Poor Maggie

Last Thursday the kids went out to the barn to do some general pickup. Old buckets strewn about by the colossal winds. Boards pushed or pulled out of place by big animals. Feed bags. Detritus. They were especially working on picking up some boards with old rusty nails. Boards knocked out of place by Boaz or some other big horned creature. We certainly didn't want any kids getting stuck with an old rusty nail.

Rose came in bearing news that Maggie stepped on a board with a dirty rusty nail while picking up the other board with a dirty rusty nail. The nail went through her shoe and up into the ball of her foot. It really hurt.

Rose fixed her sister up with a hot epsom salt foot bath, we made Maggie and cup of tea and then went about our business.

Rose did the milking for Maggie, all by herself.

Maggie's foot continued to hurt.

Next day it hurt even more. She did another salt soak and was given permission to sit around with the foot up. Great opportunity to catch up on her history reading. The pain was severe so she took an ibuprofen. We didn't even think of calling the doctor because most of our little bumps and bruises fix up pretty nicely with a few herbs, a hug and a prayer.

Saturday morning I noticed that Maggie's foot was starting to swell so she stayed home from farmer's market with Rose to play nurse. When I gave them a call and heard that there was a red area appearing on the top of Maggie's foot I had a feeling we had a problem. Called our family doctor who directed us to the the ER. We rushed home, dropped off our market paraphenalia and headed back to Roanoke to the hospital. The doctors assured us that it was not a frivolous visit as foot puntures can be very serious if not deadly when infection develops. They gave us a prescription for an antibiotic and we got home after dark, tired but happy to have nipped the problem in the bud.

We avoid antibiotics and doctor visits at all costs. However, there are times when a case warrants such intervention and I am so thankful for the people who discovered and developed such wonderful help for us. Rusty nail infections can be very serious. I hope Maggie's foot heals very quickly.

In the meantime, we are all filling in her milking shoes (or should I say milking hands?). Maggie gets to hang out in bed and rest. I carried her breakfast in bed this morning and it was a joy to serve her as she serves me so often. It was a boring day for her since the rest of us left her to go to church.

She hobbled out to the garden with me for a bit this afternoon and cuddled Tabby her kitty while I picked veggies. She spoke to the goats through the fence as they grazed around the pond. They ignored her. I think they are a bit put out that she is letting someone else milk them. What sassy creatures are our goats.

Get well soon, Maggie!