Toes and Ho ho ho's

A half an hour before it was time to leave for the Christmas party, where I would be meeting my husband, Arvo, I noticed my injured toe hurt like a reindeer was stomping on it. Additionally, when I removed my sock to see if there were indeed tiny circular saws slowly working their way through my flesh, I observed that it was quite swollen, blacker than I remembered, and red and hot all around the toenail.
"This cannot be good."
I called the doctor and explained I needed to be seen in the next 5 minutes, for two reasons. Number one, I was to be meeting my husband's boss and work force for the first time in one hour. Number two, my toe was in the early stages of gangrene and I was expected to dance tonight.
This ploy did not fly with my doctor. Get thee to an urgent care, I was advised, or maybe, if you are a money grubbing stingerooney, you could try the CVS "minute clinic."
"What is a minute clinic?" I asked, instantly interested.
The short answer is it is for people who have 5 minutes before they have to leave for a party and want their toe amputated as quickly and inexpensively as possible.
So off I raced to the minute clinic.
A minute after signing in, I was called into the clinic. I described my problem, and the Physician Assistant told me to put away my insurance card, as in all likelihood, I would need to get to the ER. Lovely. My goose is cooked, I thought.
My dear husband had reserved a sumptuous room at the lovely hotel where the party was, so we could dance the night away well past my usual 7:30 bedtime, and daughter Asherel could be safely nearby in the hotel room. We were so looking forward to this. We never go out, never do much that costs any money because money is so hard to come by.... and this was a definite splurge. How could I spend the night in the ER?
For those of you who don't like the Christian message, skip the next few lines. I prayed. I had also prayed on the drive over. I knew the toe might have to be removed, but could it wait til after tomorrow?
The doc peered at my toe, as I removed my sock.
"Oh," she said, "Put away your insurance card. That is not infected. That is a really bad bruise, and the blood is pooling under your nail. You will lose the nail, and I am sure it hurts, but you don't need to go to the ER. If the pain is unbearable, they can drill a hole in the nail to relieve the pressure...."
JUST STOP SPEAKING right there, I called in my mind, we don't need to discuss this any further. NO pain is that unbearable.
"Otherwise," she continued, "I would keep your foot elevated, but you don't need to do anything else but wait for it to feel better."
And, she didn't even charge me!
One and a half minutes after entering the minute clinic, I was racing home. I called Asherel to be ready the moment I walked in the door.
I didn't dance, but I did stand for two hours scarfing down expensive hors d'oeurves
(spelling?) and thoroughly enjoying the very nice people Arvo works with. During the dinner I took off my boot, and elevated my foot,only occasionally placing it on the table when no one was eating, and then listened with amazement when they announced that we had won the raffle, and got a free GPS system. Our old one needed $60 map updates, so this was another little Christmas cheer.
I leaned heavily on Arvo's arm as I limped back to our room. Asherel had spent the time making duct tape sneakers. Feet seemed to be the theme of the season. It is funny how something as insignificant as a toe nail could have such monumental repercussions. It really made me consider the impact of something more visible, like a smile, or a kind touch, or a message of deliverance to someone who was floundering. Sometimes it only takes a minute.....