Sprained

The down side of working at a trade show or conference is the amount of walking and countless hours spent standing in the booth. Gone for me are the days of standing at a pod and conducting a demo. I’m now responsible for my company’s entire presence at the show. That means I need to be everywhere. I think I should wear a pedometer at my next show. It would be really interesting to see how many miles I cover each day.

Sore feet are a normal occurence at these shows. There’s no way to get around it, especially for me because I wear heels (I’m short, and I’m not growing any taller so I need all the help I can get). As expected, my feet started hurting on Monday night. I didn’t think much of it at that time. The next day, the pain was worse, but that’s just part of working a show, right?

Wrong.

Very wrong.

I continued to ignore the pain. I have a lot of practice ignoring pain due to another medical condition that afflicts me — so much practice that I’ve become quite good at it. The day progressed. I worked the show, I supported our customers, I filmed segments for TechWise TV, and I managed the customer reception. It was a 12-hour day where I sat down only two times. By the end of the reception, the pain was brutal. I lifted my foot to sooth my throbbing limb, and when I put it back on the floor, I glimpsed it. To my amazement, my right foot had swollen significantly. I was shocked. It looked horrible. Despite the pain, I went to our team dinner that evening, not realizing that it would involve a long walk from the cab to the restaurant. By the end of the evening, I could barely walk on my right leg.

I returned to the hotel, propped it up, and snapped the picture below. My leg was completely unrecognizeable!

I was freaking out a bit. I wasn’t sure if it was sprained or if I was having an allergic reaction. I called my husband, and we narrowed it down to a sprain. I didn’t recall spraining it, but when I arrived in Orlando, I rolled my ankle inward as I departed the plane. I didn’t fall, and I don’t remember much pain. I thought everything was fine. My only explanation for the swelling is that I must have injured it that day, and the continued walking severely aggravated the injury.

I started a regiment of ice and elevation immediately. In the morning, I called the hotel, and the support they offered was amazing. They brought ice packs and wrapped it for me. One of my team members went to a local store and bought a cane to help me keep my weight off my foot (I love my team; they are amazing).

Thankfully, the swelling and pain wasn’t as bad the next day. I tried to stay off my feet as much as possible. Today, I was able to walk without the cane. The swelling remains, but I’m hoping it will go away soon. It’s not a souvenir I want to bring home with me. 🙂

Two days after the swelling catastrophe — wrapped ankle taking in the sand on Miami beach