I was brought to tears last week about this time when I was out at the new house, walking the back perimeter of the property. I was truly enjoying the beautiful day, and discovering that we have a little stream that feeds the East fork of the Grand River when all of a sudden!
OUCH!!!!
I walked right into a patch of black locust trees, and couldn't remove myself without stepping on a HUGE thorn. It went right through the thick sole of my tennis shoe, and got me on the left foot, right at the big toe joint. I pulled the thorn out, and went ahead with our walk, remarking we would have to keep the grand-kids out of this area until we could get it cleaned up.
Within the hour, my toe could hardly move, and by the end of two hours, it was extremely swollen , red and hot to the touch. By the time I could take myself to the doctor's office, they told me to go to ER where I found out that Black Locust trees have toxins on their leaves, bark, thorns and fruit.
So, after a Cat Scan of my foot, and 4 hours of IV antibiotics, I was sent home with Percoset, oral antibiotics and instructions to keep my foot elevated for at least 2-3 days until the swelling went down. I also got the warning that if I got red streaks, or it kept swelling, I should return to the ER upon which I would be admitted for "further treatment".
Put the kabosh on my weekend, let me tell you! But I am happy to report that by the end of the 2nd day, my foot looked pretty normal, and it was only a bit tender. Just think, though, without the wonders of modern day medicine, I would have gone the way of Jake in Lonesome Dove after he got a mesquite thorn in his thumb...off into the sunset.
Tomorrow, the arborists are meeting us to discuss the demise of these nasty trees! In the meantime, I am walking ever so gingerly on the property.
(I just can't figure out what I've done with the font size on this entry, so if it looks like I am screaming, I'm really just confused!)
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9 comments:
Not a good experience for the first week in your new home. Glad to hear you are better. Something new to learn all the time, it seems. Nancy in WI
I'd get rid of those trees too! Hope your foot gets better quickly!
OY! How awful! No wonder you are screaming!
n, np
Oh my goodness, you poor thing. I hope you don't have any more problems. We have had locust trees with thorns but must be a different variety. The thorns do hurt, but I dodn't think they are deadly.
Love the font! I can read it easily--ha! Speaking from experience, I can tell you that you're lucky that puncture wound didn't end up as cellulitis or worse. So glad you took care of it. Hope you're settling in at the new digs and you can get sewing again! Wendy
Frankly, I like the font size, Sharon. Sure makes it easy to read for these old eyes.
That's scary about the locust trees. Nature can sure set out to get you sometimes. I believe I'd have sent someone out with a gallon of gas and a box of matches to take care of the problem.
Holy cow!
Glad you're okay. What a scary thing! Hope you have no trouble ridding your property of that vicious tree.
I know all about those locust thorns. My son got a two inch thorn in his leg on a camping trip when he was five. (no medical attention nearby) I still have the thorn saved in his baby box. Glad you're feeling better!
I just got a black locust thorn through my foot two days ago, and I'm still swollen and a little red. It's not very fun at all!
I can barely walk around my house.
I've got some new antibiotics this evening, so I hope it clears up soon!
I'm very very glad yours healed up so fast!
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