Cankles

Eleven days ago I was laying in my parents' bed, writhing in agony as Mackenzie massaged my foot. Something was wrong with it, and something is still wrong with it. Mother thought that I was being dramatic, but even the slightest pressure made my eyes well up with tears and I seriously felt like something was broken.

My foot was just a little puffy.

After flying from Ohio to Provo, almost certain dehydration and a lack of supportive footwear made my already inflated foot look something like this:

Puffy left foot. Noticeable veins on my translucent right foot.

Luckily when I got back to work on Wednesday, I had the office mostly to myself and shoes weren't entirely necessary. I literally could not fit my foot into anything other than flip flops. I was hobbling around the office, trying not to put any extra pressure than was necessary. Going up the stairs was very painful. I was almost certain that there was a broken bone in my foot.

I went home and iced my foot for hours, kept it elevated, and took some heavy-strength Motrin my mom had sent me home with.

It didn't really help.

By Friday, I had cankles.

Second to my eyes, I get the most compliments on my skinny legs. I've always attributed this to my grandmother, who at the age of 74, still has fantastic looking legs. Although, now I'm thinking that I was guaranteed to have good legs regardless, because while I was home, I noticed that my dad also has skinny legs. Anyway...

Looking down and seeing a cankle is not exactly morale boosting. It's sooooo puffy and so gross. I tried drinking gallons of water. I tried alternating between extreme heat (hello reason for long, hot showers!) and ice.

On Saturday, I had an ankle again. (Hallelujah!) On Sunday, I didn't want to risk more swelling, and I skipped my ward (and the loooong hike up a steep hill and millions of stairs in heels) and attended a local ward with my friend Katy.

And while earlier this week, my foot was still puffy, it didn't hurt. I was beginning to see a trace of the veins that most certainly should be on display...and then I mucked it all up.

I wore wedges yesterday. All day long.

Today, my foot is very puffy. Not as puffy as it was before, after all, I am still wearing some normal-ish flats. But it is puffier than it has been in days. And it kind of hurts again.

Dang.

In trying to figure out what exactly is wrong with my foot, I've ruled out all the possibilities that I can think of.  My neighbor was terrified that it could be a blood clot. Symptoms for blood clots include: swelling and heat at that area. Right now, my feet are actually freezing. But normally, my whole body is on the verge of internal combustion (and when we were talking about it, I was sitting in my upstairs, poorly insulated, extremely hot bedroom) and it would be impossible to tell if one part of my body was more overheated than the rest.... regardless, I don't think it is a blood clot.

Another suggestion is some sort of spider or bug bite. I have ruled this out because there is no area of skin that is red, no evidence of bite marks, etc. Although my skin is not translucent on my left foot like it is on my right, it is still very pale (I have not gone swimming this year nearly enough.) and something like such as would be very evident.

Also, unless I was beat, crushed, or slammed against the wall in the dead of night while entirely passed out, I have no recollection of actually injuring my foot.

So, it's sort of a mystery.

I schedule an appointment to see the doctor next Tuesday. So, if it is still puffy then (and it likely will be...), I guess I'll ask and see what she comes up with. Until then, I am just hoping that I get to keep my ankles.