I am an Old Black Man...

So the last couple of days I have been laid up with what my friend Carla calls one of the “Old black man’s Diseases”, I am suffering from “The Gout”.

Now let me state I don’t know why there is a “the” in front of Gout but black folks been referring to it like that for generations. When I called my Grandmother and told her I was suffering once before she kept using “the” in front of it.

“The Gout” is a form of arthritis or as my great grandmother use to call it, Arthur.

“Gout is characterized by excruciating, sudden, unexpected, burning pain, as well as swelling, redness, warmth, and stiffness in the affected joint. This occurs commonly in men in their toes but can appear in other parts of the body and affects women as well. Low-grade fever may also be present. The patient usually suffers from two sources of pain. The crystals inside the joint cause intense pain whenever the affected area is moved. The inflammation of the tissues around the joint also causes the skin to be swollen, tender and sore if it is even slightly touched. For example, a blanket or even the lightest sheet draping over the affected area could cause extreme pain.

Gout usually attacks the big toe (approximately 75 percent of first attacks); however, it also can affect other joints such as the ankle, heel, instep, knee, wrist, elbow, fingers, and spine. In some cases, the condition may appear in the joints of small toes that have become immobile due to impact injury earlier in life, causing poor blood circulation that leads to gout.”

Now having a size 15 foot I know it is hard to imagine what that foot might look like swollen, let me just say, it ain’t pretty. Luckily it’s not the whole foot just my big toe from the nail to the toe “knuckle”. All I know is walking is painful and I have not had a sexy thought for the last two days.

Pray for me America…….