Day 56 - Feb 15 - No more bandages

Things are progressing well. I think today I will stop dressing Right#2 as the two wounds are dry and are no longer oozing. Geez that took a lot longer than I thought it would though. Walking has become much easier since my last post. You wouldn't be able to tell that I have injured feet seeing me walk down the street. I can go five days, ten hours a day in dress shoes barely noticing them. I even did 30 minutes on the elliptical about two weeks ago and was no worse for wear. The people in the locker room still look at me funny when they see my feet: "Buddy, you better get your shower shoes, you don't want this fungus!", I tell them and they run away with a disgusted look on their face. (Just kidding I don't really say that - leaving my malaise to their imagination is much more cruel - heh heh ;) )

The damage is deep though. My toes are still discoloured and I don't know if they will return to normal. My big toes are still firm and waxy looking at the ends instead of supple like they should be. On the surface, the skin is highly sensitive and delicate. They itch like crazy sometimes but I've been able to resist scratching. I have lost a total of four toenails and I expect to lose perhaps one more. Those lost are growing back slowly. Deeper in my toes the feeling is still not there. Or rather - it is - come to think of it the fact that I can feel the INSIDE of my toes is kinda weird no? I don't recall being able to do that before! Let's just say that the feeling in my toes is pretty abnormal - but at least they're functional. The worst part now, or at least the painful part, is on the little toe side, the part of your foot that pressures the outside edge of your ski (for you skiers out there). Although the skin didn't really get much damage there, the freezing went deep into the bone I think and it hurts to stand on the outside edges of my feet (cause I do that all the time you know). Yesterday I went for a hike in N.Van with Shari and Cedar and I had no problem on the up. Coming down though your toes are naturally jammed into the front of your boots/shoes - my toes weren't very happy with me. Oweee. I fully expect this last phase of recovery to be very, very slow, but it seems that from about now forward, my feet shouldn't hold me back from most of my activities - although running or skiing should probably wait - hold on, those were my activities before... okay I take that back. But hey I can walk normally!

I have taken pics of this and the last post but haven't gotten around to posting yet. Just need to get unlazy for a second to do that. Perhaps now. Perhaps not. Okay I did it. Wow they look good!

Day 34 - January 24 - Patience (Warning: Gross Pics Ahead)

In the two days following my last post, nearly all of the old skin has peeled off of my toes. This wasn't a pleasant experience as it was pretty stuck on there and it took some time and effort to get it off. I was encouraged to do this as it is supposed to enable the skin underneath to heal up faster. Both of my big toenails came off in the process - quite by accident actually after an excruciatingly painful day in some dress shoes (for work) I got home and found that the nails had separated from the skin underneath and with a small
amount of leverage they peeled off FORWARDS from the back to the front. With them came the bulk of the dead skin around the rest of my big toes. The nail of Right#2 came off too (which by the way is still an open wound and requires daily dressing changes.
The patience part of this ordeal might already be apparent to you. It is now Day 34 and the wounds have still not closed completely. The rest of my toes are still numb and stiff, the tissue underneath is not supple as your digits normally are. The new skin that has been revealed is shiny, waxy looking and unbelievably sensitive and fragile: the pinky toenail of my right foot has managed to cut into the toe next to it and make it bleed; the spot where it rubs aches enough to make me cringe when I walk. I am told that it may be a total of SIX MONTHS before I am 100% again. One down, five to go.

Day 31 - January 21 - Bye Bye Bandages (save one)

My toes are hideous. But they're getting better. Today my bandages came off at the Burn Clinic and this is what greeted me. All wounds closed and dry, except Right#2, which finished with a bandage. The nurse said she was being gentle but it felt like a belt sander as she picked and pulled and scraped dead skin away. At the end of it I joyfully, yet very carefully, slipped my feet into a pair of my own size 9 dress shoes (for work) and retired the $17 size 10 Canadian Tire duck shoes. It was a tight squeeze but I managed until I got home 10 hours later, with a forty minute shoeless break at lunch (went for Japanese and had to take our shoes off). It's actually quite a gross feeling without the bandages now. Wiggling my toes, it feels like little flaps of hardened skin tickling each other. The new skin is extemely sensitive. Next appointment: one month. I will be changing Right#2 dressings myself with flamazine (?) cream instead of Acticoat, and avoiding getting it wet until the tip and top are healed over. STILL open wounds there.

