Well it finally happened. After 35 years of never breaking any bones I finally did today. I broke the fourth metatarsal bone in my left foot when I fell into a hole while gardening. A hole I had requested my lovely boyfriend to dig for me just days earlier. Silly me.

I remember a blinding flash of light in my brain when it happened, and I just knew I had fractured something. Until now the worst things I’ve ever really had are a sprained ankle or thumb and various concussions.

There’s no cast, because the doctor at the hospital said that the bone is aligned properly and broken feet swell too much. I am on crutches though, which seemed kind of fun at first until I tried doing my farm chores. You can’t actually carry anything very well while on crutches. Just doing a few simple things is totally exhausting. I can make do outside with a lot of effort and bit of spillage, but how am I supposed to carry things like plates of food or glasses full of liquid while inside? I’m not really sure.

Luckily I know my wonderful boyfriend will help me out as much as he can, but he also lives a two-hour ferry ride away. It will be very interesting to see how well I’ll be able to cope by myself in his absence. I’m very grateful that it was my left foot and not my right, so I can still drive myself around.

This was also a fantastic opportunity to try “knitbone”, another name for the comfrey plant. Comfrey contains something called allantoin, which is a cell proliferative. That means it makes cells regenerate faster. Good thing I have my own little patch beside the chicken coop! I hobbled down and got myself a nice big fresh leaf, minced it very finely and applied it as a poultice to the affected area. It has a nice cooling sensation and a little bit of a stinging feeling. I hope it helps me heal faster.