The Toenail GONE!

For the last couple of years I have dealt with this annoying toe nail on my left foot! I realize that this might not be the most uplifting or encouraging note but seeing as I'm writing about my journey through life- 3 hours post nail removal I believe this is a major point in my journey!

First of all I made sure my feet were washed and cleaned up really good because when I got to
the doctors office the shoes and socks came off and front and center stage! I was in a nice comfortable chair with the big surgical light beaming down on my ugly, gross toenail. This has been a plan of mine for over a year now to have this silly thing removed so I can then wear my sandals with out having to try to camouflage my toe! Three doctors and a nurse came in to tend to my toe, I wasn't sure if they where there for moral support or if they were going to have to hold me down! Fortunately they were a couple that was just observing!

Being in the medical field I'm acutely aware of my surroundings in a doctors office- the key is not to let them know. Once I saw the Lidocaine appear my soul rested just a little better! The doctor explained everything that was going to happen and things that might happen and then I signed my life away in case those "might things" might happen! They gave me the option to either continue to sit up or lay down; I chose the sitting 1/2 up! The 1 1/2 inch needle started pricking around my great toe and the 'stick' all of sudden became burns that faded into numbness. [ I really think I need something like that for my hunger pains! ] Several minutes later inventory was taken of the numbness of my toe by taking the needle and sticking all over the toe and watching for my reaction! Finally they took a tourniquet (actually a rubber band but tourniquet sounds more medical!) and wrapped around the base of my toe to finish numbing the toe and holding the meds in place so while they pulled, tugged and pinched it would continue to be numb!

There is a sharp distinction between pain and pressure- it something that you need to come to know if you are going to be having something ripped off your body! Just remember; pain not good, pressure tolerable! ha! It was comforting to feel my toe being pulled on without pain. The manipulation of the toe and foot wasn't bad. I didn't feel the ripping off of the toenail so much as just the since of something being tugged on. After few moments curiosity got that best of me so I sat up and started watching. It wasn't too bad. They had accomplished getting the majority of the toenail lose but it was stuck on the inside lower part of the nail. The doc had the toenail held with Kelly Forceps (pliers) and trying to flip it back and forth. Very little blood but enough to cause the red blush to the toe and nail being hanked around! Finally the doctor with the kelly's asked the staff doctor to suggest the next move. So they took the kelly's and twisted the toenail as you would a nail and hammer to force a nail out of a board using the end of my toe as the leverage! Presto- it popped loose! The sounds of amazement came from the staff doctors mouth as if he had just been enlightened was almost amuzing- but it was my toenail he was being amuzed by! He had never seen a nail grow so deeply back under the skin! Great- a backward growing toenail and it's on my foot- or should I say 'was' on my foot!

All in all a pretty cool procedure that maybe took 30 minutes with all the talking of explanation of procedure, politics, old times, war, and many other topics! After twenty layers of gauze going on the toe, I was off- with one less toenail to clip; I wonder if I will get a discount on my next pedicure? hmmm...... we'll see!