Yeah, Buddy!
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On July 1st, the city of St. Louis began offering benefits to domestic partners of city employees, along with any children the partners may have.

Here's what The Arch City Chronicle says:
"City Extends Benefits to Domestic Partners of Employees

Under the leadership of Richard Frank and with the encouragement of Mayor Slay, St. Louis City has begun offering its employees domestic partnership benefits. The change went into effect July 1 and gives same-sex partners as well as others living in committed, but unmarried relationships, and their children the right to medical, dental and insurance benefits. Enrollees must sign a Affadavit of Domestic Partnership.

Critics of extending such benefits have often cited costs as a barrier. However, the City reports that the change will not add any costs to its medical benefits plan.

The action did not require aldermanic approval and went into effect largely unnoticed. But it is important because it shows that the City is taking meaningful steps to promote itself as a hospitable and progressive community despite a state government which has recently been hostile to gays.
Posted by Dave on August 9, 2005 11:04 AM "

Sweet! Truly, truly sweet!

Amy sent me this quote

Which I modified slightly:

"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body.......

but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, wine in the other, body throughly used up, laughing all the way."

Knitting For Comfort
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The crutches I've been using (and for which I'm eternally grateful) have no padding. But now that I know how to knit, I've knit up a pair of covers. Here's how:

What you'll need: worsted weight yarn, size 5 needles, tapestry needle for seams.

Cast on 30 stitches. leave a tail for sewing up seams.
knit 2 rows
purl 1 row
row 4: knit 2 together, yarn over, repeat to end of row
row 5: yarn over (or whatever method you like to add a stitch) purl to end of row
row 6-26: knit
row 27: purl
row 28: k2 tog, YO, repeat to end
row 29: purl
rows 30 & 31: knit
cast off, leaving a tail for sewing up seams.
fold knitting in half so that your cast on and cast off sections are touching. Use the tail to sew up to the lacy bit on both sides. Weave in ends or separate yarn and add beads for a decorative touch. The garter stitch gives better padding than stockinette. Picture forthcoming... the camera is in the basement and I ain't doin' stairs!

Giving Credit
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Not only did Persephone and her family come over to keep me off my foot, she cleaned my kitchen, cooked, and did my dishes! She provided me with coffee and held the door so I could hobble outside. She fetched my meds after I sat down as far as humanly possible from them. She sat in the uncomfortable seat, so I could put my foot up. And she left her partner to keep me company when she had to run out for a bit.
She understood when I tried to do things for myself, gave me leeway, and still prevented me from hurting myself.

Words cannot express how awesome she has been to me. As hectic as her life is right now, she still takes time to chat on the phone; because she knows that if I'm talking, I'm sitting. She gave the Hubby-Man a break from taking care of me. Not that he asked, mind you. She just intuitively knew that he needed a few hours for himself.

Thank you, Persephone. For everything.

And thank you, Chasmyn, for taking the time to talk with me. Calling out of the blue, right when I was freaking out about my foot. Your timing couldn't have been better.

Injury Update
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Mom found my old crutches and brought them over, then peered over my shoulder as I changed the dressing on my foot, then sat and watched her soap opera, without once offering to get me a cup of coffee.
:(

BUT. Without her crutch-bringing, followed by any assistance whatsoever; I never would have figured out that I can't move my big toe very well. Because the crutches are old and one of the rubber feet fell off when I was trying them out. I tried to pick it up with my toes and discovered that my foot doesn't work so well. I can't make my big toe separate from the other toes. And I have a curiously numb spot that runs from the stitches to the middle of my big toe. Hm.
So it looks like I'll get to be my own guinea pig for comfrey vs. nerve damage. Cool, huh?

On a related note, the ER gives you a piece of paper saying what's wrong with you, how to treat it, and a long caveat that they could be wrong. Mine reads:
"The doctor thinks your complaint might be due to LACERATION. Your regular physician should check this diagnosis" etc.
I laughed out loud over that one. It might be a laceration, but we can't be sure... LOL.
The hubby-man said, "Yeah. It could be from acute skin failure instead."

The Itch To Blog
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I was going to write about my foot. How odd it is that a major trauma results in me smiling at the world... how this morning I was awoken with an itch so strong it was painful... and how awesome it was to have Persephone come over and keep me from trying to take care of myself...

But first I checked my e-mails, one of which was a summary of my site stats. Now, I know we all get weird hits sometimes; and not counting the x-rated ones, this one was just strange. Somebody went looking for:
old cherokee rituals for getting rid of freckles

Seriously.

Not even NEW Cherokee rituals for getting rid of freckles. No, whoever this was wanted old rituals, only. I don't believe "old" Native Americans had much of a problem with freckles. Do you?

Anyway, my quest to see who else had that combination of words on one page led me to a new blog! Knotty Yarn. Smart, funny, interesting... what more can you ask for?

Gory Pictures Link
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You can see my stitches here

and a closeup here.
Note the large callous on the ball of my foot. That's because I always pivot in the same foot. Too many years of ballet, LOL.
Also note how fat my foot looks. It's a bit swollen.

The Hubby-Man stayed home from work today to take care of me. I thought he was being silly, but (as usual) he was right. I can't take care of myself today. I gave away my crutches ages ago, so I'm using a bar stool as a walker to get around. Because my hubby is home, I get to blog from his laptop and he brings me coffee and food and knitting. He's so awesome. He really is. I don't know what I would do without him. His support has made all the difference.
(I love you, Hubby-Man!)

