No More Travel

I have been dutifully moisturizing my stump in order to treat the chapped skin. Unfortunately the heavy cream has done nothing to remedy the problem. In fact, with each passing day the area has grown bigger and more painful.

After nearly a week of my self-prescribed treatment for my self-diagnosed ailment failing, I finally broke down and called my prosthetist. (My plans for laying in the pool all day were squelched by thunderstorms that we were experiencing all afternoon, so I figured it was probably a good time to go.) I am glad that I decided to make an appointment!

It turns out that I did not have a chapped stump. I had the beginning of a blood blister. Moisturizing, I learned the hard way, provides no medicinal value for treating a blood blister!

We suspect that the blood blister formed as a result of the myriad of road trips I have been taking during the past two weeks. With my leg dangling as I have been sitting in the passenger seat of the car for a seemingly endless number of hours, the blood has been pooling at the bottom of my limb. My stump began to swell, creating a vacuum within my socket. Voila! I unknowingly provided the "perfect storm" for a blood blister.

I've switched to a larger socket and I have reverted to wearing a shrinker sock at night. The area has been marked so that I can monitor if the circumference is increasing or decreasing. For the next few days I am staying at home and boycotting the car- unless of course it involves going for ice cream! I have already told my friends and family that if they want to see me they will need to come here. I am now on the "traveler injured reserve" list.

*Despite the blood blister I have completed two dedicated miles, keeping me on track for my 100 mile challenge.