First Aid Lessons

Fact: I did not wear new/stylish/uncomfortable/silly shoes.

Saturday night after returning from Poland, I went into London to meet some friends from the US that have been visiting the UK. In the course of our evening, we walked from Victoria Station to Trafalgar Square and back. It was a really nice evening . . . perfect temperature - it was actually warm!!, sunny skies, good company.

However, by the time I took the train back to my place and walked from the train station to the flat, I had a quarter-sized blister on the ball of each foot. Ouch!! Sunday, I couldn't walk at all. I have slowly healed and I can almost walk normally now. Tomorrow morning will be the true test when I try to walk to work again - the kind, sweet friend who has been giving me a lift to work will be out so I'm going to brave it.

Now, I want to point out that I was wearing sensible shoes that I wore all over Prague - on cobblestones - and never had a problem. I keep getting the "girls and their silly shoes" comment and eye-roll from the men in my office. I really wasn't trying to be stupid - it just happened. Sigh . . .

So, here are the first aid lessons that I have learned as a result of my injury.

• It really, really stinks not to have a 24-hour Walmart that you can drive to so that you can buy first aid supplies when you need them.
• Rubbing alcohol is only available in the UK with a doctor's prescription.
• I'm pretty sure that hydrogen peroxide doesn't exist here.
• Now that I was out of options, salt it was. It HURTS!!
• Band-aids are called plasters.
• There are amazing things called blister plasters, specifically for blisters - I'm a fan.
• Never, ever let your first aid kit get depleted.

So there you have it . . . please learn your lesson from my mistakes - don't get the blisters and if you ever come to England bring your own hydrogen peroxide.