A few weeks ago, I dropped a glass bottle of salad dressing on the kitchen floor, making the house smell like vinaigrette for a day. Today, I stepped on the last errant bit of glass hiding in a crack of tile by the corner. Better my foot than the cat's paw, I guess; I don't lick between my toes. It was only a tiny piece of glass, but it did draw blood.

The first thing it took me back to was my father. He struggled with diabetes and ulcers on the sole of his foot for, well, as long as I knew him. The day he died, I had to convince the cops that the tiny droplets of blood in a rough line from the kitchen to his bedroom were normal.

I worry about my own health as much as I can without giving in to madness, especially in light of Kelly's own diagnosis with diabetes last month. (The hospital bills just keep coming!) But until tonight I hadn't felt the particular fear, sitting there on the edge of the bed with tweezers and a magnifying mirror, that this might be the first of many nights tending to wounds on my feet just like my father did. Happy Fathers Day!

The second thing it took me back to was Die Hard. I love that movie.


Six Replies to Blood Lines

Denise Sawicki | June 28, 2011
If this is your first time with a bleeding foot I guess you are just way less clumsy than me! I am always wearing sandals and accidentally kicking something (a shopping cart, the TV stand, etc) resulting in massive blood loss.

And *hugs* on the main point of the post, I guess...

Scott Hardie | June 28, 2011
Thanks! You too. :-) I cut my feet every once in a while, but not as often as I would if I wore sandals. If I continue to wear out these old sneakers much longer, they're going to turn into sandals.

Steve West | June 28, 2011
I can't say that I've ever worn sandals in my life. That was a finalist in the old thread about say three things that are true about you and one untrue thing. I loved that discussion.

Lori Lancaster | June 29, 2011
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Scott Hardie | June 29, 2011
It's pretty exciting. There are a number of major developments like this in recent news, for both types of diabetes. The skyrocketing rate of the disease must have a lot to do with it.

Jackie Mason | August 7, 2011
[hidden by author request]


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