Soundtrack in my head:  They Might Be Giants,  "Birdhouse in Your Soul"

I had the idea that maybe I could strap a little webcam camera to my lower calf and have it broadcast webshots 24 hours a day of my sprained right ankle.  Maybe my ankle could even have its own blog. Then again, maybe not.

Anyway, I went to Urgent Care at Dean Health Clinic because it was now hurting and swollen on the right side of the ankle--the opposite side of where I sprained it a week and a half ago.  It was bad enough that I was limping to the shower this morning.  Also my skin was breaking out something fierce--I think because the brace was not allowing my ankle to breathe.  I concluded that the brace that I'd been given to help heal my ankle was making it worse and so I removed it.  My ankle actually felt a little better as a result.

When I saw the doctor tonight, he agreed that the brace was probably making it worse.  He told me to wrap it in an Ace bandage instead.  On the recommendation of a podiatrist two years ago, when I sprained the same ankle, I wear high-topped boots a lot instead of normal shoes--the work boots I got last summer fit nicely into my office's business casual environment.

It's funny how sometimes the cure is worse than the disease.  Not that I hold it against the original doctor who gave me the brace--I chalk it up to the fact that all of us have different bodies, and what works well for one person may not for another person.  But I also find it noteworthy that I held out for three days before concluding that the brace was hurting me--I had to notice actual swelling before I concluded that the original advice was not working for me in this case. 

There's a deeper allegory here, actually.  It's noteworthy how often all of us to varying degrees hold in or refuse to acknowledge pain until it becomes unbearable.  We put our trust in doctors and other types of experts, and sometimes, when doing so, we cling to what they tell us even when evidence to the contrary surfaces.  Often, even the experts don't even want us clinging blindly to their counsel in that way. Other times, that's exactly what they want--they don't want to be questioned, and don't know how to respond when they are questioned.  The human capacity for denial and rationalization is extraordinary--and scary sometimes.