#178 – Cracked Heels and Broken Bones

For those of you who have prosthetics, you'll know that an infection is to be avoided at all costs. Should an infection develop, the prosthetic device limits the body's ability to deliver a bug blasting concoction to the offending organisms.

So, it was about this time last year that a painful, grapefruit-sized ankle sent me to the emergency department at the hospital. Since the x-rays didn't reveal any broken bones, the emergency room doctor surmised that I had an infection that may have entered my system via a crack in my heel.

Thus began a medical merry-go-round. For three consecutive evenings, I made the trek to the hospital, where I was poked and infused with an intravenous antibiotic. That was followed up with one week of oral antibiotics. As the symptoms had not abated, I went to my family doctor who then ordered a bone scintigraphy (scan) to rule out osteomyelitis (bone infection).

The results "lit up" the ankle. Since I didn't have any other symptoms indicative of an infection (fever, chills), she consulted with my rheumatologist. He suggested a needle biopsy, which is performed by a radiologist under x-ray.

The culture came back negative for an infection.

Shortly thereafter, in preparation for an appointment with the foot surgeon, I went for x-rays of both feet and ankles. That's when my rheumatologist noticed a healed fracture - the very same one that had sent me on the medical merry-go-round in the first place.

Lessons learned:

    1. First, contact the rheumatologist.
    2. There are twenty-six bones in the foot. It is not always possible to see a break until after it has healed.
    3. Although I didn't have an infection and it didn't enter through my cracked heel, it was an opportunity to heal my heels. By far, the best product I've used is Dermal Therapy. (Thanks for that recommendation, Barb!)

One of the many changes I've noticed since learning to transform my stress is a decrease in the number of infections I get. Prior to learning these techniques in 2006, I would often be plagued with many minor infections, which aren't so minor when you are "bionic". Stress dampens natural killer cell cytotoxic activity. NK cells affect the immune system and provide protection from viral infections and cancer cells.

Giveaway: Leave a comment on this post for a chance to walk away with a tube of Heel Care cream, courtesy of the fine folks of Dermal Therapy. A name will be randomly selected the good old-fashioned way - from a hat.

Deadline is midnight PST on Sunday, March 25th, 2012.

Congratulations to Katherine for walking away with a tube of Dermal Therapy!

2 Replies to “#178 – Cracked Heels and Broken Bones”

  1. Thanks for the tip. Last summer, for the first time, my heels where dry and cracked and I have no clue as to what to use. All the products I tried seem to make it worse. I’ll pick some up, the next time I am in a drug store.

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