fat foot………………………skinny foot
Scott and I just got back from New York City Monday. It was our first time in New York and at the US Open. I usually cannot get away this time of year with school and coaching, and since I am not teaching this year, and I have an amazing JV coach in Brian, we decided to go for a week. We took in 3 days of tennis and 3 days of seeing the city. Luckily, the weather was fabulous the entire time, so we took advantage of that at the Open and on the streets of New York.
I have now proven that being active is the way to go; please follow along. I have had no real incidents, but I am concerned if not paranoid about lymphedema. Lymphedema is swelling in limbs near the area where lymph nodes were removed. Sometimes the lymphatic fluid can find “other ways” out of your system, but many times cancer patients end up needing to wear compression garments or do manual drainage to control swelling. Breast cancer patients see a lot of this in their arms. Since I had 23 lymph nodes removed in my groin area, my legs and feet are of concern. I was really worried about my first flight to Tucson…no problems. Even the red eye to NYC was fine. But I guess sitting on one’s ass for 10-ish hours watching (not playing) tennis was the key. Day one I was fine, but by day 3 they were toast. My toes looked like breakfast sausages and my ankles, well, they disappeared. So, I affectionately called my feet “my Fred Flintstones”. They were pretty uncomfortable and the swelling did go away after a night. Maybe it was all the $7 beers consumed in the Heineken Red Star bar that went right to my feet…just like the flask flip-flops…booze storage for later. Once we were back on track and walking all over the place, and not logging some serious ass time, my feet and ankles looked normal again. Well, at least until the flight home and they puffed up again. So I guess I need to invest in some attractive compression stockings or ankle socks before heading on long trips to London. There is a lot worse in the world than wearing compression stockings, and I sure don’t want to look like this:
“Dude! Did your cat puke that up?” Nope. Sorry man. That nastiness in the sink is my hair. I photographed it because I am shocked as to how much I am losing…every freakin’ day I have that mess in my sink. I understand that people lose an average of 100 strands per day, but c’mon! I already have really thin, fine hair. I cannot afford to lose a single strand. I am trying to be kind to my hair; less blow-drying and flat-ironing. I am also taking vitamins to try to nourish from the inside out as well as the occasional jojoba oil treatment for the hippie in me.
