A week ago, I folded a batch of clothes and was delivering them into the bedroom. And then...ouch!
I walked right into the corner of the piano bench, which is usually pushed in all the way, but wasn't this time. I didn't see it that it was sticking out because of the tall stack of clothes in my hand. But oh how it hurt.
I was only wearing socks (no shoes). The corner of the bench went right between my toes, so the pain was on top of my foot.
I placed the clothes on the ottoman, sat down, and waited for the initial pain to subside. I then removed my sock to assess the damage. No blood. That was a relief. I was able to move all of my toes so I knew they weren't broken. I was grateful for that as well.
But I said to myself, "That's not going to be pretty later today."
I proceeded to ice it.
Later, it was swollen (but probably not as swollen as it would have been if I didn't ice it), black and blue, and I was limping. Bending my toes down and my heel up was extremely painful.
As the day went on, I alternated between treating it with ice and heat...and I wrapped that part of my foot with an ace bandage in between each ice/heat session.
I had many TO DOs to do, but I tried to stay off the foot as much as possible.
It took a good seven days to feel "normal" again...and I can still feel it a bit.
In hindsight...
1. I won't be carrying a large stack of clothes again. It's important to see where you're walking and if there are obstacles in the way. Next time, I'll grab half of the stack, bring those to the bedroom, and then grab the other half and deliver those. Yes, that will take another minute or
so, but that's OK.
2. Walking around the house in socks is better than barefoot, but still is not a great idea. I won't be doing that again either. A pair of slippers or house sneakers would have helped me avoid this incident.
3. Don't assume everything is as you think it is. Yes, the piano bench is almost always pushed in, but this time it wasn't. I should not have assumed it was. Chairs don't always get pushed in just right, a child's toy or pet's toy can be unexpectedly left out in the open. A step
on a staircase that's intact today can be in disrepair tomorrow. Expect the unexpected.
When things like this happen, there are always lessons to be learned.
