De Agony of De Feet

Probably not my first time here complaining about neuropathy in my feet, but yesterday it reached a whole new level of discomfort. I spent the last two days spending a lot of time on my feet. We had friends over for a July 4– our deck is a primo spot for watching fireworks— so Jerry and I spent a lot of the day preparing. I’m happy to say that going up and down flights of stairs is getting easier. I AM getting stronger and I’m so pleased. But much of the day was standing in one place in the kitchen, chopping and prepping. But the evening was great fun and a rousing success. Friends brought lots of goodies and we are having a wonderful time eating leftovers. Thursday is shelter day and several cages needed cleaning, which was, once again, standing in one place. And when I got home I had to finish baking for a BARCS fundraiser. And, you guessed it, more stationary activity. My feet had started to bother me late morning and when I took off my sneakers my right foot felt like it had turned into a weather balloon. In reality, it wasn’t swollen at all, but the skin felt stretched taut and I had a very bizarre combo of numbness and intense pain. I’m still doing whatever I can, rubbing my feet with menthol cream, taking vitamins, doing acupuncture, but in reality, I think what it will take is time. And I have to remember that for some people, it never fully goes away. Sigh. But today, after good sleep and not doing much, they feel much better. Chemo takes its toll on everyone in different ways. Again, I have to remember if this is the worst of it, I’m doing prEtsy well.