Warts

Savannah:  This is one chapter in my life that I would rather not remember. If I could, I would tear this moment out of my book called life and rebind it into another, smaller book. Then put it on a shelf, inside a safe, inside a crate, inside another safe, dumped in the middle of the ocean. It might survive, thanks to the safes, but I would make sure that there were holes in it so that the water could make the words I am about to write float off the pages, and never be read by anyone. Ever. When I think about what I am about to write, it makes my skin crawl. Literally. 

        I’m not sure where I got it, but one day I looked at my right foot, and saw a lump. Not a big one, but big enough that I questioned weather it was a callus or something much worse. Until that moment when my dear mother diagnosed me, I had lived in a world of cupcakes and rainbows. This is word for word, because the moment my mother told me what was on my foot, there was a rainbow right outside the window (I think, but I can’t remember). 

        After that day, no matter what temperature it was, I had to wear a sock on my right foot. Even in the shower, I couldn't let my feet touch the floor. It was some of the most stressful months of my life. From June, right after I turned 12, until right before my birthday in June, the next year..

        We went to Paris for Christmas, and I remember laying in bed, feeling my foot beneath the sock I was wearing. Then I turned on a light and saw that my one wart had had children. It sent out baby warts all over my foot, even underneath my toes. The farthest one I remember, was two or three inches below my big toe.

That was one of the most terrible days of my life.  All this time, we used some over the counter wart treatment that the embassy nurse suggested to "burn" them off.  But here we were months later, with many more warts.  So we finally went to a dermatologist that lazered them so the roots would die.  They were definitely connected, so that helped them.  It didn’t feel like butterfly kisses, but it was definitely not the most pain I have had in my life. After 3 weeks or so, we could finally see them start to shrink, and after a few months they were practically gone.  We went one more time to the doctor before we moved out of Latvia to make sure there were no warts lingering.  All and all, I think that I am better off knowing about and having this experience. Thank you world.