Foot neuroma, anybody?

So sorry to hear that Estelle. What an awful thing to happen.

I can sympathise, as I too had a flare-up provoked by an accident two years ago. I was going through a period of weird dizzy spells - not vertigo, just falling over backwards if I looked round quickly - and had one on a down escalator when coming out of an above-ground metro station. Never been so scared in my life - sitting there helplessly, screaming my head off for someone to press the emergency stop button as I was being carried onto those "teeth" at the bottom of the escalator, not daring to push myself up as I knew my fingers would go straight into them. And a train-load of people coming down behind me, of course. The good burgers of Brussels aren't known for their common sense and fast reactions, so no one knew what to do and everyone was piling on top of me till the two young lads dealing drugs in the station entrance had the presence of mind to yank me off by both arms. I wish now that I'd asked them their names and which mos que they went to so I could have written a thank-you letter, but was too shocked at the time to think about it.

I didn't even have time to recuperate, as I had to rush straight home, then out again to give my friend her evening meal. She was suffering from dementia and was detained in a nightmarish psychiatric unit where the staff couldn't be bothered to help her to eat, so I was spending most of my days there trying to get food into her. Unfortunately I was already suffering from tendinitis in both upper arms at the time, so what with being pulled by the arms and the shock, that went into an almighty flare-up which lasted about a year!

Well, things move on. My poor friend died a few months later, which was a blessing for her, and I soon started being able to manage household tasks again after a long period where both hands/arms were practically out of action. As I live alone, and was 71 at the time, I had to be quite creative as to how to do things for myself in that period!

Still, like you, I find staying cheerful helps. And at least your accident was dramatic and newsworthy, rather than embarrassing like mine, leaving you sitting there helplessly like a beached whale. (A very noisy beached whale!) My upper arms are still quite painful two years later, but at least the crippling pains in my left wrist and right elbow have cleared up now, and I'm able to cope with most jobs around the house again.

No sun here either, but greetings from Brussels anyway. We got over our two bomb attacks 17 months ago (ironically perpetrated by the same group as my two escalator saviours) and I'm sure Manchester will soon recover too.

wow, what a frightening thing to happen. Your English is so good, I think you must be ex pat in Brussels. I have a cousin living there. She is soon to be 70. So a spring chicken by comparison. But she does have health issues too. She lives in Brussels 1080. Her English is brill as she lived here for a while. Anyway, my parents & extended. family were brought up in Antwerp so I know Belgium etc pretty well. Sadly, unlikely to get there now as my husband is suffering heart failure now. He was extremely ill in March and pretty weakened now.  My SS manifests as dry eyes & mouth, & fatigue kicks in from about 4.00pm. My wrists and other joints aren't too good either. Stress makes my mouth dry up, occasionally. Keep smiling and as they say 'tot zinds' x

I just sent you a private message. Don't worry, PMs via this site don't reveal the email address of either party and don't carry viruses.

A bientôt (I adopted the other language régime!)

Hi Estelle

Most happy to send you some of our overpowering August white sunshine.  It seems brighter & harsher this year, but that's probably me becoming more sensitive.  

That accident sounds terrifying.  Where I live in Texas It's only recently that police have been allowed to engage in road chases, and I was against it.   There have been at least 8 serious accidents in 5 years, with 5 or 6 dead and 20 injured -- cops chased a man right into a crowd of people on the sidewalk here during a festival week, which accounted for 1 death and most of the injured.

You have helped me this morning:  I am thrilled to hear of good outcomes on neuroma surgery.  I still don't know if I can have it, but I sure want to.  Of course it would be even better if the blasted thing went away on its own, soon.

Almost 30 years ago I had a bad fall on a cement ramp with a long slide  to its bottom.  Nothing broke & I never hit my head, but I was so shaken that I didn't know who I was, why I was there, etc., for 1 - 2 minutes at the bottom.  Then I got up & walked away. 

Pain began arriving later.  Nothing broken but eventually discovered that I had more than just soft tissue injuries.  2 years later my excellent back specialist stated in a deposition that he did not know why I was still in so much pain, but he knew that I was.  He was well & truly perplexed.

By then I'd been off work a year at his insistence, with sitting causing excruciating  pain & standing the same tho it took longer.   At 3 or 4 years out from the fall, living in a different state, my ENT diagnosed Sjogren's, confirmed by a rheumo.   Neither mentioned any possible connection with all the pain.  A year or so later I got a new gp.  I asked him if I might have lupus:  not possible, he said.  I had asked because of all the hip pain.

This all occurred in the '90s.  l believe the ENT & gp to have been under-informed, though the rheumo ,,, thus began my unhappy career with rheumos.

All of which is to say, it seems that physical injuries aren't as easily shaken by us.

Also about that sunshine:  It's total eclipse day in a big swath of the States.  We only get a small but here today.  Anything will be a relief.

Hope you feel better soon.

After offering me your sunshine, I now realise you're having the hurricane horrors. So pleased you are safe. We have had isolated areas of short, sharp devastating floods in the U.K. On a smaller scale than things at your end but just as disruptive and despairing for those affected. When the reporters go back a year later, many families are still living in temporary housing, and businesses lost.

Some things are beyond our control and yes, climate change is a reality x

Thank you, Estelle.  Flooding is devastating, no matter where it happens or why.  At least here we have a somewhat better chance of getting out of harm's path, whereas y'all might run out of island before getting away.  That's all assuming that one has  vehicle and plenty money for food, gas, lodging.  So so many do not.

I'd think about going to the desert but ,,, I've waded through higher than 2' deep water in the streets of Phoenix before and seen where beautiful San Diego had to abandon whole major roads after heavy rains caused mudslides.  How does one throw that mud back up the mountain?

Climate change is real & it really stinks.  But the sun shines full on right now, first time since Wednesday, I think. Gotta go outside!  Sending you some more sunshine, Estelle, just in case.