Tuesday 21st January

Support hose, surgical stocking, compression garment.

None of these titles convey anything but ‘old granny’, ‘saggy baggy’, ‘creased and crumpled’, ladies with fat ankles ~ ‘cankles’

Today is the day I’ve been dreading.

My new ‘American Tan’ stocking was pulled and stretched onto my left leg by the lymphoedema nurse, wearing a pair of blue washing-up gloves! She said these were good to get to grips with the tight fabric, in order to clothe my leg in this ghastly, knitted, tight, mud-coloured tube.

I’m not usually one for negativity, moaning, whining or crying, but the sight of my left leg, covered from toe to crotch in this horrendous material did make me sob.

Yes, I am vain, I admit it. I want to wear skirts and sandals in the spring; I like shorts and flip-flops in the summer; bare legs!

Well. I’ll just have to grin and bare it (ha ha!!). I’ll put up with this compression garment for a few months, and who knows, maybe the lymphatic fluid will be encouraged to drain away, up my leg, and find other lymph nodes and channels in which to disperse. I do hope so.