The Toothpick

Random fact - I had half a toothpick in my foot for 15 or so years.  It's true.  I did.  I stepped on it while at Fort Walton Beach on Dad's birthday in 1991.  It was finally removed on March 20, 2006.  I'll save all the lovely details, but believe me - toothpicks are pressure treated wood and they don't dissolve in the body.  

The short version on the story is that the toothpick broke in half when Mom tried to pull it back out.  So after a trip to the ER and several "attempts" to remove it by a surgeon, it was determined that it was too difficult to locate due to location and color and eventually, it would find its way out.  Well, after it "flaring up" a few times over the years, it finally started to push out of my foot.  Only then would orthopedics consider trying to remove it, and finally, they did.

Here's the scar to prove it. I'll get Mom to send me a picture of the toothpick that was removed one day...it is sitting on my dresser at their house, still.  We are only slightly attached to the world famous toothpick.  

The reason I share this random fact is that it to this day - nearly 7 years after it was removed - impacts my "gate."  I still roll my foot from outside to inside when walking or running.  It makes for painful ankles at times.