I just got a call back from the hospital. It turns out that my toe isn't broken. It's just badly bruised. So, instead of wearing a walking boot for 4-6 weeks, I just have to wear flats for 2-3 weeks. I'm thrilled.
Plus, I get to keep up my never-broken-a-bone bragging rights.
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Sunday, July 7, 2013
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.
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.
Friday, July 5, 2013
Economic impact of the BART strike
Anyone who lives in the bay area is aware that BART (commuter rail between the east bay and San Francisco) was on strike for the past week. The strike has now been (at least temporarily) ended, after 5 days. I'm sure lots of people will be analyzing the aggregate economic impact this has had, and I wouldn't be surprised if it ended up being very expensive.
I decided to analyze the economic impact that the strike had on me personally. I ended up coming out ahead.
The strike lasted for one work week - July 1 - July 5.
I drove to work alone on Monday. I usually drive on Mondays due to a standing appointment on Monday nights in a location where BART doesn't go, so there was no economic impact there. Thursday was a holiday, and it would have been a holiday even without the strike, so there was no impact there either.
That leaves three work days (Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday) to analyze. I drove a carpool with co-workers for those days.
If I had taken BART, my cost would have been $46.41 for the three days. ($10 per day for BART fare, $3.50 per day for bus fare, $1.50 per day for parking at the BART station, and $0.46 per day for the diesel to get to the BART station from home.)
The cost to drive on Tuesday was $19.75. ($10.25 for diesel, $2.50 for bridge toll, and $7 for parking.) Wednesday and Friday cost $12.75 each because I got free parking. So, the total commute cost for the three days was $45.25.
I'm already $1.16 better off. But wait! My carpool people contributed to the commute. I didn't ask for any money, since I would have been driving anyway, but when they offered, I didn't turn them down. I ended up getting $35 in donations.
I did have to get up extra early to avoid traffic, but I was compensated by getting to leave work early, so that's a wash.
So, my total savings due to the strike came to $36.16. Not bad.
I decided to analyze the economic impact that the strike had on me personally. I ended up coming out ahead.
The strike lasted for one work week - July 1 - July 5.
I drove to work alone on Monday. I usually drive on Mondays due to a standing appointment on Monday nights in a location where BART doesn't go, so there was no economic impact there. Thursday was a holiday, and it would have been a holiday even without the strike, so there was no impact there either.
That leaves three work days (Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday) to analyze. I drove a carpool with co-workers for those days.
If I had taken BART, my cost would have been $46.41 for the three days. ($10 per day for BART fare, $3.50 per day for bus fare, $1.50 per day for parking at the BART station, and $0.46 per day for the diesel to get to the BART station from home.)
The cost to drive on Tuesday was $19.75. ($10.25 for diesel, $2.50 for bridge toll, and $7 for parking.) Wednesday and Friday cost $12.75 each because I got free parking. So, the total commute cost for the three days was $45.25.
I'm already $1.16 better off. But wait! My carpool people contributed to the commute. I didn't ask for any money, since I would have been driving anyway, but when they offered, I didn't turn them down. I ended up getting $35 in donations.
I did have to get up extra early to avoid traffic, but I was compensated by getting to leave work early, so that's a wash.
So, my total savings due to the strike came to $36.16. Not bad.
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