Day 27 - January 17 - Panic

"Panic is a part of the 'fight or flight' response common in all mammals which causes a sudden rush of epinephrine (adrenalin) to be released, one effect of which is peripheral vasoconstriction (closing off of blood vessels in distal parts of the body, esp. skin) in order to maximize blood flow to the 'core' - large muscles, brain, heart, lungs - to facilitate da fightin' or flightin'. Less blood = less heat = faster frostbite." - Dr. Jeff (my little brother)

I had a moment, or rather about 15-30 minutes on that day, nearly a month ago now, when I was in a state of panic. Real, frightening panic. I wasn't lost - bear right and I would hit the trail eventually. I could see the road and I had a map and compass and a bearing on the car. I had food, water, a headlamp, even a lighter that I had forgotten about. Heck I even had a cell phone with a good signal. But before I got all of that straight in my head, all I could think about was that I had taken a wrong turn and I was separated from the group - I was lost - I only had one hour of light left, who knows how much skiing, and the slide alders were relentlessly snagging me - impassable obstacles between me and my escape, fuck did I go over the bluffs when I should have kept right? ..it was really fucking cold, my puffy was in the car, what if I break my leg or twist an ankle - I'm dead! jesus I might have to dig in and spend the night. Panic.

Could have been those few minutes of panic that caused the frostbite. Now day 27 and still I am Gimpy McGimperson.

Day 24 - January 14 - {{CRINGE}}

Today I was hoping to walk out o the clinic with fewer bandages but alas this was not to be. In fact this visit turned out to be one to of the shakiest that I've had, mostly because the nurse completely shook my confidence in her competency/experience in dressing wounded toes. After a week of being in the bandages, they had dried to my toes quite firmly; she promptly yanked them off with a little sterile water for lubrication. Dead skin, which could have easily been cleaned off was left to hang off of my toes while she sloppily gooped the gel on, slapped on the Acticoat then attempted to wrap the toes in adhesive foam, leaving at least a half an inch of dressing protruding from the end of my toes. This caused concern that I would be able to fit into my shoes at all, not to mention the question of whether the bandages would stay attached for longer than a day (they have). It was the messiest job I have experienced since the get go - even hastier and messier than my trip to the walk-in clinic in Sherwood Park.
Thankfully, my toes have been getting better each day. I retired the cane the day after my last post and have been hobbling around on my own, albeit quite slowly. I still lack any real sensitivity in my toes, but I am confident that this will come back with time. In my next trip to the burn clinic next week I hope to walk out sans bandages so that I can have an actual get-my-feet-wet shower and fit into my shoes. At that point I will also be able to join a new gym close to work - the inability to shower thing is the only thing holding me back.
Highly relevant to my frozen toes, today I attended a Toastmaster's meeting at work and was randomly given the table topic to speak on "How to stay warm in the cold winter". Actually it had more to do with preventing a cold, but I spun it around so that I was talking more about how to prevent your toes from freezing off. Solution: stay warm.

Day 20 - January 10 - can't kick the cane

I know my toes are here to stay but wow, sometimes it just feels like they're ready to snap off. Right #2 is the worst. There is still a long recovery - I have absolutely no strength in my toes and the feeling is still mostly absent. I tried going without my cane today (I've been managing at work to go up and down the stairs between the 26th and 29th floors), but that didn't go so well. So the cane stays.

Day 17 - January 7 - Ten little piggies stayed home

Today was my first visit to the burn clinic at the Vancouver General. It is also the day that I learned that I would be keeping all of my toes, so suffice to say, it was a good day.

The dressing change went smoothly and quickly, the nurse being no-nonsense and going straight for the jugular, manhandling my toes through the old bandage removal, cleaning, photographing (here they photograph the toes for their records), and finally redressing. By my next visit in a couple of weeks, I will hopefully be done with bandages altogether, although Right#2, which seems to be the worst overall, may still need some TLC. In my first sense of weak-stomachness during this whole ordeal, I cringed as she cut away the skin. While all of the other toes have lost skin on their tops, their pads underneath hard, sickly in colour and likely dead, are still intact. Right#2 on the other hand is now an open wound around its full circumference - a naked little piggy.

