Fact of the matter: Every morning when I get out of bed, my legs hurt.

The spot that has been on my leg for more than a year now has other spots to keep it company. Now I’m wearing leg braces to stop the spots from starting to bleed.

So after a night of sleeping in these leg braces, my legs are sore.

The good news is that for the past few days there have not been any new spots bleeding, and the older ones are finally healing. But until they heal completely, I will have to deal with pain.

Fortunately, my niece Rebecca has just finished getting her nursing degree, so she’s been coming by daily to change my bandage. She’s a lot better than my mother, who seems disgusted by the sores on my leg.

So as long as I do not scream (Rebecca says it would bother her if I screamed; I said I would not enjoy it much either), she will change my bandage every day until the wound actually stops bleeding.

And I have promised I will not scream no matter how much it hurt.

The first night after she wrapped my wound, my legs were tighter the next day. Good. The bandage must be working. Today, I’m actually behind my desk working, and boy do the bandages seem to be working now.

The pain will last only a little while, and then I will be healthy again, I keep telling myself. Of course, deep down I know that I am lying, but I can ignore that dishonesty to myself.

If these legs ever heal up completely, I need to start taking care of them seriously. I’ve learned that in this world we live in, not being able to walk is akin to not being able to breathe or eat.

Tomorrow, I’m supposed to go to another doctor’s to see if I have diabetes. My mother set this up when she decided that my problems with my wounds sound like diabetes. I doubt it, because diabetes is a serious condition and, frankly, I am not smart enough to handle that accidentally. But Ma set up the test, so I guess I should go through with it.

Today, I will be going to Easley so Rebecca can change my wound dressing again during her lunch. I cut up a lot, but I do appreciate the effort Rebecca is giving to help make me healthy again. Hope it works soon.