I went for that exam men of a certain age have to endure. The doc told me to bend over. I told him I'd rather do this lying on my side because I'm don't feel very stable in that position. He asked why, then looked down and proceeded to take a closer look, going "Ooh right! What happened there then!?"

And there I was with my pants down, being gawked at by a nosy urologist and having to explain myself. I don't know, it really made me feel miserable.

Ian Davis has spent 5 years designing his very impressive and totally cool body-powered hand prosthesis, and has turned it into a kit that can be manufactured for a reasonable cost for people with a similar amputation.

He's looking for candidates to try out his kits. If you'd like one and you think you fit the requirements, he has a few slots left.

This is 7 years old, but what a fabulous project!

Interesting account of what happens before amputation in the case of frostbite, why surgeons wait as long as possible to amputate and how they try to salvage as much limb as possible.

I finally have an appointment to get my problematic residual phalanges taken care of. The hospital created an account for me into their fancy-shmancy "My Recovery Path" online system, in which they told me I'd find messages about my care, imaging results, appointments and the likes.

So I logged in to check it out, and I found my first automated message in the inbox - a 5-page PDF that went something like this:

Welcome to your My Recovery Path account!

You've been referred to the Foot & Ankle team for RESIDUAL TOES REVISION. Before your first appointment for RESIDUAL TOES REVISION, here are helpful documents to help you deal with common toe problems.

• Best footwear for bunions
• Avoiding blisters on hammertoes
• How to care for diabetic toes
• Trimming ingrown toenails safely
• Reducing hallux rigidus pain
• ...

Like... Really?

Clearly the word "toe" in my referral triggered the sending of this boilerplate.

I realize whoever programmed this system means well, and the hospital means well too. And I can see this system is convenient as a one-stop shop to get information about my problem and communicate with the doctors. But the automatic "helpful" advice is a bit depressing...

Exoneo makes 2 prosthetic feet: the Mahi for moderate to high activity levels and the Upya for low activity.

Both have a spring block under the heel and spring-loaded "metatarsals", which helps push-off when walking:

https://youtu.be/YeZNaM0NaNc

You can even assemble and size them yourself:

https://youtu.be/XjdDyo69JJU

More interestingly, it seems the company has a lot of customers in developing countries, meaning there's a very good chance those feet are affordable. Sadly, I couldn't find prices and I didn't want to request a quote for nothing.

I did find an independent review of the Upya foot (in French here, automagic translation here, accompanying video here), so at least it's not like all the information I could find comes solely from the manufacturer.

The reviewer confirms that the foot was competitively priced: although he doesn't disclose how much he paid for his foot, he does say it's "a prowess considering the price at which it's sold". That bodes well.

It's that time of the year again.

It happens to me once or twice a year: all ten toes itch like a mofo. It comes at random, but usually around fall and spring. It might have something to do with large temperature changes, but no matter what I wear, I still haven't found out how to prevent it happening.

I've tried a massage, hot mud pads, cold gel pads, icy-hot balm, going to the sauna, painkillers (the non-addictive kind), and I'm nearing the bottom of this small bottle of bourbon because it's driving me insane.

If anybody has any suggestion, I'm all ears.

What a fabulous passive articulated foot!

It's very light - about half the weight of a real foot - and it looks easy and cheap to manufacture, so that everyone could afford one. In fact, it looks simple enough that most parts could be 3D-printed.

More information here: Introducing SoftFoot Pro: a cutting-edge motorless, flexible and waterproof artificial foot

From the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia in Genoa in collaboration with the Centro E. Piaggio of the University of Pisa.

Before I go see another doctor about this...

One of my residual phalanges has developed a small bone spur over the years, and another is too long - always has been - and hurts my skin from the inside.

I need to have the bone spur taken care of at some point, and I'd like to have the other residual phalange trimmed a quarter inch or so.

One doctor I saw about this a couple of years ago proposed full surgery, complete with general anaesthesia and more stitches than I really want, and I declined at the time because it seemed like a lot for so little.

My neighbor - who has all his limbs but is at the age when this sort of thing happens - had a bone spur on his heel taken care of, and he told me it was a simple, half-hour, local anaesthesia keyhole surgery with just one stitch and a week of easy recovery.

Does anybody know if that's also an option for small residual extremities bones and whether I should shop around to find a more competent surgeon?

A mosquito bit me smack on a stump, right in the middle of a scar, and the entire scar flared up overnight over half its length like I had a chemical burn or something. It happened last week and it's still red and inflamed.

This scar has been well healed 6 years ago and is normally invisible. The doc says wait and see, but it's mildly disturbing considering it was a single mosquito 7 days ago.

So beware y'all: your skin might look nice and healthy on your tender bits, but evidently it can still be weak and vulnerable.

Oh my!

I thought I had been spared phantom pain, but it looks like my luck has run out.

I've been having lower back pain for the past 3 months. nothing terrible, but constant and annoying enough that I finally booked a doctor's appointment for next week.

And today things took a turn for the worse: I was doing the groceries when electricity started shooting down my right leg all of the sudden. Clearly sciatica has just kicked in. And my missing limbs came back to life with a vengeance too. First time in 5 1/5 years!

Now I'm lying in bed. The pain in my leg had subsided, but the phantom pain hasn't 😢

It's quite unbearable. If anybody has good advice, I'm all ears.

My mom had sciatica for 9 months before she finally got back surgery 30 years ago. I remember she went through 9 months of hell - and she had all her limbs. If I'm looking at the same ordeal with phantom pains tacked on, I don't know if I'll be able to go through it... This truly scares me.

Hopefully a new class of drugs to tackle phantom pain is on the horizon.