But now i've got something exciting to talk about. Charcot Foot. Never heard of it? Pray you never do again. Do some googling and then, if you are a diabetic, take the foot thing seriously. I have been diagnosed with Charcot Foot and it's not a pretty picture. I'm in a walking cast with strict admonitions to bear no weight on it. For up to five months. Five months. Good bye job. Good bye health insurance. Good bye life. Well, not really life but...life as I knew it...yeh. Please please if you're not taking extra good care of yourself, start now. Get the information, get supportive folks in your corner, reach out to whomever you can however you need to, and get yourself healthier. It's doable. My diabetes is actually under really good control right now, and I'm hit with a number of other things to contend wtih now. The Charcot Foot is a direct result of the neuropathy and some trauma to my foot, but it doesn't help that I was misdiagnosed with osteomyelitis and they missed the Charcot entirely. So it's also very important when you're in a hospital setting to make sure you pester them with questions, do as much research as you can, inform yourself and make them take care of you. Don't accept things if they don't make sense, don't just go along cause it's easier than arguing. The squeaky wheel gets the grease, especially in the HellMO times we're going through now, and sometimes things slip through the cracks. I was on IV antibiotics for six weeks before I pushed for an explanation of why my foot wasn't getting better and saw a specialist, finally. Don't take it lightly, don't chalk it up to "they're doing the best they can" cause their sole job is to make you better. And no one can do it for you, not a healthcare proxy, not your parents (unless you're really young and probably not even reading this), your kids if you're older, or a spouse or significant other. It's a self-managed disease, and it means even more to me now than it ever did with other complicatiosn I've faced. Thanks for letting me vent. If you have advice or suggestions, feel free to send them my way, in public, in case other people are wondering and afraid to ask. Ta! And take care.