Goddamn Toe Splinter

All because of a teeny-tiny splinter, I’m going to have to abstain from running for the next 2 weeks. That. Fucking. Sucks.

So a couple of months ago I noticed a little dark spot under my big right toe. There seems to be a splinter lodged inside. I thought nothing of it. Whenever I applied pressure on the area, it ached a little bit. Nothing debilitating at all, just a minor inconvenience.

Then there started to be some calluses forming around the spot. I tried to cut it off with a nail clipper and also pricked it out with a needle. Didn’t work.

Last week I decided to get rid of it once and for all in case it would deteriorate into an infection in the future. On Monday I went to Thai Thinh hospital. The doctor said he’d need to perform a minor surgery that would be 10-15 minutes max. Alright, let’s do it.

So I imagined they’d sterilise the spot and prick the object out with a needle at most.

Turns out the doctors decided to perform a minor surgery to get rid of the callused area. They proceeded to inject goddamn local anaesthetics into my toe. It was one of the worst pain I’d ever experienced. I’d like to think I’m pretty tough, but fuck, I had to let out an agonising scream.

The doctor later explained the syringe pressed on some nerve endings and hence the extreme pain. It doesn’t help that the foot is full of nerve endings either.

So the two doctors proceeded to cut open a chunk of flesh and removed the callused area that contained the splinter. He showed it to me, which looks like a bloodied piece of amber.

Finally they stitched the wound, bandaged it, and let me go with some antibiotics prescription. I’d have to come back in 2 weeks to have the stitches removed.

The check-up ticket was 150k, the operation 500k plus 100k of tip, and the medicine 350k. So 1100k in total.

Now here comes the inconveniences: I have to walk around with a massive bandage around my big toe. Can’t apply pressure on it at all so I have to limp on my right heel. My walking speed is reduced to a half. Takes me 20 minutes to walk the 750 metre trip from the office to our classroom. Not to mention the occasional sharp pain that the wound causes.

The worst part is, I won’t be able to run for a while ? Feels like losing a part of me. Seriously, running is a part of me. Can’t imagine ever not being able to run. I swear right after the stitches are removed and I’m given the green light to run again, I’ll run the shit out of the grounds to make up for this lost time. Meanwhile, I’ll have to make do with a bunch of HIIT-style upper body cardio to preserve my endurance.

One nice thing to come out of this ordeal is that wherever I go, people immediately notice my staggered gait. They always ask what happened and offer advice. The night food cart seller even says that if it was the weekend, he’d go back to his hometown and bring some herbal leaves to help me heal. Nice to see that people genuinely care after all.

Lastly, a few have asked me whether I’d continue running barefoot after this. To be honest I did briefly consider putting on shoes, but it seems like the cons of shoe running still massively outweigh the pros. Nothing can match the raw, primal, unexposed feeling of our bare feet striking the ground. It’s excellent for the ligament and tendon strength too, and the gait and posture gains are unparalleled. Shod running would bring none of those benefits.

And plus statistically speaking the risks are minuscule! I’ve been running barefooted for 4 years and this is the only incident that’s ever happened. So yea, all things considered, this is a calculated risk I’m willing to take.

Update 9/4: I’m no longer limping. Can walk 99% normally now. Though my right toe is beginning to swell a bit. There are some dark spots, look like dried blood, forming around the stitches too. Google tellls me that this seems to be normal, that the wound is healing. I hope it’s nothing serious. I’ll have the stitches removed in a week.

Update 14/4: I’m running again!! The pain is almost completely gone; it only aches a bit when I over-stretch my toe. I only ran about 2.5 km from our office to the classroom and back. The moment I realised I was running normally with no limping was utter euphoria ?

Had to run in my sandals though. Couldn’t do it barefooted yet. If the hospital opens tomorrow I’ll go get the stitches off. Hope I’ll be back on my feet soon.

Update 16/4: had the stitches removed. The doctor scolded me for having left them there too long. I should avoid water for the next 2-3 days.

Update 19/4: put on a pair of shoes and went running. I’m 99.9% fine now. Felt nothing at all as I ran. Will get back to barefoot soon.

Update 1/5: it’s been a month. I’m back to running barefoot today. Feels so good ?

Update 4/5: the scab finally falls off today. Okay I peel it off, but either way my big right toe is almost back to looking normal now. Will take a while for the new skin to completely cover the old area.