Toe Infection

🦶🏻
I had an infection in my toe.
I’ve been watching it for over a month.
At first it was just slightly painful. An ingrown toenail starting to happen.
Maybe it will work itself out, I thought.

I applied Neosporin and bandaids.
I soaked it in epsom salt.
Doused it in tea tree oil. The high-quality kind.
Waited for the nail to grow.
I even drained it a couple of times.

It seemed to be headed in the right direction. It wasn’t painful unless it got hit right at the top of my toe.
Then something happened. 
It’s like the infection exploded in my big toe.
I could barely sleep and scheduled an appointment with a podiatrist.

She prescribed an antibiotic and offered two options.
Cut out the side of the offending toenail, wait a week for the antibiotic to run its course, then come back for a chemical to be placed in the space of the toenail. The chemical didn’t work with the antibiotic.
This would require two shots in my toe. One now and one in a week.

I opted to take the antibiotic and come back in eight days for the shot, the toenail removal and the chemical all at once.

It all sounds awful to me.
She offered to relieve some of my pain during that first appointment by clipping away a part of my toenail that was pressing into my skin.
I said yes.
It hurt like crazy.

I walked out to schedule my next visit (shot + cutting + chemical) and surprisingly, I was already feeling some relief in that toe.

But I had to experience some pain to get to the relief.

That’s exactly the same as processing a painful emotion.
Grief. Anxiety. Anger. Inadequacy. Self-doubt. Overwhelm. Mom-guilt. The stress of needing to be in control.
They’re painful. Having a coach help you process them can be painful.
And then comes the relief.
The release of pressure.
The easing off of what you’re trying to resist and push against.

I felt a little better approximately 60 seconds after the doctor clipped that thing.
She provided some relief.

In our business mission statement we have three things we value. One is that we are relief-givers.
I help women feel relief from the pain of their uncomfortable emotions.
You don’t have to keep walking on that infected toe, sis. There is help.✊🏻💙