Week 4

my numb spot still covers the whole front half of my thigh, from groin to knee.  i can feel pressure when i touch it but i don't feel anything on the skin. the heel of my hands hurt from crutching and it's uncomfortable to start crutching again in the mornings. my right butt often gets sore from supporting more weight but it recharges overnight without any lingering effects. we drove to NJ to a shopping mall for a wheelchair field trip. it was friggin' freezing and since it was a mall, we didn't bring coats.  this is when i decided i should try to get a temp handi parking tag.

i'm still battling my itchy disease.  i tried benadryl one night, didn't help.  my friend said curel helped her a lot so i got some curel.  then i decided to try coconut oil b/c i heard people with shaved heads use it for their bare scalps.  coconut oil might be the magic potion!!!  my itchiness improved dramatically overnight. can it be? i still had a little itchiness but it was no where near as intense.

my toenails are getting claw-like. i can't reach my toes and i don't think i can get into a pedicure chair.  i searched for a house-call nail service and had someone come over.  i think she may have been afraid to injure me cuz it wasn't a very good pedicure. while she was cleaning my feet, i noticed that my fourth toe was red and swollen. i couldn't tell if there was a cut on it.  the next day my middle and 2nd toes were itchy and my foot was slightly red.  several days later my calf looked swollen too.  my guy tested my leg for pitted edema. the swelling went away when i sat down and the CHB nurse didn't think it was PAO-related.  someone else suggested it was from dis-use and Dr Millis and PT jaime decided that it was probably because i wasn't putting enough weight on my left side while walking.

i took my first subway trip!  i only did it because the subway entrance is across the street and the store i wanted to go to was a block from the subway.  when i got to the store, i thought i could crutch forever. but there were a ton of stairs and i came home exhausted.