Toe Injury - one year on.

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In my story of my epic 'Climbing Mt.Kinabalu - The Return' I wrote about my worst climbing experience to date - toe injury.  It was excruciatingly painful that pain was part of me during the descent.  My toes were numb and felt like it wasn't there.  But slowly as the adrenaline subsided, reality and senses came back.  I could feel my toes again.  What looked to be 'bad' was in fact a relief.  My toe-nail 'died' and for one week serum and blood clot accumulated underneath the dead toe-nail.  There was not a sensation of pain at all.  For a few days I 'squeezed' the fluid out to drain it. In about two weeks, I pulled out the nail without any difficulty.  I've never ever seen what is underneath a nail - now I do. 

How my toe-nails were damaged (in my case) was because of a wrong choice, or I would say 'wrong style' of footwear.  My boot was no doubt right for the climb, but this boot had a "hardened toe-cap." Like a construction worker's 'steel toe-cap' safety boot - but mine had nothing in it.  It is just 'hard'.  So descending from the summit was horrendous! It was hard on my toes and especially my toe-nails. My nails was not long, it's just that toe-cap was pounding it that makes it painful. By the time I reached Laban Rata, my toes were sore and numb.  All was fine until I kicked a rock and that was the start of my nightmare! And that was just the start of my descent.  It will be a long, hard and painful journey down. Every stone I kicked, was like a sledgehammer hit to the toes.    

The condition of my toe-nails mid-May (bottom) and mid June (top) 2016.
Note that the thin layer of tissue is starting to grow. 

Another thing I found out that the 'nail' from the skin layer 'up and outward' and not from the 'back and outward'.  You can see this in the first video clip.  The part where the nail was, that is the tissue that is already there, will grow into the new toe-nail.  I don't know whether this is correct medically speaking (I'm not a doctor) but that's just my observation from this experience. 

Toe condition from mid June (bottom) to end of June (top) where the right toe-nail

came off.  Now the 'left' toe-nail is starting to grow outwards and thicker.

Now that my toe-nails have grown..happy?? No, unfortunately. My left toe was always a little different from the right toe.  The 'right side' of my left toe-nail curves underneath and a little deeper than normal. Most nails sit on top and curve very little, downwards.  So what do you have?  I have an ingrown toe-nail right from the start. It has already been since January this problem started to be a problem.  Now it is May.  I had to wear footwear that has a bit of 'space' so as to not touch the front part of my affected toe, otherwise it would be rather painful - and sometimes, an awful lot of pain.  I can't run.  Definitely not kick - but painstakingly walk normally.  As of now, I don't know what to do except pray nothing bad would happen.  I would only try to cut that piece of nail off slowly to ease the pressure on that area.    

One year on, this is the difference! Exactly 365 days from the climb.

And so, I have waited for another month to attempt my own 'surgery' to finally remove the protruding part that was the "thorn in my flesh" by force.  Well not so easy and unheroic but quite daily I had to thin and scrape my nail so that it is thin enough to be bent, or pulled and break off.  It took me a while to get under the nail so that I could lift it, weaken it and break it off.  Just a little blood...it was worth it! 

It is July 2017.  See the 'red' fleshy part.  The problem part extended 'down' and
'forward' into the flesh.  Now that it is free, I hope the nail will grow
forward and over the flesh.

Fast forward May 2019

I was helping my mom clear some space so my brother and I were carrying an old kitchen stove.  The whole stove was rather bulky so carrying it was a bit awkward sometimes.  This time, kicked the stove with my left (injured) toe and the toe-nail was cracked! 

See where the 'dotted line' is? That was where the nail was!  But believe me, there was no pain.  I didn't even know that I cracked it - all I felt was a dull thud on my toe, until I looked at my foot.  I just pulled the nail off and applied a dab of iodine or yellow antiseptic solution on it.  Yep!! And now my friends from Melbourne wants to climb Mt. Kinabalu next year. Guess I'd better fix this before then eh!?