As soon as Tim said we would have our
second meeting this month, Brenda and Jason have been busy, and both
Brenda and Sue have been in contact with me about images to use. I
pulled up several images like the ones below and emailed them to
both.
Brenda said she was forwarding both to
Tim and she said the top picture was close to the one she saw. She
was not sure she could get the name of the antibiotics used, but she
knew the place where the member received her prescriptions and maybe
the member would let her see them.
When the date arrived, January 24, we
were ready. Only one member was absent and that was the one that Sue
was working with to heal the foot ulcer. Sue said the doctor had
ordered her to stay off her feet for a week or more and she did have
crutches. Tim called the meeting to order and stated that we have
told you we are interested in helping each and every one of you and
for you to ask questions. He said we have one member absent because
of a foot ulcer and another person that is here while still
recovering from a cracked heel. The doctor has also ordered her on
crutches. So before we start this evening, everyone sit down, take
off your shoes and socks or stockings, and have your feet ready for
inspection.
There was a lot of grumbling, but
everyone complied. Allen brought out the two stools for the people
to rest their feet on during the inspections. Tim had not told us he
had two podiatrists coming, and he went to the door and invited them
in. Tim introduced them and said he had arranged for everyone to
obtain a free foot inspection. The one podiatrist that knew me came
to me first while the other went to Allen first. When they had
finished with us they explained what they had seen and the podiatrist
that examined me asked me to sit on the rolling stool and pushed me
around the group to show them the big toe that he knew about and he
announced that it had not changed much since he had last seen me. He
did say that the damage was under the toenail and not the toenail as
he had originally thought as the toenail was growing. He said I had
notified him at my last checkup and he would keep watching it. With
that he asked me to notify his office if there were more changes, but
for now he was not concerned. He asked me to put my socks and shoes
back on and assist him.
The podiatrist that had examined Allen
said he found nothing and that Allen's feet were in good condition
and to get ready to help him. With that we moved the stools while
the doctor took the chairs they would use. They checked the older
members first and found nothing other than one scratch on Rob's ankle
which Rob said he was using Neosporin on it before bed each
evening. The podiatrist said it looked like it was healing. Next
they started with the member with the cracked heel and the podiatrist
said it was healing well and if she continued to follow the
treatments she should be okay in another two or three weeks.
Next, my podiatrist examined Jerry and
said that the foot ulcer was healing nicely and as long as he
continued the treatment the doctor has prescribed, it should be okay
in another month. Jerry said that was what the doctor had told him.
We continued with the rest of the new members and found two more
members with minor cracked heels and another member with the start of
a foot ulcer. One in-grown toenail was also found. They were advised to see their doctor as quickly as
possible or to make an appointment with one of them the following
week. The three were told if they wanted prescriptions to help them
start the healing, they would be given one.
Tim said that this evening was done for
their benefit and the rest of the members wanted what was best for
them. But with the problems happening the prior two weeks, this was
what brought this meeting about. Then he asked if anyone did not
have insurance. When no hands were raised, he asked why people were
not taking care of their health. He apologized to the doctors for interrupting and
asked them to finish their talk about proper shoes.
The doctors said most of the cracked
heels were probably caused by wearing the incorrect shoes or foot
support around the house or apartment. During the winter, wearing
shoes without proper heel protection helps aggravate dry and cracked
heels, and he was not talking about high or spike heels for women.
If they wanted to wear elevated heels with proper foot support, those
could work.
For the foot ulcers, they strongly
recommended wearing foot support in the shoes and these needed to be
custom fit by a specialist and they could give them at least three
that the person could chose from. They had seen the supports that
Max had and asked him. Max gave the name and they agreed that the
person was good. Jerry asked how soon he should consider getting fit
for them and they said not until the ulcer had healed, but that he
could get one for the other foot anytime.
Tim asked if anyone else had any
questions and there were a lot of questions from the newer members
and a few from the older members. In the meantime he told Brenda and
Jason that he had taken over the program when he got acceptance from
the two podiatrists as he felt that this was best. Brenda and Jason
agreed that this was more effective and had been well received. Tim
thanked them and said he would not do this again without
notification, but he had only received confirmation about an hour
before the meeting.
I went to thank the podiatrists and
they admitted they had hesitated, but after seeing the number and the
interest, they admitted that it was worth the trip. I commented that
they should pick up a few patients as well. They both agreed and Tim
said the meeting is over. About another half hour was spent with
many asking questions and then the two doctors needed to leave. Many
of the members said thank you to us as they left.
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