Happy February!
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In mid-January, I got a pretty large (~4 cm) wood splinter in my foot from a floorboard in my house. This doesn't sound like the biggest of deals, but it has turned into a nightmare to get it removed.
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| Ultrasound of My Left Foot |
I took out a piece of it myself, but between what I took out of my foot and the missing wood from the floorboard, I knew that there still had to be something in there. I went to urgent care the next day and the provider there took an x-ray which didn't show any wood in my foot. Based on my recollection of the events, I felt confident there was wood in my foot so we took the risk for him to cut my foot and look around to see if there was anything in there. I was injected with some lidocaine (a drug that we learned about in med pharm!) and he began the procedure. Unfortunately, he didn't see anything so I was bandaged up and was told to see a podiatrist in the next few days if I was still in pain.
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| Urgent Care Fun |
I set up a podiatry appointment (I had to wait almost a week to be seen) and when I arrived there, she took a look and immediately sent me for a same day ultrasound at another location. It was extremely hard to walk and I was in a lot of pain. The ultrasound technician began the ultrasound, and although they cannot confirm what they see, I could see the piece of wood in my foot!!! 2.6 cm of wood to be exact. Although I knew this meant that I had to go through some more pain to get it out, I felt validated in knowing that there was still a piece of wood in my foot. You would think this story ends here, but no. The podiatrist referred me to a different podiatrist who does foot surgery to get it out. This particular doctor only works on Fridays and they are requiring a surgical clearance before they can even schedule me to get it out. So, I went to Tulane student health. I got a head-to-toe physical exam and an EKG, but now I'm waiting on medical records to send me the notes so that I can send them to the surgeon's office and get an exact date and time for the procedure. Going through all of these loops has truly made me think about just how difficult it can be to coordinate your health. I've been relatively healthy my entire life and haven't had to worry about seeing multiple doctors to coordinate my care. This whole ordeal has been frustrating and having this much stress over something so minor (a splinter) makes me think just how frustrating and hard it would be for someone with a more severe condition. I know that this has been one big headache for something that was an accident in my house. Not to mention, it will be close to a month of having this piece of wood in my foot by the time that it will be taken out.
So, to answer the question posed as the title of this blog post: It takes 1 PA, 1 NP, 4 RNs, 3 Drs, and too many phone calls to get a splinter out.
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| Still ready for my presentation for Advances in my boot! |
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