I have had a hot spot on my right inner heel for the past six months. It started bothering me more and more in the past few weeks so I finally broke down and called a podiatrist. I was hoping he would give me a cream that would make it instantly dissolve and I would be on my way. The simple fix was not to be.
It turned out that my “hot spot” was a plantar wart a little larger than a nickel with two satellite infections on the middle and inner heal that were the size of dimes. I was informed that I had two choices given the severity of the virus embedded in the flesh of my foot. I could undergo an acid removal process that would take two months and three to four office visits or I could have the doctor take a scalpel on the spot and hack them out. The benefit to the surgical approach is that I would be rid of the infection instantly , the downside is that I would have three bleeding holes on the bottom of my foot. I opted for the cutting remedy and I was injected with a copious amount of novicane (Due to many ill-advised adventures as a youth I have built up an immunity to normal quantities of novicane).
The doctor scooped the growths out of my numb foot and sent me home. As I drove home unable to feel the gas pedal, a novel sensation, I wondered if my foot would be too sore to train on later in the day when the drugs wore off. I know it was stupid to even consider training but I can’t help myself sometimes.
Any ill-conceived thoughts of training went out the window when I got home. I took my shoes off and walked upstairs to the bathroom. Then I turned around and saw that I had left a trail of bloody footprints. I still couldn’t feel my foot so it had not occurred to me that I could have bled through my bandage. Apparently the heel is very prone to bleeding.
I am sitting on my recliner now watching King Arthur. The novacane has worn off but I am in no pain. I’m just anxious to get back on my feet and train. Maybe I should have opted for the acid treatment. It would have been far less invasive but it would have also extended into my racing season. Making decisions and living with them is no fun. sometimes.