In another first today, I was astounded by the lack of bedside manner of my doctor, presumably a specialist as I was in the burn unit after all, when he expressed his dismay that I had not been changing my dressings daily. Well as a matter of fact I do just happen to have plenty of stock of Acticote silver dressings, ample gauze, gel, sterile water, saline, tape, not to mention the expertise to assess, clean and dress my own swollen and blistered toes. Despite this, his diagnosis was agreeable - all my them are mine to keep.

Day 15 - January 5 - the most expensive pedicure known to man

I think I'm on the mend. I hope. Today was my third dressing change and while the pics are quite gross you can see that the swelling has gone down substantially. I have some bogginess on the big toes that comes from too much moisture in the bandages, and the ends of the first two or three toes have yet to sluff off (hopefully it's that easy) but today I could actually spread my toes. Also, the pain is still faintly numb and achy, but it's there on the tops of pretty much every toe. One blister, on left #4, has even healed over so that it didn't need to be bandaged up today.

With frostbite being such a rarity in Vancouver, there was a parade of doctors and nurses coming through the treatment room to observe. I don't mind the attention at all, made all the more enjoyable in that most of them were of the pretty female persuasion. Ironic that after ice climbing and skiing in the backcountry for nearly 10 years in the often bitterly cold Rockies that I wouldn't get serious frostbite until my first backcountry foray on the balmy west coast.

Adding up the costs of just one of these visits, I must say that I feel thankful for our great Canadian health care system. It was only a year ago that I was (almost) living in the USA doing the same outdoor activities; a visit like this must cost upwards of $300, maybe a lot more. One to two hours with one or two registered nurses, materials (the Acticote silver dressing is $65/sheet - their cost) plus margin. Quite a pedicure, and one to two time weekly to boot.

Ange asked me today if I were upset or sad about my situation. Yes, I suppose I am. Today I got a call from the BCMC confirming that I couldn't participate in the backcountry clinic over the next two weekends, and over the holidays I missed the Marmot trip with Kyle. These things are regrettable but I was able to accept my situation very early on, the first day in fact. In light of how much worse things could have been for me (bad things did cross my mind that day on the 20th) and now especially in light of the recent backcountry accidents in Sparwood, Mt. Seymour, and Whistler, I can only be more grateful that all I have to worry about having a patient recovery. I don't think I've fully resigned myself (is that the right term?) that I could lose some toes yet, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there. That decision could still be weeks away.

Well, I start work, and my last semester of school, tomorrow. I'll have a lot less time to put into this blog I imagine, but I'll try to continue to post until I'm fully recovered. I'm learning a lot from this experience and I'm hoping that some one might read it and take a little extra caution when they're out in the backcountry too.

Day 14 - January 3 - Mr. Peanut

I tried venturing out yesterday and did pretty well actually. The streets of Vancouver, particularly the sidewalks and sidestreets (i.e. my street) are still covered with ice and snow. Like true Vancouverites residents (and the city) are counting on our balmy west coast climate to melt away the snow. It ain't happened in three weeks now: piles of snow, frozen slush, melted and refrozen sheets of ice all make for quite the obstacle course for someone with inhibited mobility, myself now counted among those. Anyone on a motorized wheelchair is guaranteed to be housebound. I, with my crutches, had enough trouble and found it easier to use them as two ice axes. That combined with my sore armpits, convinced me to replace the crutches with a cane today. Yolanda said all I need is a monacle and top hat and I could be Mr. Peanut - I do have a fedora so perhaps I could pass for an impersonator... although I think Mr. Peanut uses his cane for dancing, not to prevent himself from falling ass-over-teakettle on the street.

I also replaced my footwear - from hut booties (that are not waterproof and are starting to wear through) to $17 over-sized Canadian Tire duck shoes that have already given my ankles blisters. These new shoes wil not only keep my dry, but they won't look as ridiculous with a suit when I start my new job in the heart of the downtown financial district, on Monday.

