Here some photos of the objet trouvé and my blue bag and I with my painting in the garden (click to enlarge):

Then something happened.

One night, now 8 weeks ago, I stood up at 3 am to go to the loo and didn't know Angelo, our beloved big dog was sleeping next to my bed on the floor and I stood on him. He got a shock, must have thought it to be a Martian or some scary cat. So as dogs do he bit whatever it was and as it happened it was my left big toe.

I cried out for Clemens who came running in and there was blood all over the floor and Angelo licking my face enthusiastically.

He didn't do it against me but the Martian.

Anyway, for a few days I had water and salt, water and bicarb of soda baths and everything was ok. It absolutely didn't hurt.

But it became infected so I thought I'd go to the hospital thinking they'd put some yellow or red liquid on the toe and that was that.

No way !!! The doctor said it could have infected the bone in the toe so had x-rays done and yes, the bone had been damaged and had TWO operations on my little Big Toe !!! The orthopaedic surgeon told me that had I waited another day I could have lost the toe!

I imagined me crawling on the floor looking for it under the bed and wardrobe!!! Had to spend a whole week in hospital, the first time in my life.

I must say I loved it. The kindest people and lovely food, especially the jelly with ice cream.

The ward I was in had only 3 other people, all with foot, mouth and toe problems.

One guy, a 48 year old named John had the same thing but the infection had gone into his leg and he'd already spent 3 months in hospital. And more to go.

Odly the only other time I has a serious problem was also with my foot when I was very young. My dog Puti in Jakarta came home frothing at the mouth. Poor little thing had rabies and my father had to strangle it and all the dogs in the neighborhood were shot by the Indonesian police and we spent two weeks at the Pasteur Institute in Bandung on Java. Fourteen hideously painful injections in the tummy. Thank you Louis! Then run around a field to get the serum more into the body. Then I fainted as I was slightly allergic to the stuff.

Now I have to carry on my body in a sexy blue bag all day and night a dripping bottle of anti-biotics and every day a nurse come to the house to check on the toe and bandage. She told me, after I asked her, the medicine in the bottle costs $1000 a week and the needle and plastic tubes and sticky tape and bandages $150,- !!!!!!!!

How lucky I live in Australia: all for free. Had I been in America I'd be broke and on the streets with the other foot, mouth and toe victims !!! We are a benevolent, and rich, country!!

Still hardly any pain but the medicine makes me slightly nauseous and sleeping with the sexy blue bottle is a bother as it gets in the way as I am a restless and 'rolling' sleeper.

But already in hospital I had the idea to paint myself in bed with my toe. I did the painting life size so got myself a canvas 2x1.30  meters.

Here is the painting, the toe and me in hospital bed. And the hospital pyjamas.

No tip-toe through the tulip fields for me for some time, nor good fitting shoes. And another month to go I believe.

Kasian saja, tuan or nonja.

phb

(click photo to enlarge)