Oh... AND
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The hubby man stepped on a nail while he was carrying me out to the truck. Fortunately, it didn't puncture his foot.

Other things I forgot to include:
I almost burst into tears when I entered the ER, because it was such a relief to know I was somewhere that I could be fixed, and I didn't have to hold myself together anymore. And when I realized that I was relieved, the tears dried up instantly. Weird huh?

After it was all over, I got the shakes. Hubby-Man wrapped me in a blanket and held me until they stopped. Doesn't he rock?

I got a piggy back ride through the backyard, with both my neighbors watching. Salvador said, "Hi! How are you?" And I said, cheerfully, "I got stitches!" Like it was my birthday or something.

When I think about my foot, it still freaks me out.

...And Then I Went To The Emergency Room...

There I was, talking to my doctor's office; trying to clear up L's vaccination record before school... when I stepped on something. Something that sliced my foot open, leaving a 2 inch wide, 3/4 inch deep gash in the sole of my foot. It was broken glass, courtesey of my cat.

I cussed into the phone, apologised to the poor guy on the other end, cussed more as I looked at my foot, apologised again, then told him I'd cut my foot and I'd have to call him back because right now... I needed stitches.
I flung myself down on the massage table, stuck my foot in the air, then realized I had nothing but my unwashed hands to press against the wound to stop the bleeding.
Fortunately, the Hubby-Man was home. He was already in the bathroom looking for gauze. He emerged (gauzeless) with a roll of toilet paper, which he pressed against the sole of my foot, saying, "Are you ok?"
I said, "yes... NO!... I need to go to the hospital!"
He stood next to me, holding my foot and keeping me calm until he could leave without me freaking out. When I was calm; he fetched a bandage, gauze tape, and our son. He bandaged my foot, got us all out the door, half carried me to the truck and drove to the hospital... All without breaking a sweat.
Did I mention he held my hand the whole way as he calmly navigated rush hour traffic in a stick shift? I think he grew another limb for the drive.

The emergency room was practically empty. They met me at the door with a wheelchair and I was triaged right away. The Hubby-Man's calming influence must have made a difference because my blood pressure was 129 over 73. I spent 20 or 30 minutes in the waiting room. Most of my time was spent laying on the floor, meditating.
Because it hurt and I was scared!
The last time I was in a hospital, I was giving birth. So I laid there and compared the waves of nauseating pain to labor. Labor is definately more intense.

After some time spent laying around, they put me in a room on a comfy gurney/bed, where I meditated again. Endorphins don't last very long, and I was starting to really wish for a local anesthetic.
A nice lady came in for my insurance information, quickly followed by a nurse. The nurse asked me questions about my injury before carefully removing my makeshift bandage. (a thick gauze pad and a helluva lot of gauze tape)
The nurse took a quick peek at my foot, said, "Wow. That's deep. You might need an x-ray" She put a fresh bandage on while saying, "I'm going to have the doctor look at this." Before leaving the room. She was really nice about it, though.

I got a quick peek at my foot, too; and started shaking uncontrollably. I suppose that's better than when my nostrils wouldn't stop twitching in the waiting room, which made me laugh, which made my foot hurt, which made my nostrils twitch harder.

Anyway, the doctor came in around the same time I stopped shaking. He pulled back the bandage, looked me straight in the eye and told me I'd need stitches, numbing shots, and that he'd have to probe for glass. Lovely. He also warned me that the shots would really, really hurt.

He wasn't kidding.

Oh, my, freakin, god, did they hurt! I actually screamed. The Hubby-Man held my hand and let me grip his arm while I screamed and gasped. There was a point where my vision went away. The world went black. I remember these things, but I can't recall the actual pain. I guess that means it really, really hurt... just like the doctor said it would.

However. I didn't feel anything but pressure as the doctor cleaned and probed my foot. I only felt one of the 6 stitches I recieved, and compared to the lidocaine shots -it was nothing.

I expect my arm will be sore tomorrow from the tetanus shot they gave me, but my foot is in agony. I keep getting little sparks of pain so sharp, it's crunchy. Oh, and I've got a bunch of antibiotics, too.

So there's my story. I'll post a link to the gory pictures tomorrow, when I change the dressing.

National Night Out
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Tomorrow is national night out; the day you're supposed to go outside and meet your neighbors. My mom and her next door neighbor usually throw a block party. This year her neighborhood is throwing a party at Mt. Pleasant park. So Mom and her friend decided to skip the big party and have an ice cream float social instead. That way, all they need is ice cream, soda and cups.

Previous night-out's would see her street crowded with children, while small groups of adults stood on the sidewalk. She hopes this year will be a little different. She's giving tickets to her neighbors and any guests they bring, and everyone will exchange their ticket for a cup. They will then write their name on the cup, so everyone knows who they are. Like a name tag. Cool, huh?

There will be frisbees, jump ropes and chalk for the kiddies. If it's hot, she'll set up a sprinkler in the street.

I have again volunteered to decorate the street entrance in chalk and draw a few pictures here and there so the kids will know it's ok to draw on the street. Then I plan to get the heck outta there, before mom does anything crazy.
Last year she took on a teenager who wanted to race down the blocked off street full of children. (sigh) That woman is gonna give me a heart attack someday.