My toes today are really, really ugly. I injected the water into the bandages as instructed. Tomorrow is another dressing change.

Day 12 - January 1 - Individually wrapped for freshness

Last night and again today I felt a need to get my dressings changed so I got a ride to the hospital after brunch and began a long, long day of waiting. Arrived at 2:30pm, got home at 8:30pm - 2.5 hours in the waiting room 2 hours of soaking my old dressings so they would come off, and about 1.5 hours of meticulously applied new dressings.

As you can see, there is some green going on underneath those old bandages, although I was told that the silver dressing actually causes green discolouration. Maybe some infection too though - the nurse said that she could smell... something. What you cannot see from the pictures, despite my best efforts to capture it, is the rainbow of sickly colours that my toes have turned since my last change on the 27th. Black, purple, blue, red, grey, and yes, green. To my surprise however the doctor and nurse were pleased with the way my toes appeared to be "healing" as if I could actually call it that. With the bandages (almost) off I still cannot wiggle or really feel my toes past the second (or is it third) knuckle. I test the function of my toes and try to lean forward, but my toes do not stop me from falling forward and I must catch myself.

Also to my surprise was the surprise that the doctor and nurse showed when they learned I had only had one dressing change in nearly two weeks, that I was not getting them far more often, even daily. Such is life during the holidays. I was instructed to get a change on the 29th then again on the 7th. Thank goodness I decided to come in today instead of wait until the 7th (another full week from now) as I thought I was supposed to.

Thirdly to my surprise was the extent to which the silver dressings decided to adhere themselves to my wounds. They simply wouldn't come off without tearing my toes underneath so I spent a large amount of time with wet gauze on my feet to moisten the wounds enough for the silver to release. Oh well, I had no where to be today.

Fourth, and lastly, to my surprise was the meticulousness with which my nurse redressed each toe individually. First cleaning each with sterile water and gauze, between toes and then carefully drying them. Application of gel, then silver, soaked in sterile water and carefully cut to the exact size of each wound on each toe. Then gauze, cut and and applied over each patch of silver, then each toe wrapped in thin strip of bandage, taped, and plastic wrapped. Finally each toe was covered with a protective little "toque". Elapsed time: must have been at least 1.5 hours.

My homework is to inject 1/2 cc of sterile water into each patch of gauze on Saturday to keep the dressing moist. And finally I am to report back on Sunday for another dressing change.

PS. the completed bandages now appear as in the final photo below. No more wrappings all around my feet. I can fit into some stretchy ski socks but not into shoes quite yet. ... It's been a long day, time for bed. Oh - and Happy New Year.

Day 11 - Back in V-Town

Just arrived home in Vancouver and thanks to Jeff and Jennie for picking me up at the airport. The flight was delayed again because the flight crew was late, again. They called my crippled ass over to the gate to pre-board with the kids and old ladies in wheelchairs. They even told someone to get out of my way so I they could check me in before them. First class! My toes were hurtin' something awful on the plane but it went away and I could almost walk better without the crutches by the time I landed. A couple of New Year's options tonight - one on... what?? East Hastings!!?? It would take me hours to hobble home through the wet streets of the rain city. Sorry Jessica. The other, closer by but I'm feeling like I need to rest... tbd. Wait let me check the mail... woohoo! My Powderwhore DVD* arrived while I was gone! I know what I'm doing tonight! Whoa. Spoke too soon - the hurt is coming back now.

*Shame on you, it's not that kind of DVD. But I supposed it might qualify as porn for tele skiers. http://www.powderwhore.com

Day 11 - December 31 - Cruel Hindsight

Despite being couch-bound for probably the rest of this ski season, I was in MEC yesterday checking out skis and came across these toe warmers. I normally don't use these things so even in hindsight I wouldn't have brought them with me. In the future however, I might just keep a few handy if things turn out to be a bit colder or drawn out in time.

