11/29/09 Foot Problems (R)

Sometimes life doesn’t happen as you plan it. I generally prepare for a trip without an itinerary, and this one is no exception. I arrived yesterday afternoon, and my bungalow still had a guest, so I had to take one below, down the crazy stairs, the stairs with new treads that don’t go all the way across the run, (to allow for drainage says Made’).

Well, going down the stairs I rolled my foot, and I pretty well screwed up my foot, not an ankle, so it could have been worse, but it’s starting to swell nonetheless, and now I have decisions to make, since walking is very painful, and I like to walk.

I shouldn’t be that upset about it, and I’m trying to take a Zen approach to the whole thing. After I move into my planned bungalow, I’ll go to the Doktor, and get an x-ray. As I sit here, enjoying some Bali coffee, thinking I wish I had extra vicodin, I think of all the people that don’t even have feet.

There are people in this world, and in the U.S, such as veterans, that have lost, were not born with, or have useless feet. I still have feet, albeit one of them is damaged, but I have feet, and that’s important, because otherwise I would have to walk on stumps. Walking on stumps cannot be as good as feet, the lack of balance, cushioning of arches, and the general logistical concerns of negotiating the hazards of life around people that have these unique pediments.

My foot will get better I’m sure, but my pride in taking a vacation overseas for the first time in 5 years will probably suffer for awhile. I’m thankful now for travel insurance, medical insurance, and inexpensive Taksi’s.

UPDATE: So the “Dokter” says I have sprained ligaments between 2 of my foot bones, so, if I trust that opinion, then the remedy is something with diazepam, then something else with Tizacom ® HCL, anti inflamatory cream, ice, ace bandages, and crutches for 2 weeks, yep, crutches, and I have no idea how to get around Ubud, or anywhere else in Indo with crutches, save getting off of this hill with them, that would be more hazardous than Made’s crazy stairs with holes in them.

Cost: 110.00 U.S, including meds, no xray necessary according to the Dokter. Reimbursable through ins.

Dewa will be here in the morning, and I will confer with him on this issue at 0900HRS, in the meantime, the boys have offered to go get me food, and it’s a good thing because the bridge is out, the footbridge s narrow, and I cant walk very well, if at all.

Made’ has recommended I have 3 massages, but I don’t want anyone touching my foot because it fucking hurts. He has also recommended taking a trip to the Dukun (traditional healer) who has some kind of horn, undoubtedly from some long imperiled and now deceased species that was also delicious. I have recommended that, if Made spent more time building reasonable stairs, instead of dispensing medical advice, stairs without holes in them, I would not be in this perilous, painful, hobbled, incapacitated state; alone, on the beautiful island of Bali, without the means to do something as simple as walk like the upright great ape I am.

So I spent all day on the veranda, watching the birds, and listening to the boys building a new bridge across the fucking river Kwai, and the gecko’s continue to mock me with their hauntingly familiar call, “fukyou” “fukyou” “fuckyou”.

12/04/09

I left Bali and headed home, the pain was just too much to enjoy myself, and burning the vacation hours, at the hourly rate I make did not make economic sense, and It’s not what I went to Indo to do, so I am planning my next trip, probably almost 2 months.

I did see an interesting thing in Bali this time, a dwarf. The dwarf was riding a motorcycle, and his feet barely made it to the bottom of the seat. The solution, put all the controls on the handlebars, and attach 2 bicycle wheels to the rear wheel of the motorcycle, so when stopping, the motorbike stays upright, inspiring. I wanted to take a picture, but I think it would have been offensive, and getting the shit kicked out of me by a dwarf was not appealing. Sure, I could have taken him if I didn’t have a bum leg, but you never know, they can be dangerous.