Locker room talk. A fellow was saying he was in bed for ten days after having his big toe operated on. “Ten days for your big toe?” “Yeah, the doc said my joint was shot and if I didn’t have a pin put in, I couldn’t walk and would be in a wheelchair the rest of my life. Man, I’d wake up in the middle of the night and my toe was killing me.”
We take our bodies for granted, even down to our big toe – until something goes awry. The back goes out and you’re lying on the floor trying to ease the pain. Arthritis wrecks a hip and it’s painful to get in and out of the car. A knee wears out and you can’t drive without stopping, putting the car in park, and flexing your stiff, aching knee. Tear a rotator cuff and you can’t lift your arm over your shoulder.