There are so many things to consider when watching out over some one’s care. I don’t know how everyone else does it. I can hardly do it well, myself and I have some medical background to draw from! How much it TOO much attention? How much is too little.
I’ve been deliberately backing off, spend less time with Mom, knowing that we are leaving for Mexico next week for our 4 week stay. I didn’t want her to feel abandoned. But, in my neglect, I didn’t realize that no one was really watching to see if her toes were being cared for. I realized yesterday that no one had cut her toe nails since November…since November! It made me just sick with regret. I hadn’t even thought to make her take her shoes off so I could look, when we were spending our time together. Her nails had grown so that some were pulling away from the nail bed, pointing up and some were growing around the end of her toes. I soaked her feet and bandaged the weeping and bleeding nail beds and held back my own grief over what could have turned into a serious problem. Hopefully, if I am very attentive over the next few days, no doctor will have to remove her big toe nail completely to fix the damage that has been done. I saw her again today and unfortunately the nails weren’t the worst of her problem.
The nails looked 80% better as I unbandaged them this afternoon. She soaked in salt water and as I packed the anti-biotic under the loose nail I noticed how bruised the side of her foot was. She was is obvious pain with every movement of her foot. I had expected there to have been relief from what I had done yesterday. As I moved her foot more, I could see that it was excruciatingly painful for her. Annette encouraged me when I thought that we should get an x-ray and within the hour the doctor had ordered the x-ray and confirmed what I had been fearing.
Because of the pain in her big toe, she had shifted her weight to the outside of her foot which led to a stress fracture of the 5th metatarsal on her left foot…
She is walking with a boot, now, and I pray that it doesn’t discourage her too much. She’s been through so much and has been so positive, really. She is such an inspiration to me. Watching her go through all of this, I’ve had to fight that weary drag. But, she is a beacon whose light continues to shine. We just have to keep praying that she can keep it up and that we can keep it up, too.
Thank you for reading and caring. She cares about you, too.