Hindsight is usually 20-20 they say and I've been trying to figure where things went bad for my toes that day in the backcountry.
Being my first time out in a few years and not wanting to slow the group I tried to be well prepared. I replaced my lexan avi shovel with an aluminum one (read http://www.telemarktips.com/TeleNews69.html) and finally bought a real probe since the ski-pole probes that I've been relying on (but have never had to use) are garbage. I had new boot liners custom fitted at the Intuition factory in Vancouver, bought and studied a topo map, carried a compass, headlamp, a transceiver of course, extra batteries, plenty of trail snacks and lunch for energy, some water, and I left a thermos with hot soup in the car for afterwards.

What I didn't anticipate however was the bitterly cold temperature, and time spent in that temperature due to 1. the bushwacking (oh the bushwacking), and worse 2. the long waits due to the (slow) pace of the group.

First the bushwacking. You could hardly call what we did that day skiing. There was very little snow. We bushwacked amost all the way up and bushwacked all the way down. The slopes that were supposed to be our ski out were still fields of densely packed slide alders. Stepping through, around, under and over these fields was both exhausting and horrendously time consuming.

Second, the waiting. I had certainly not anticipated the group dynamics that caused the waits on this trip since it seemed abundantly clear that a prerequisite to join the group was fitness, experience, training, and field tested gear. While all of us were fit enough, and almost all were far more experienced than I, not all of us were. This made for a few long cold waits as the leaders charged ahead (myself among them) and then were forced to wait for the rear to catch up. The pattern went something like this ski, ski, ski (bushwack rather), stop and wait. Ski, ski, ski, stop and wait. Despite the warmth generated while moving there was a net cooling effect on my core, so that by the time we decided to turn back at 1:30pm, I knew that I had to keep moving or I was in trouble. The ski down proved to be much worse for losing heat - in my haste to keep moving, I found myself alone - ahead of the group with no one following - I thought I had taken a wrong turn. Believing I had fallen BEHIND the group, I was alone, in unfamiliar backcountry, getting constantly snagged in slide alder fields with one hour of light and at least two, maybe more hours of bushwacking, the temperature dropping (later confirmed to be -20 to -25C for most of the day) and my core temperature falling fast, I lost all concern for my finger and toes, and instead was dead set on finding my way back to the car. Somewhere on that trip down is when my toes took the worst of the damage. As it turned out, the leaders had sent two skiers to follow my tracks and the rest fared similarly as I did on their own bushwacking adventure. I emerged at the parking lot 30 minutes ahead of the two skiers sent to follow me, and 1-1.5 hours ahead of the rest of the group. Thinking I had become lost, I was convinced that I had fallen behind the group.

So what would have saved my toes?
Basically it comes down to experience. It's been some time since I've been in the backcountry and I've never been in a situation where it was so important to conserve body temperature. On this day, when it was so important to conserve it, I wasted mine:
My down puffy, waiting for me in the car, would have kept my core warmer; I watched with envy as the leaders pulled theirs out of their packs to keep warm during the long waits. Strike one.
I wasn't the only one without a puffy though. Others without puffys, obviously more experienced than I, were certainly capable of keeping up with the leaders but chose to move at the pace at the rear, so that they would not have to wait (and while waiting, lose core temperature). Smart. Strike two for me.
I should have avoided drinking water. I wasn't dehydrated, only a bit thirsty. My water was ice cold and cooled my core each time I took a drink. I took two. Strike three.
All of the above might have helped to keep me just warm enough to avoid the frostbite. Maybe not. But chalk this up to experience. The next time I hit the backcountry I'll know the importance of staying warm. It's a tough lesson.

Day 10 - December 30 - foot fetish?

The blisters on my toes a couple of days ago were a good sign. It's supposed to mean that the blood is flowing there, that they're repairing themselves. But if your toes are dying, I imagine it feels something a little like this: take a rubber band and wrap it tightly around your finger (or toe). Leave it there for ten minutes and watch your finger (or toe) turn purple. You'll feel some tingling, some burning and then nothing. Now take off the rubber band cause you don't really want to kill it. That's what my toes feel like except I can't take the rubber band off, and I can't see my toes because my toes are covered in bandages.

The last couple of days I thought that the pain I was feeling was good, and I still hope it is. But tonight at dinner I realized that I couldn't really feel right#2 and left2,3,&4. I thought the dressings were too tight on the left but I don't think that now. Maybe my mind is playing tricks on me.

