Where does it hurt?

We’ve been quite lucky so far with ailments and injuries.  Nothing really to complain about.

Sue got a blister on the end of a toe, under the nail, early on.  She’s managed to treat it fine so it hasn’t slowed her down.  Used the old trick if a needle and thread thru the blister, leaving the thread sticking out each end to drain.

I’ve had a couple hot spots on toes that I covered with a piece of moleskin, and that’s kept any problems from developing.

We’ve both had intermittent irritation with back muscles or pinched nerves.  I guess that comes the the territory of carrying a backpack all day.  Mine was starting to slow me down.  Sue asked why I was walking hunched over like an old man.  I told her it was comfortable.  I was really looking like an old man, kinda like Mr. Magoo.  Today she finally convinced me to try to walk standing straighter upright.  You know what?  It seems to work.  I had almost no issue today.  She is the best chiropractor I know, and her price is right.  She’s also a pretty effective podiatrist, in case you’ve got foot issues.

We do go thru a fair amount of Tylenol each day.  Morning, mid-day, and sometimes at night.

There was an incident a couple days ago that almost put us out of business.  I was massaging Sue’s feet after a long day and somehow I bent a couple toes back too far. Shooting pain - ouch!  Thought I might have pulled a ligament or something that caused some serious damage. She ended up walking it off OK and was careful the next day, so nothing to slow her down yet.

No stomach issues or anything else, really.

Well, that’s not entirely true. There was one thing a couple days ago.  It was the afternoon on a lonely stretch of trail.  The next town was in sight.  Fortunately there was no one else on the path at that moment, because Mother Nature decided to have her way with Will Power. It was not even a close call.  Sue took up position  as lookout.  Paul dropped ‘em and let Mother Nature have her way.  Thank God for the Dude Wipes that Michelle and Paul sent with us.  That was one luxury item that became a necessity.

We have seen several other people with problems.  Mostly blisters or toes.  Our fiend Maggie (from Champaign Urbana studying at Madrid) had 6 huge blisters on each foot after over-doing it the first few days.  She said a German pilgrim treated them with the needle and thread method for her.  They couldn’t commincatecdue due to the language barrier, but it was the kindest thing anyone had ever done for her.

Jim from Scotland, known as Big Jim with the bad toe, went to the doctor for an infection. We saw him today. He said he had a new “niggity blister on his heal, but that it wasnt anything a bottle of wine couldn’t fix.  We think he had a bottle for lunch.