I mentioned Monday that I had developed cellulitis on one foot and asked for prayer. Thanks so much for praying. It’s finally getting better.

I had bought some new “every-day” shoes and had worn them for a few days to make sure they were okay before throwing the old coming-apart ones away. I was out of the house most of Friday, and I can’t remember whether the little worn spot on my foot was there before that or came up afterward. I applied my trusty Bactine and Neosporin. But Saturday morning I noticed about a 3″ red patch around the sore. I’d had cellultis a couple of times before, so I was concerned, but wasn’t sure if this was cellulitis or just a minor infection. I battled off and on with myself about going to Urgent Care (our doctors offices being closed on the weekends), but it didn’t seem to be getting worse. So I figured it was ok.

Jim and Jesse were away for a function that evening, and I was at my desk with my foot elevated on a little footstool under the desk. Some time during the evening when I pulled away from the desk, I was alarmed to see that the redness had grown in area and intensity and the top of my foot was puffy. “This isn’t good,” I thought. If you’ve ever heard the term “angry red,” that was the redness on my foot. When Jim got home I was still uncertain about going in — we’d have to go to the ER now since urgent care was closed — but it had spread so quickly I was afraid to wait any longer.

I don’t have full feeling in my foot since having transverse myelitis. In fact, for many years I didn’t feel pain or cold at all on my right lower leg — it’s only been in the last couple of years that I’ve begun to feel any discomfort there. That’s nice in many ways, but pain is an indicator that something’s wrong and a help to doctors in making a diagnosis, so lack of pain can be a problem. This felt uncomfortable but didn’t really hurt except for when I first got up after lying down.

But the doctor diagnosed cellultis and prescribed antibiotics. I’m allergic to both penicillin and sulfa, so that complicates things a little, but they did have an antibiotic that would work for me. I was told to rest for a few days, keep my foot elevated, and come back if it got worse or if I developed fever or nausea.

So Sunday I stayed home from church and basically took it very easy, and most of the week I’ve stayed home and kept my foot up as much as possible. Sunday Jason and Mittu came over and made dinner, and Monday I coached Jesse through his first meal. He had said he wanted to learn how to cook, so I figured this was a good time to start. 🙂

I think he did a good job!

Our pastor’s wife offered to bring a meal Tuesday, but she lives 45 minutes away. I just hated for her to make that drive here and back. Plus we have several in church with greater need. So I’ve been handling simple meals and dishes since then, but little else around the house, and I’ve been keeping my foot up throughout the day.

The first day or two it didn’t seem better: in fact, it actually looked worse the second day. Then for a day or two it seemed to look better some times but the same other times. Yesterday was the first day it clearly looked much better and I could tell it wasn’t my imagination. I’m not sure how long I am supposed to keep my foot elevated, but I figure as long as there is more than a little redness, I’d better.

It’s funny that many times we’d love for someone to tell us to rest and stay off our feet, but then when we have to, we want to get up and bustle around. 🙂 I see things I need to do every time I get up and walk around. I’ve taken a little swipe at some things when I’ve been up, but I’m pretty sure by this weekend I’ll be able to get back at it. Maybe even tomorrow.

I’ve enjoyed not having to go anywhere. I could all too easily become a hermit. I sent Jesse to the store for the first time with just a short list of essentials, but I’m hoping to make a trip to the store in the next day or two.

Other than concern over my foot, it’s been a pretty pleasant week. I’ve napped a bit, read a bit, spent a good bit of time at the computer, worked on my Cooking For Two recipe book I mentioned last week. I had set up the notebook and separated out the recipes then, and this week I’ve been gluing them on pages and placing them in page protectors. I’m not getting real decorative or else it would take that much longer, but I did print out major page headings  (“Chicken,” “Beef,” “Cookies,” “Cakes,” etc.) with a bit of clip art while listening to my audiobook (and keeping my foot on the footstool!) But I think my little respite is just about over.

So…that’s probably much more than you ever wanted to know. But thanks so much for your prayers! I sincerely appreciate them.