She said "I"m putting in a call to Dr. Baird but I'm going to start him on Augmentin and I'm going to cut all the bad stuff out."

AND WHEN THE DOCTOR CUT AROUND IT, A LITTLE PIECE OF METAL CAME OUT OF ALAN'S FOOT!!! A tiny piece of metal, like a bit of wire or something. very very tiny but she got it out.

She said "oh, look at this, where did this thing come from, it's imbeded in
his foot, it was deep inside this ulcer.

So she did whatever she had to do, bandaged him up good, put a medical shoe thing on him and we go back on tuesday.

He felt better immediately. She made a makeshift thing so the pressure wouldn't be on that part of his foot.

He really does get good foot care at Kings Plaza Foot Care.

So bye for now.

P.S. An assistant came in and was helping the doctor and she took one look at his feet and we saw her face and Alan laughs out loud and says "believe me, this woman is a saint but when I married her, my FEET DIDN'T LOOK LIKE THIS. The girl burst out laughing.

Meoldy,
good grief - I said my "mental picture of the sole of his foot w/ the blister and the ulcer ain't pretty" but reality exceeded my imagination. I'm glad for you and Alan that the podiatrist could see you on a Sunday and was able to clean out the ulcer and remove the source of the infection. Hopefully Alan's recovery will be swift and complete.
best wishes for both
Alkymst

And I'll say it again. It is extremely important to make a daily check of your feet. If you don't have someone to check them for you, put a magnifying mirror on the floor and check for small things that could be imbedded in your feet, like Alan's metal piece. In the past, I've had a small infection from a piece of hair buried in my foot. I didn't feel it until it was really sore. Now my husband and I do daily checks of my feet.

Billye

Not only is that a good idea, IT'S A BRILLIANT IDEA!!

We have magnifying mirrors in our house.

From now on, Alan will check his feet every day.

If he doesn't, I shall punch him in his nose!!!

all the best,

Mel

about that piece of metal in Alan's foot. No wonder he had a big sore blister. Wonderful that the doctor discovered this and was able to get it out. I am glad that you are now going to examine his feet (and yours too) every day to keep something like this from happening again. Hope Alan's foot will recover fast.

Shirley H.

Thank you Shirley.

Today Alan called up Blue Cross Blue Shield Mediblue because his doctor says he needs special molded shoes because of his neuropathy. The lady at the other end listened to his tale of woe and said "I completely understand sir, but its not part of your benefit package because you are not diabetic. IF you were diabetic, you'd get the shoes".

She told him to get the doctor to write a letter of medical necessity, then it would be probably be turned down, then Alan would appeal it in front of the judge.

Alan said and I quote "the day they turn me down and I have to appear in court to get these shoes, I won't say one word., I'll just sit down in the court room, take off my shoes and socks and put up my feet".

NOBODY WILL TURN ME DOWN!!!

I never laughed so hard in all my life.

Oh, by the way, since we are on the same plan AND I'M DIABETIC, guess who will be getting a new pair of shoes. me!!!!!

mel

anytime you see a red line going out from an injury-usually along a vein-
that could be an indication of something serious {like blood poisoning}

Those are medicare rules which the insurance companies then follow. I know i tried to get something too but i dont have diabetes so was turned down. I couldnt walk for 6 weeks but that didnt matter. It seems that only diabetic neuropathy is given official recognition, because it is easy to point to a cause. Im not talking about PN caused by pre diabetes.

--I bet Alan's strategy will work.

It's just annoying, and shameful, that it would have to come to a hearing.

I, too, had not been able to get specialized shoes for the same reason. I am fortunate that my wife participates in a medical savings plan--"flex" plan--and I was able to recoup the expense through there. But I was certainly peeved to find out that the insurance plans only recognize diabetic neuropathy as a reason for such shoes. (My Dad, who is diabetic, DID get them covered.)

And, of course, I sent the obligatory e-mail to the company (United Health Care) with the appropriate embedded references about idiopathic/cryptogenic neuropathy of the feet and lower extremities with demonstrable small-fiber damage. Probably won't do any good, but I feel it needs to be on record, and perhaps, in time, changes might be made. (I do encourage you to do that as well, Mel, contrasting your own situation, and you can find plenty of references in the Useful Web Sites--maybe if enough of us do this, eventually . . .)

Well, I just checked his foot, (like I did last night), no more red lines going up from the ankle. His ankle (which was slightly swollen (at least I think it was, but I'm no doctor), is perfectly fine and matches the other ankle.

He has no pain, he walks from his chair to the bathroom and back with no problem, waring that medical shoe.

So later on today, we go to Dr. Baird.

will update.

love,
melody