I have to admit that when I came round from my surgery and saw my foot I commented to the nurse that it wasn't the neatest of bandages that covered the plaster cast and offered some padding and protection to the heel and ankle.
"Your surgeon did it himself," she said, whether in pride or embarrassment I am not sure. Now, it has been said to me before now that nurses do dressings better than surgeons. To be honest I had so much nerve pain in my foot during the 2 weeks it was like this I have no idea whether a neater one would have made a difference but I do admit it did 'twitch' me. I've always been taught that one's work is one's calling card. I was very relieved to see my wound on Day 12 when my stitches were removed. Very neat and tidy embroidery, I have to say.
On the 14th day the paster of Paris cast was removed and replaced with a fibreglass one. Not the more comfortable slipper cast my surgeon told me I would have but another, irritating half-foot one with extremely sharp edges on the fibreglass that I was told just to cut off at a later stage if they bothered me. How I was expected to manage that I have no idea. The same crepe bandage and tape covered the cast and they also kept on coming loose. I replaced the bandage with a new one but no matter what I did it kept coming loose. It was rucked underneath all the time and it is surprising how these little ridges can irritate and hurt. It is struggle enough in the middle of the night to remember to put the wedge shoe and deal with all its Velcro without having to faff with rewinding bandages and finding tape as well. Not an earth-shattering problem I know but in my current world a real bug bear.
I asked my accomplice who has sprung me from the house yesterday if she could pick me up a couple of new bandages and some tape if she happened to pass a pharmacy. She kindly said yes and to my delight she arrived yesterday not with what I had asked for but with something far, far better...
... bright pink, breathable equestrian bandage that adheres to itself but nothing else, purchased from the little country supplies shop in a wee village close to where she lives. As we say in these parts,
"Proper job!"
Now, I'll be honest, I would not have thought of buying this however she used to be a veterinary nurse so didn't think twice.
It works like a dream, is easy to use and holds in place perfectly. Now, I'm not advising you, human reader, to use the animal version but I for one will be keeping a spare roll in my medicine cabinet, especially after all the research I did on the animal vs human version which is apparently sold by its global manufacturer under a different name for human use for a higher price but from what I and many others can see it is the identical product in different packaging.
Thinking outside the box has worked its magic again. Such a little thing as a bandage that doesn't unravel & ruck up makes such a difference when you are in this position. The irritation was not just physical, it was mental too and as daft as it sounds it was really getting me down.
So often it's the little things that make the greatest difference.