My
Own Story - A Crushed, Broken Big Toe
Who
would have thought that a broken toe could be such a big deal? I had no
idea, until it happened to me, how hard it is to walk when your big toe
is broken. And it all happened in a split second!
Background
I
play Japanese Taiko drums. These drums are big and heavy, and on this
particular day, I had to play an extra heavy drum. (It probably weighed
about 100 lbs.) We were going to play a song where the drum sits on a
small rack in a diagonal angle. Because the angle was wrong, I needed
to shift the drum further back into the rack, but instead of sliding back,
it tipped forward. As it was going down, I tried to hold it back with
my hands, but it was too heavy. It kept slipping and landed on my big
toe, edge first, and of course, I wasn't wearing any shoes! (Now, I know
better!)
The
Damage
The first thing I experienced was shock. I felt myself going pale and
sweaty and knew I was going to pass out. So I lay down on the floor and
asked for someone to get my homeopathic remedies that I always keep in
my car. I took some homeopathic Arnica 200c and started feeling a bit
better. We wrapped up the toe and called for help. Since it happened on
a Sunday, and I didn't want to go to the emergency room, I called a local
midwife friend and asked if she could help me clean it up and assess the
damage. At this point, I didn't even know that the toe was broken.
The
Super Glue Solution
I had no idea how bad it really was. The nail basically became a knife
and went right through the toe on the right side. (The side of the toe
was on top of the nail!) The other side was also cut, but not so deep.
The bottom of the nail had been ripped out and was sticking out. My friend
looked at it and said there was no way she could stitch anything as long
as the nail was still in place. So I had the option to go to the emergency
room and have my nail taken off, or we could try super glue. I opted for
the super glue solution since I didn't want my nail taken off, and since
I also didn't want to be forced to have a tetanus shot, which is routine
in hospitals after this kind of injury. So she cleaned it up and was able
to put the side piece back where it goes. The dried up stuff you see in
the first picture is a mixture of superglue and blood. Notice that there
is very little swelling or bruising - the Arnica is already working!
Homeopathic
Remedies for Pain
By the time I got home, the pain was radiating all the way up to my thigh,
which is not a good sign. It sometimes indicates the beginning of tetanus.
So, I started using more homeopathic remedies. (I don't know how people
can live without homeopathy!) First, I alternated Hypericum and Ledum.
Hypericum is specific for crushed fingers and toes as well as any kind
of nerve damage and it also covers shooting pain that moves up the nerves.
In addition, it is an excellent remedy for tetanus. The other remedy,
ledum, can also prevent tetanus, so the shooting pain up the leg quickly
went away after a few doses of these two remedies. Ledum is also excellent
for reabsorbing swelling and internal bleeding, and it is a fantastic
pain remedy as well. I have found that if it is given in a high potency,
it can effectively relieve any kind of pain and throbbing in crushed or
even broken fingers and toes. So, whenever the pain was bothering me through
that first night, I took another dose of Ledum or Hypericum and went back
to sleep. The next day, there was no pain whatsoever! The toe still looked
awful, and it was bleeding for about 7 days, but NO PAIN! After a couple
of days, when I was sure that there was no infection, I added Calendula
to aid the healing. One day the toe became red, shiny and hot, which is
also not a good thing. At that point, I took a few doses of Apis, and
the color and temperature went back to "normal," which at the
time was a slightly bluish color, like a bruise. The only problem with
using homeopathy for pain relief, is that you may not know if anything
is broken. In my case, I had a severely broken toe, but because there
was no pain, I didn't have a clue that the toe was actually broken.
Walking
on the Foot Again
After a couple of weeks, I put away the crutches I had borrowed, and started
walking on the foot. I had a really hard time finding any comfortable
shoes to wear and ended up with some very soft sandals from walmart. As
time went by, I was starting to wonder why I couldn't bend the toe. It
was still somewhat swollen and bluish, and if I put any kind of pressure
on it, it hurt like hell. So, 5 weeks after the injury, I finally went
to a foot specialist and had an x-ray taken. The doctor was shocked to
find that the toe had been broken off completely. It was almost amputated!
In addition, the bone at the tip was also broken lengthwise into two pieces,
and there was a crack into the joint as well. He told me it was the worst
break he had ever seen, and he coudn't believe that I had actually walked
on the foot for over 3 weeks, and that I wasn't in any pain. He told me
that the pain for this kind of injury should have been absolutely excruciating,
and I hadn't even taken a tylenol! I told him about my powerful, magical
homeopathic remedies, and of course, he didn't believe a word I was saying.
He told me that a broken toe injury like mine rarely heals on its own,
but because the bones were perfectly aligned (another miracle after walking
on the foot for so many weeks), he was going to give me two more weeks
to heal before he would have to do surgery. He showed me how to bandage
the toes together and told me to wear one of those horrible stiff shoes
for the next two weeks. By then, he would know if it was going to heal,
or if I was going to need surgery and pins to mend the broken toe. I told
him I would put some more remedies in my witchy brew, and assured him
that it would be healed by the next appointment. And, of course, he didn't
believe me...
Two
Weeks Later...
That day I went back and added Symphytum, Calcarea Sulphuricum and Silicea,
which are all excellent remedies for speeding up the healing of broken
bones. In addition, I was still doing Calendula, too, for the healing
of skin and soft tissues, and to prevent infection. Two weeks later I
went back for another x-ray and the broken bones had then fused together
as one piece. The doc shook his head in disbelief and told me I didn't
have to wear the stiff shoe anymore since the broken bones were no longer
broken. So, I told him he should consider switching to homeopathic remedies
instead of the allopathic ones, and he didn't know what to say...
Now,
8 months later...
The nail is finally growing back. The strangest thing is that there are
almost no scars! The only scar I have is where the nail cut right through
the toe, but below the nail, and on the other side, there is no sign of
what happened! The only thing that hasn't healed is some stiffness in
the joint. It still doesn't bend as well as it should, but that is just
a small thing, considering how badly crushed it was. The doc told me that
the drum had actually flattened the bone in addition to breaking it. The
good thing is that at least I got to keep the toe, and the homeopathic
remedies made the healing of the broken toe almost completely painless.
Therefore, I would love to work with people who have broken toes or broken
bones, especially if the breaks are complicated, painful or don't heal
well. Homeopathy has a lot to offer when it comes to pain reduction, repairing
broken bones, and speeding up the healing of broken bones. I have personally
had very good results with broken fingers and toes, as well as broken
ribs. collarbones and other broken bones. Please feel free to give me
a no obligation call about your broken bones to find out how homeopathy
can help. My number is 719-256-5330, but please call only during business
hours, Mon-Fri 9-5 MST.
To
sign up for a homeopathic consultation, please read through the homeopathic
disclosure and release first, and then sign up only if you agree to
the terms and conditions. Thanks.
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