Why I hate having no health insurance

[rikibeth]

shadowflyer is on crutches, with his foot all swollen and inflamed from plantar fasciitis.

It's least uncomfortable for him when his foot is flexed. When he props it up, it points.

He spoke of wanting to bind his foot into an angle-iron sort of shelving bracket to keep it flexed.

I mentioned seeing a rigid splinty thing at the drugstore, and offered to go get.

It was an air-cast. It was $49.99.

Not exactly in our price range.

Comments

[webbapettigrew.livejournal.com]

I have plantar fasciitis in my right foot, and it hurts something awful. I had to wear one of those air casts for three months straight. Even now, when I first get out of bed, I have to walk with a cane. :-0 One of the sucky parts about getting old.

[rikibeth.livejournal.com]

He's got several spiffy canes already, because of the worn-out knees from fencing.

Thanks for telling me about this -- being able to tell him "three months" made him take it a little more seriously.

And, for fannish goodness...

[rikibeth.livejournal.com]

he *is* extremely blond, although not long-haired.

Perhaps I ought to keep my eyes open for something serpent-headed.

Heh.

[la-directora.livejournal.com]

I am a fellow PF sufferer, and will tell you that it will NOT get better unless he does something to keep his foot flexed. Especially when he sleeps, as that is the time when the bed covers weigh the foot down into a pointed position.

However, I never spent $50 on a splint. Carlos actually made one for me, and you guys could probably accomplish something similar without much difficulty. He made me an L-shaped thing out of the fiberglass you use to make casts, and then I used ace bandages to strap it to my foot. I slept in it to keep the foot braced. It wasn't very good for walking in, but was good for keeping the foot flexed when I didn't think about it. Now, whenever my foot starts to feel tight, I just do some conscious hard flexing stretches, and it mostly solves the problem. And I do some of that every night in bed whenever I noticed my toes pointed.

So turn it into a science lab experiment. Make your OWN brace. :) (Also, if he owns Birkenstocks, they are actually recommended all over the place as supporting the foot the right way to help ease PF pain. When I'm feeling more tightness than usual, I'll wear mine for a few days.)

[rikibeth.livejournal.com]

Thanks. We got him a pair of Birkenstock Aberdeens last year when he had the first attack. Right now his foot's too swollen to fit into them.

And the foolish man has been wearing his retro-stylish but SO unsupportive Chuck Taylors instead of his Birkenstocks, more often lately. Once the swelling goes down, I am dragging him to the Walking Company and making him get proper insoles for his Chucks.

[cleverthylacine]

Crap. I thought I still had one but it's gone. I would have sent it otherwise. :(

*hugs* Sorry it's all I can do.

[rikibeth.livejournal.com]

I really do appreciate the thought. I had a more frivolous one about you yesterday -- the toy store next to where I work had a box of discounted Hello Kitty things, and I had to remind myself that it would be stalker-ish to buy a Hello Kitty purse and then ask you where to send it, and, besides, you might well have one you liked better, and besides, we haven't got much frivolous money in the budget. But I was tempted.

I am going out to spend the money on the air cast anyway, because of the "three months" webbapettigrew mentioned.

If you know where I can find a good Lucius Malfoy Pimp Cane (tm), I'd be happy for a link. Fannish AND practical, that's right...

[shadowflyer.livejournal.com]

<siiiiigh>

Raptors. Thirteen years married and you can't remember raptors. Read my lips, darling: I. Don't. Do. Lucius.

The eagle head on my light wood cane is coming loose again, and the rubber foot has worn quite through. Must remember to fix.

[rikibeth.livejournal.com]

But, see, you HAVE a raptor already, even if it needs fixing.

And you'll do "Shoot zem. Shoot zem bohss," but you won't do Lucius? At least Lucius is pretty.

I suppose I should be glad. He's pretty, but the way I write him, he's also a sociopath. He scares me.

Maybe if we saw a pretty stick with the Ravenclaw eagle on it?

[shadowflyer.livejournal.com]

I do that specifically to make you twitch. If it didn't give you such a wonderful freakout reaction, I probably wouldn't do it so much - as it is, I only do it when you mention it. :-P

[greeneyes-rpi.livejournal.com]

If you send me your address (via Amazons), I will send you a check for $50. PF sucks, and the longer you take to fix it the longer it will take to heal.

[rikibeth.livejournal.com]

Very sweet of you. Not, as it happens, necessary. I checked the bank balance and bought it today, and it turned out not to be the right design after all, and I'll be returning it, and we won't be out the money.

Currently, he's got a metal library bookend with a cardboard extension strapped to his foot with an Ace bandage, which is keeping it splinted in the proper position, at least.

But thank you.