My Toe

It all started with a little hangnail on the big toe of my right foot; i just pulled it right off. Even though I've done that a million times, this time I was thinking to myself "this is going to hurt, maybe I should get some clippers." I didn't listen. The next day, the side of my toe was sore an obviously a bit infected. Thought it would go away. The day after that, it was red and puffy all around the edges; thats never happened before. Still expected it to go away. Saturday morning, my toe was throbbing and I decided I needed to call the podiatrist.
The plan was that Scott would drop me off, I would get a prescription for anti-biotics, and then I would walk the ten blocks home while he got his hair cut. We got there and the place looked overly ghetto; I guess thats what I should have expected for chosing a Dr. on South Broad street. I made Scott come in with me, when in fact I discovered the inside wasn't too bad. However, the receptionist was overly interested in me being in the fashion business and wouldn't stop talking about clothes. Soon I was in the room with the awkward but kind Dr AND the receptionist. Upon close inspection of the toe, the Dr. said I would be getting a needle. "okay, cool" I thought to myself "he will just inject a little medicine and that way i wont have to deal with going to CVS and having to take antibiotics for a week" but then the Dr. explains that he needs to give me four shots of lidocaine in the toe so he can remove half of my toenail. I started to get nervous- over the years I've gained an aversion to needles, but was brave and let him stick me. It fucking hurt, and the receptionist just kept right on talking to me about how girls shouldn't be wearing big shirts because if they looked. "I mean, really looked at themselves" they'd realize they look pregnant. (and by the way, she asked if i was pregnant earlier, I was wearing a big shirt).
After the pain from the first needle, I started getting even more nervous, i just kept thinking about how he was about to cut my toenail out. I was working up a sweat, my heart was beating really fast, and in her efforts to distract me with conversation, the Receptionist just made me want to throw up. I was trying not to be a baby all along, being that Scott and I got in a little fight about me being too needy just the night before, but finally I gave in and asked if my boyfriend could come in the room. Scott wasn't surprised about the situation and I new he would be excited to watch the proceedure go down. After four shots of numbing liquid, I obviously wasn't going to feel a thing and all along Scott was telling me stories about how he got his feet stomped on in a mosh pit back in '95 and he had to get the same proceedure done to BOTH toes at the same time. It made me calm and the proceedure was over with in no time; I hobbled right back into the waiting room.
And thanks to the ever patient Scott who always deals with my neediness, I didn't have to hobble the ten blocks home.