Zapped

My mobile rang at 8.20am and it was Paul, my podiatrist. I knew exactly why he was ringing before I even answered, and sure enough I was right... they could do my cortisone injection today! Excellent news, although I felt a little nervous about the injection part of it. I'm not good with needles ever since being in the Navy. Back then when 20 blokes stood in a line in front of me, all whinging about getting 4 injections (2 in each arm), I barged past them all looking at them all pathetically, stood with my arms out to the side and was administered all injections. All done, I smugly walked past them all and told them "There's nothing to it lads" and promptly passed out. Apparently the four doses at one go for someone who was as thin as me (just over 6 stone) was probably a bit too much. I've been scared of needles ever since!

So, when I got there I met David who was doing the injection after giving a second opinion on my condition. He was definitely a bit rougher than Paul was, and pulled my foot here there and everywhere... got a nice Mulders click at one point and told me it was definitely a neuroma. Paul looked quite shocked, as he seems to think it's come on very quickly, but all the signs are there... quick or otherwise.

He got the needle ready and I lay back a bit so I couldn't see what he was doing, closed my eyes and calmed myself down thinking nice "running in Basel" thoughts. It didn't hurt as much as I expected, although I wanted to say, "For Gods sake man, can't you go any quicker" as he seemed to take ages. The longer it went on the more painful it got and the awful ache between my second and third toes was extremely uncomfortable. After he'd finished the ache got even worse, which I was told was the nerves contracting and was a good sign. It took around 10 minutes for the anaesthetic to kick in, and I am probably going to find it quite painful over the next two days.

But the burning question was..... When can I run? He told me I could probably run on Monday, but it would be better to wait until next Saturday if possible. So, next Saturday it is! If I run on the treadmill this time and feel no pain but "not quite right" then that's not a good sign... it has to feel totally fine! I can have another 2 injections after this if needed, but he seems to think we have caught the condition early and this one should be enough! Fingers crossed!!!