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Dear Reader, 

Introduction 

I hope you’ve had a good week. I’ve enjoyed a busy week. It’s hard for me to believe it is now February 2024. It felt like yesterday that I dropped that blade through my foot. 

I’m excited to see Kathleen soon. 

Work has been good, with more international meetings keeping me awake. 

How is the foot? 

What’s happened this week? 

I mentioned last week that I was concerned by some pressure pain. That settled by the end of the weekend. 

On Wednesday afternoon, I attended the orthopædic team’s outpatient clinic. I think I was the last patient to be seen. It was a very busy clinic. 

I had the cast removed, and unfortunately, in the process, the registered nurse who cut it off nicked some skin over the medial aspect of the hallux metatarsophalangeal joint (MTPJ). She was surprised because the bone saw was not meant to cut skin. Fortunately, the laceration was superficial, and apart from the immediate pain and some blood, I wasn’t too concerned. 

I was then seen by the duty orthopædic trainee, who examined my foot and ankle. She asked me to extend and flex my ankle as well as pronate and supinate my foot. Then she asked me to independently extend and flex my toes, especially my big toe (hallux). As I did this, she palpated the dorsum of my foot over the wound where the tendon repair was. She was happy she could feel the tendon moving. 

I had four questions for the trainee. Would I need to sleep in the boot? Can I shower without the boot? Can I flex my ankle so I can wear trousers? Can I stop taking the oral anticoagulant that was prescribed for the prevention of deep venous thrombosis? 

I need to sleep in the boot for three weeks. 😢

I can shower without the boot. 😊

I can flex and extend my ankle with care. 😊 While I’ve not worn trousers since Christmas day at church, it’s good to know I have this option. The occasional cold day in Canberra (yes, it’s summer) has meant I needed to wrap a towel around my legs. 

No more anticoagulant medication. 😊

I was then asked to wait to see a physiotherapist for a controlled ankle movement (CAM) boot fitting. She explained the range of movement (ROM) I should try to achieve and the limitations I need to observe. She then fitted me with a CAM boot, and it felt like a huge weight had been lifted from me. 

The CAM boot means much more mobility. 

What have I been watching? 

Star Trek Deep Space Nine and Star Trek Voyager 

I continue to alternate between the two series, one episode at a time. 

I am about midway through each series and love the stories. Some of my favourite character interactions occur at this point in both series. 

Michael Dorn, who plays Worf, joins DS9 and starts a relationship with Jadzia Dax. Terry Farrell plays Dax, and she’s one of my favourite actors. In VOY, Jeri Ryan joins the cast as Seven of Nine. Likewise, Ryan is a favourite actor, too. The character development of Seven is fantastic.

What have I been listening to? 

Georgia Ede on Zöe Harcombe’s podcast 

Georgia Ede is a psychiatrist from the USA who uses nutrition to augment her psychiatric training in helping patients with psychiatric diseases. 

Georgia follows a low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet, which she believes minimises the inflammation caused by many foods. 

You can find it online if you’d like to listen to the show. An automatically generated transcript is also available online.

Georgia Ede has also written, “Change your diet, change your mind”(Ede, 2024). I’ve got this book lined up to listen to soon. 

Recipe — Steak and avocado

With the extra freedom afforded me by the CAM boot, I thought I’d cook a steak on the stove. I can now stand for a few minutes at a time, so it won’t be as dangerous. 

I chose a scotch fillet steak with a bit of rib attached.  

Equipment 

• Frypan 

Ingredients 

• Steak 
• Salt 
• Fat — beef
• Avocado 

Instructions 

1. Dry brine the steak overnight. 
2. Heat the frypan to moderate heat and add a little beef fat. 
3. Cook the steak, turning it every 30 seconds. 
4. Cook until the meat is done to the desired internal temperature. 
5. Allow the steak to rest for at least five minutes. 
6. Serve with an avocado cheek.  
7. If you’re following a meat-only diet, just the meat will be more than sufficient to satisfy your hunger. You can pick up the steak and just bite into it. This minimises washing. 
8. If you’re low-carbohydrate eating, meat and some plant-based foods like avocado, leafy green leaves, olives, and tomatoes are a good combination. 
9. If you’re not concerned with carbohydrates, fill your boots. 
10. If you’re vegetarian or vegan, this steak won’t be suitable. 
11. Always give thanks to the Lord. 
12. Eat with whatever implements you prefer. 

Photographs

Thoughts on the meal 

It was nice having a pan-fried steak. Over the last five weeks, I’ve been enjoying thinly sliced scotch fillet steaks cooked in the air fryer. These steaks will continue to be my staple as I recover; tonight’s steak is a treat.

Final thoughts 

• Since adapting to a low carbohydrate diet, my mental acuity has improved. I’m looking forward to learning more from Georgia Ede’s book.
• As I rewatch episodes from DS9 and VOY, characters who I once didn’t like are growing on me. For example, Kira Nerys and Julian Bashir were characters who I found annoying on DS9. Neelix is still annoying on VOY, but not as much as in previous viewings.
• Have you had to wear a CAM boot? How did you feel about the experience?
• Flexing and extending ankles and toes. Do you know the difference?
• Star Trek aficionados will know the series, episode, and character who introduced Velcro to humankind.

Disclaimer and comments

This post and other posts on this blog are not medical or health advice. I’m sharing my personal experiences from my lived experience. My opinions remain mine. 

For health advice, see your regular medical practitioner. For diet advice, consult with appropriately registered professionals. 

References 

Ede, G. (2024). Change Your Diet, Change Your Mind: A Food-First Plan to Optimize Your Mental Health. Hodder & Stoughton.