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Stinky Feet
Written by Elisabeth on Saturday, August 28, 2010
"Stinky feet or the hazards of walking" could be a title of this post. See, I didn’t inherit only my father’s looks and his extreme idleness. I inherited his stinky feet as well, I am afraid. I have not much problem with the first two but the last one – it does bother me greatly.
I envy my husband – he wears boots no matter what. It’s 33C (90F) and he still wears boots. Yet his feet don’t stink. It’s not fair. Me, on the other hand … No matter what season, no matter what shoes, I am my father’s daughter. I was reminded of that little fact this past week.
See, there is another hidden blessing in wheeling for me. By now, you probably guessed – no stinky feet. Yes, my feet get very cold in winter and I hate that but the positive of not having to deal with my father’s legacy outweighs the negative. Nice hot bath before bed time fixes the bad part.
So what happened in the last week that I had to be reminded of my inheritance? I didn’t wheel much. I spent maybe an hour or two wheeling, that’s all. I went away for the weekend. I was ready to wheel if necessary but once there, I didn’t have any mental need. And my physical need wasn’t too great either. On Monday and Tuesday, I walked into places that have seen me only wheeling for at least six months. On Wednesday my Volvo wagon was on strike so I had to take hubby’s car for my errands. I didn’t feel like going through the motions – too much trouble to take my chair apart, store it on passenger seat, hope for enough space to be able to take it out… Today my wagon was in the shop, I couldn’t be bothered again. Thus no wheeling for the past two days. None.
So what’s going on? I have no clue but I should grab the chance and go for a nice hike tomorrow to my favorite place where I can’t wheel for the lack of strength. Take some pictures, enjoy the quiet and beauty. Maybe. If this mood of mine still lasts tomorrow. Because the truth is, I know that BIID is very unpredictable for me. It can be quiet one minute and raging the next. I might wake up tomorrow and know that I won’t be able to enjoy the beautiful canyon with red rocks, wild sunflowers, and blue sky while walking. I will need to wheel. But right now, I am enjoying the moment of no mental torture.
One more note: I was surprised that I didn’t feel weird at all when the other day I walked into a place that has never seen me walking. All those people in that center met me as a wheeler. Yet, there were no questions why I suddenly walked. I didn’t feel any need to explain so I didn’t. But I was wondering why I didn’t feel strange. And then I was reminded of Chloe’s mantra: "I use a wheelchair to treat BIID, not paraplegia." That’s it. I was trying to be faithful to my feelings and needs of the present moment. And the need was not to wheel. Just follow your heart, Chloe would say. And that’s what I am trying to do.
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1 On 28 August, 2010, Chloe said:
That’s interesting about the stinky feet. When I get back from a hike I always take off my boots and socks, and wash my feet. Otherwise I know Alicia will be complaining about the smell. The rest of the time, when I’m in a wheelchair, there is zero foot odor problem.
There are multiple fringe benefits from using a wheelchair. When I saw my physician earlier this week, I showed her how the calluses on my heels have all but disappeared.