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Health & Fitness

All About Swollen Feet at Midnight

A neighbor's request for a ride to the Emergency room teaches you all you ever wanted to know about causes of swollen feet.

"Ring, ring."  You are startled from bed and fumble for the phone to hear the voice of your elderly neighbor Mabel.    She acts as if you should have been awake at 11:45 pm. 

"What, were you asleep already?"

You are trying to remember why the phone is not on your wife's side of the bed.

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Mabel continues:  "I need a ride to the emergency room, my feet are swelled up like baloons."  

Mabel had been away at the beach with her niece last week.  She had noticed a little swelling that made her shoes tight by the end of the week.  Today they were even worse.  Unable to get her shoes on earlier this evening, she decided to wait until "the crowds thinned out at the hospital"  to get it checked out.

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"Could you hurry up, please?" Mabel added.   

You stumble out of bed and get dressed in the dark room.   

You arrive at Mabel's house, but she is not ready to leave just yet.  She tells you she is trying to find a sweater and some matching shoes that would stretch over her sore feet.

"Do you like the mauve or the wine- colored ones?" she asks.

"Either looks great." You say as you count to ten silently to keep calm. ( You actually have no idea what those two colors are, anyway.)

"We better get going", you say firmly.

Fortunately, the Hospital ER is not crowded and Mabel is taken to an exam room within a few minutes.  She is asked a series of questions by nurses and then by a physician.  They draw some blood, perform an examination, and take an xray.

A little while later they give her some medicine and have an ultrasound test of her legs.  Two hours and several trips to the bathroom later, she feels a little better.

You are asleep in the waiting room, dreaming of an island getaway when a friendly nurse wakes you. 

"Sir, aren't you with Mabel?  She is ready to to go home now." 

On the ride home Mabel was very talkative.  " That nice nurse explained everything to me. She told me my feet could be swollen for lots of reasons.  First, they made sure it was not caused by blood clots in my legs.  Sometimes swelling is caused from a weak heart muscle that is not able to pump enough blood.   A malfunctioning liver or kidneys could cause fluid to build up, also.  Occasionally, it is simply eating too much salt that causes us to hold fluid in our bodies.

...You know , I did eat a lot of crabs and chips last week at the beach...

The nurse said many people have weak veins in their legs.  These veins don't do a good job of circulating the fluid out of the feet to the rest of the body.  Especially when you stand a lot.

...and I was on the boardwalk every day last week..."

Your eyes are heavy as you drive into the neighborhood at 4:30 am.  As you approach Mabel's house she is still talking nonstop.

"I can make some coffee or something to eat", she offers as if in no particular huury to get out of the car.

"No thanks", you say yawning.

Mabel stood on the sidewalk:  "Well, thanks for driving me to the hospital.  But next time you really should wear an outfit that matches so it doesn't look like you got dressed in the dark...And its not polite to fall asleep in the waiting room when a nurse is looking for you. "

You smile, count to 10 again, and drive up the street  towards your house.

You tiptoe quietly into your bedroom.  Before climbing into bed, you carefully unplug the phone from your side of the bed and move to your wife's nightstand.     

 

  

 

 

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