I've also imagined that maybe they're infected now. Been trying sniff them out a bit, but they seem to still be smelling clean. Yesterday it felt like my toes were swimming in fluid. But they're not. Maybe new blisters have formed completely around the toes and I'm feeling that fluid. Gross but maybe this is good. Maybe they've formed new skin underneath (like my thumb and fingers (yes I frost bit my right hand a bit too) and the old skin is just shedding off. I imagined this the day before I had the dressings changed too and when I actually saw them, they were far far from this rosy scenario.

I've imagined what it would be like to be toeless. Can I still run? Beach volleyball might freak some people out. Yoga in socks? I think I could probably still ski. This might make getting a new girlfriend even harder! At what stage do I reveal this? "Uh I just have this thing, with my toes - I don't have any" or maybe she'll say "Honey, why do you always wear your socks to bed?". Kyle tells me I have to make sure she doesn't have a foot fetish... how many girls have foot fetishes? Wes says toelessness is cool... maybe chicks will dig me more without toes. I do have to admit it will be fun to give the grandkids nightmares: I can tell the story about how grandpa froze then cut off his toes and then, to their horror, I'll whip off my socks to reveal my freaky toe-nubs. There's always a bright side.

PS. I'm caught up now. I started this blog today and the posts up to this point have been written from memory. New posts shouldn't be any older than a day or two old... will try to keep it as real time as possible.

Day 9 - December 29 - don't drink beer

The sensation has been coming back slowly to my feet. Some tingling, some burning, some freezing. Any feeling is good news but man oh man. I've been drinking a few beers in the evening pretty much all trip, but I went for a couple of suds today with Kyle and my feet bloated up and started screaming at me. No, SCREAMING at me.

Sometimes I need to keep them elevated to keep the pain bearable. I had some T3s yesterday morning - never again - I'd rather take the pain than feel as loopy as I did on those drugs. Okay well maybe I'll keep them just in case. I've been taking ibuprofen three times a day - theoretically, says the doctor, it should help. I dunno if it does though - even the placebo effect is enough for me. One good thing: I've been able to sleep just fine.

Kids and dogs. These feet are magnets for them - bouncing around, roughhousing, banging into them, stepping on them. Two nights in a row now I've had to retire to my bedroom to avoid my feet being banged up by the kids and dogs.

Day 7 continued - T3's and Crutches

While the dressings were being changed today I started to feel my toes again, and then some. Got a prescription for some Tylenol 3's and went to every drug store and medical supply house in town looking for crutches - none to be found in my size. Later learned that my uncle had some that he barely used. So I got me some crutches!

Hmmm... Plan A for this trip had me skiing with Kyle at Marmot for three days, starting today. Dang it.

Day 7 - December 27 - Dressing Change #1

It's been a week since the incident. Anxious to see some progress so I went to the walk-in clinic to have the dressings changed today. As suspected, the doctor did not appear to really know what to do, so I pulled out the materials and instructions from the cute-resident-in-purple-scrubs in Vancouver and tried to walk him through it.

Removing the bandages was a bit of a chore as the gauze had hardened around my toes and the silver dressings had stuck to the wounds. He also seemed to be in a bit of a rush as he was the only doctor in the office, a walk-in clinic on a Saturday over the Christmas holidays, and the queue was growing as he worked on me.


The left big toe appears to have become one massive blister. Underneath the toe, the toenail, everything around the tip looks almost separated from whatever might be underneath. We didn't cut this "blister" off.


The bandages on the right foot were even crustier than the left. It was tough to get them off and we had to pull a bit, taking off some of the skin in the process. It hurt a little.

Having a look with the bandages off the right foot doesn't seem to be as bad as the left. The big toe is not as blistered but toe #2 is still almost black, even after the blister was cut off.


Overall:

The good news:
Three new large blisters had formed on three of the toes-at-risk. Right#2, Left#2&3.
No infection!

The bad news:
The nerves are growing back and it's starting to hurt like a bugger. I can handle the hurt if it means I get to keep my toes. So really, this is good news!

