Broken Toe

I have a history of bumps and bruises and sprains. I did a lot of sports as a teenager, and I was constantly injuring myself. Miraculously, I never broke a bone, even when my injuries should have caused fractures. I figured I was blessed with an ultra-resilient skeleton.

My streak of good fortune ended on Thursday. I was at the beach, and I was walking barefoot. I stubbed my toe on a rock. I checked it out and saw that I wasn't bleeding, so I went back to building sand castles and hanging out with my friends, not sparing a second thought to my toe.

On Friday morning, I woke up, and my toe was purple and tender to the touch. I figured I bruised it a little worse than I had thought, and I didn't think much of it. It was too sore to wear regular shoes, so I put on some flip-flops and went to work. By the time I got to the office, I couldn't even walk on it without pain. I propped my foot up at my desk and continued with my job.

After work, I decided to go get it checked out. I don't have insurance, so I went to the urgent care clinic attached to the local hospital. They give a discount to uninsured patients who pay cash at the time of service. I waited for a bit, and then the doctor saw me. He took one look at it and said that it was broken, but he sent me for an x-ray just to be sure.

After the x-ray, the nurse taped up my foot and gave me a walking boot. She felt sorry for me, so she didn't charge me for the boot. She showed me how to tape my toes to splint them, and instructed me to change the tape every day. I have to keep them taped for 4-6 weeks and wear the boot until I can put regular shoes on without pain.

It was a total freak accident, and I spent some time thinking about why I ended up with a fracture. Then I remembered my vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D helps in the absorption of calcium, so my deficiency probably weakened my bones. Note to self - be better about taking vitamins.

I'm really glad that the clinic is so affordable. I ended up spending only $90, which is a real bargain for a broken bone.

It's going to be a bit inconvenient to get to work. My choices are to take BART and then a bus that drops me off a block away from work, where I have to walk uphill, or to drive and park in a garage two blocks away from work, walking up that same hill. At least I've figured out how to navigate stairs.

When my foot heals, I'm throwing a dance party to celebrate.

Update 7/9/13: False alarm. The radiologist called back and said that it's not actually broken.