I woke up at 7 am and knew things with my feet had deteriorated even before I looked at them. The pain and itch had increased to the point that I now have a noticeable limp. When the issue started my left foot was in better shape than the right one. Now the situation has reversed, it is the right foot that I have to lean on because when I put weight on the left foot the pain is excruciating.
The medicine I got from the pharmacy don't seem to have any effect. It's quite possible that the bacterial infection may be too advanced for the treatment to counter it. So there you have, the ugly.
I did some further research (because I really don't want to end up in the hospital) and found out that a homemade recipe recommends soaking the feet in water with salt.
Being homeless there is no place for me to do that, but I got to thinking... the beach, ocean water has salt... bingo!
I left Dunkin Donuts (where I hang out every morning) at around 9:30 am and walked all the way to the beach. It was a long and painful walk but the trolley was taking too long. I wanted to get there asap.
Fortunately I've got a towel, that I found 2 weeks ago, at the same beach. Even though it was early, the sun was out and it was nice and warm. It's been a while since I had seen the beauty of Delray Beach.
Laying down the towel, I set up my little spot at the beach with my backpack, bag of clothes and bag of leftover foods from last night (Starbucks). Taking off my sneakers and socks was painful, but as soon as I walked on the wet sand near the water, the pain subsided enough to make me smile.
Not having shorts, I had to roll up my jeans up as much as I could over my ankles. It was futile anyways, a few waves went to shore higher than expected and I had wet jeans.
It was worth it, the water was cool and most of the pain was gone and no sense of itch whatsoever. The sand had tiny chunks of shells everywhere. This is not the good part by the way.
The good part... was seeing so many couples young and old, families with children all over the beach. Their smiles, laughs and love for each other was everywhere around me. It made me feel better about myself; reminded me that like so many others I could find love again.
I soaked my feet in three different occasions, laying on my towel in between; enjoying the sun and the sight of the people around the beach.
At 12:30 pm I left the beach, washed my feet at the nearby shower, dried them and then went through the excruciating pain of putting the socks and sneakers back on. That was the bad.
I caught the trolley and now I'm at the library typing this post. There you have it, the good, the bad and the ugly of my day so far.
Later today I will update the "Homeless Survival Guide" blog and post a new entry in the "Letters of my Life" blog.
That's pretty much it for today's blog here.
May you walk in the light of God.
Sincerely.
Luis
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