My Left Foot

I usually ride in the LaCrosse Hawthorne paddock boots I bought for $30 three years ago -- one of my best shoe purchases to date (and there have been many) . They are light and comfortable, but the sole is rigid enough to make good contact with the stirrups. When I was escorting Raven home the other day something (living or otherwise) in the left boot pricked the ball of my foot, just to the inside of my big toe. It hurt for the rest of the walk, but all I could see under closer inspection was a tiny black dot. Over the past two days the area around this dot has started to throb, and any pressure on the ball of the foot can lead to jolts of pain that leaves me feeling nauseous. Tomorrow I will try to explain this phenomenon to one of the doctors at the university medical clinic, but I have a hard time believing that they will take me seriously.