Today I was discharged from the Potomac Home Health Care system for purposes of Medicare -- yay, Medicare! -- after many weeks of 2 or 3 visits a week from Shirl, a visiting nurse. She'd come every other day during the week (except for days when I had a doctor's appointment) to change the foot dressing. At the beginning I had 3 different salves -- an antibiotic on one area, Nitro Bid (a nitro patch in ointment form), and then a collagen/silver application, Prisma. Later just one -- SilvaSorb. Shirl showed me how to do the dressing and after a while I developed the confidence to do it myself. I'm slow but not a bad job.

She approached the situation comprehensively -- the pre-diabetes, and now the physical therapy. 

I showed her today the exercises I do -- pulling the big toe out gently, then pushing down and holding, releasing, pulling ("distracting" is the term), pulling up and holding. Another exercise pushing down and up gently. Another a step-stride to get a little movement in the toes of the right foot.

And from 2 days after the surgery when I couldn't move it, at the ankle pulling the foot back as far as I can, pushing forward like in a point, then pulling back as far as possible at the ankle. Shirl told me about a disability that can develop unless you do that exercise after an accident, trauma, and some diseases: Foot drop, which for some means they can never walk again. ttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foot_drop

Who knew? The wonderful abilities we have, and how fragile they can be; the things we need to do to protect and preserve these abilities.

She'd explain what she was seeing going on with the foot and talked about diabetes diets. Today she asked me from here on out, now that I'm on the road to recovery, how I am going to handle the pre-diabetes. That is the main focus of Glucose Garden, so my exploration will be going on for some time. 

I told her that occasional finger sticks give me the glucose reading that tell the consequences of, say, french bread (no white bread, no white rice). The numbers tell the story.

If I eat in a balanced way -- protein, vegetables, and maybe one slice of french bread (ahhhh!), the numbers can be ok. Since I am a sweet- and fataholic, I know how easily sweets and fats can run away with the show for me. She explained the glucose response to high sugar intake, then the moody, weak, fatigued, sickish response to glucose levels plummeting.

Very encouraging lady. I gave her a little pressie, as the Aussies say. And the vegetables in today's photos? From her garden.

I am so grateful that for all of us who live alone and have a medical crisis, that people like her are available to help. Visting nurses, angels.

And if all goes well, I'll never see her again.