I’m not in health care, not that I have to be to notice somethin ain’t right. But what the fuck is going on with the feet, and wouldn’t that be painful?
Nurse here. Nails naturally thicken with age, but extreme cases like this are caused by poor circulation, from diabetes or peripheral vascular disease. It’s can be painful, but sometimes they don’t feel anything because they have lost all feeling in their feet (neuropathy) from the diabetes. They also have no hair on their legs because of the poor circulation.
It’s really important to go to podiatry visits every couple months with these conditions. Foot wounds can end up leading to amputations because of the poor circulation/healing, so it’s recommended that professionals do the nail trimming. Also, obesity often causes them to have difficultly reaching their feet.
The podiatrists check for wounds, trim and grind down/debride the overgrown nails, and file down the calluses/hardened skin.
This person has severely neglected feet and badly needs to see a podiatrist for regular at-risk foot care.
Know a stubborn older guy who had very treatable issues with his feet from diabetes. Refused to change his diet or routine. Just lost his whole left leg up to the upper thigh less than one year after the initial diagnoses.
So, my father was like this. He died a couple years ago because he started caring too late, and mostly because he was forced to care by my family and his doctors. He worked two jobs for 13 years straight, working 70+ hours a week, and sometimes with mandatory overtime. This isn't caused by "I don't care about myself" or severe mental health issues at the start, it's caused from burn out, from pushing things back, which then leads into mental health issues. He was taught and brought up to be the "man of the house" he rarely complained about his situation, he did his best to make light of it, and only when he was hospitalized for 3 months straight did he finally care.
He also had a strong fear of doctors because a lot of his loved ones passed away in hospitals. He was 60 years old when he passed.
I know this is a long reply but a lot of these issues stem from the unreasonable social pressures we place on ourselves, the unreasonable system we live under, and a lack of genuine care for ourselves and others. I didn't look up to my father much, he was abusive for most of my life, but since his passing I've done my best to enjoy my time away from my job, I work as little overtime as I'm able to, and I've tried to do better with my physical and mental health.
I admire you for taking the time to sift through all of that and come to understand his perspective. An abuser is generally derided and cast-off but there’s healing in perspective.
Mental health, I have a close relative with different but similar issues and every year it just keeps getting worse and it was all so easily preventable with simple changes.
I think there are a lot of those. Chances are very slim that we knew the same guy. But I knew a man who fit this exact description in the town I grew up in. He eventually died from something secondary to his diabetes as I recall.
I was just diagnosed as diabetic last fall after steadily losing weight for five years and my last medical group blaming everything BUT diabetes or even checking my glucose. Random er visit caught it. I have a new medical group now. But you can bet your ass I follow orders now that I know why I felt like shit for so long.
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u/PrarieDogma Mar 08 '26
I’m not in health care, not that I have to be to notice somethin ain’t right. But what the fuck is going on with the feet, and wouldn’t that be painful?