It's hard to imagine from these pictures that this is a good news story. Time will tell. It's only been one of many weeks.

Day 6 - December 26 - Can't wait to change my dressings

I'm getting a little anxious to change the dressings on my feet. It's been a week and I'm wondering what's going on under there. The gauze has long since soaked through with fluid from my feet and hardened so the bandages feel solid now. Kinda want to do it myself because I saw my doc do it and I don't trust a walk-in clinic to do the job right. I wasn't going to go until the 29th but I think I'll go tomorrow.

I've been feeling a little bit in my toes. Some tingling. Some warmth.

Sidenote - Bathing has been interesting. Can you say sponge bath (with your feet sticking out of the tub. And no, not from a hot nurse.)? On a positive note I am using a fraction of the water I would normally use to shower. Who knew this would make me a greenie?

Day 3 - December 23 - Tips for traveling at Christmas

With the airports backed up, flights canceled, and line ups stretching into the international terminal, here are a few tips for getting to the front of the line.

1. First, freeze your toes so they're nearly falling off... then,
2. Make sure you have only carry-on baggage (important so you can get your boarding pass at an automatic kiosk and avoid check-in). People in line at check in: hundreds. People in line at auto kiosk: zero. Also note that Christmas gifts must be small and un-weaponlike to be carried on.
   
3. Limp your way to the customer service desk and ask for a wheelchair. Here they will deny you the wheelchair but one-up you by offering a golf-cart ride to the fast track security check in
4. Enjoy the ride!
5. Go through security. people in front of me at security: zero. Here they will take away your half-empty shampoo because the bottle says 125ml which is 25ml over the 100ml limit.
6. Get on another golf cart where they will deliver you to your gate and push together two chairs so you can elevate your feet per doctor's orders. Sweet!

Total Elapsed time: 20 minutes. Way to go ...Air Canada? Yep, Air Canada (and the Vancouver airport).

Now, wait 6 hours because you arrived four hours early for line-up contingencies plus a 2.5 hour flight delay (not for lack of a plane - for lack of a flight crew) - that sounds more like the Air Canada I know.

Still can't feel my toes.

Day 2 - December 22 - Innovations in bandage technology

Waiting for Christmas. So what does one wear on ones feet when they're bandaged up big well beyond recognition and normal size? Hut booties. Hut Hut. To keep those finicky tensor bandages from always sliding out of place? Your roomate's old nylons, cut into very masculine "socks". P.S. the snow is 2 feet deep outside (in Vancouver!) and still falling. And I'm not skiing. Wonder if my flight will be canceled tomorrow.

Day 1 - December 21 - 9:30am

I called a cab to the hospital and arrived at 9am, a full hour ahead of schedule. The doctor from the night before had given me a "fasttrack" letter to get into emergency for my appointment. Plastics would come to emergency to have a look. It didn't take long for two doctors in purple scrubs to show up and begin questioning what had happened.
We relocated to a treatment room and unwrapped my feet. The bandages slid off easily and the blisters from the night before, along with a few jumbo-sized friends and some residual burn cream greeted us.

The resident doctor made some observations and the other made notes. The resident doctor cut off the blisters and cleaned my feet with gauze and sterile water. Doc applied a special clear gel and cut strips of silver anti-microbial dressing (with real silver, not the fake stuff). Gauze was draped over my toes and then my whole foot was wrapped in more gauze. Finally a tensor was wrapped around my feet and I was ready to go. Throughout the entire ordeal I didn't feel a thing, but I have to admit I became somewhat enamoured with my doctor and hardly noticed my feet while she worked her magic. Yes, she.

With the holidays around the corner I would hit a bt of a snag. I was traveling to Edmonton for Christmas and the burn unit there would be closed - so I would either have to cancel Christmas to go to the Vancouver burn center or go to a walk-in clinic at home to get the dressings changed. I chose the latter, or rather the latter chose me - despite Vancouver being snowed-in, my flight made it out with only a 2.5 hour delay. Most walk-ins don't see frostbite this serious, let alone carry the expensive gel and silver dressings, so doc gave me some materials to take home with me along with some written instructions on how to apply them.

Still no feeling in my toes at this point.