I Broke My Foot On Vacation - How Pain, Sprain, & Bruise Salve Was Born (and how you can buy it)
- Kelly Schoger
- Jul 23, 2020
- 4 min read
Updated: Aug 5, 2020
tl;dr: Breaking my foot on vacation turned out to be a blessing in disguise and I developed a kick-ass product because of it. BUY HERE: www.apothekellywellness.com/shop
Back in 2017, I broke my foot on the first day of our Hawaiian vacation. I caught my pinky toe on my funky door jamb at the end of the day and cracked a metatarsal bone on my right foot….did I mention it was the first day of vacation?
While moaning and rolling around on the floor, I immediately started to come up with some sort of healing plan because I WAS NOT GOING TO LET THIS RUIN MY VACATION, damnit! We live in the mountains where it is cold. I was finally somewhere WARM and couldn’t let a broken foot stop me from being out. in. that. warm. So here’s the plan that I came up with (that worked!):
1) Keep a positive attitude – I repeated phrases like “this will heal quickly”, “it’s not that bad”, “I won’t let stop us from having a great time!” "THIS WILL NOT RUIN OUR VACATION IN THE WARM SUN!"…you get the idea. Even though I maybe didn’t fully believe it, I said it anyway. Scientists are finding that people with a positive attitude heal faster because of the mind’s power over the immune system. With that being said, I did NOT let myself get down about my foot and it did just kind of lead to #2.
2) Slow down and take care of the whole self. Physical, mental, emotional, spiritual – In the past, I haven’t given my injuries time to heal or rehabbed them appropriately or even taken the time to process them. This time was different. I meditated and journaled daily. I made sure to STAY OFF OF IT as much as possible (no hiking, limited barefoot walking), elevate, soak in epsom salt, and ice multiple times a day. I also increased my water intake and I made sure to stay away from sugar or other inflammatory foods, no alcohol (I quit drinking the year before anyway). Lots of greens, collagen, lean proteins and healthy fats were on the menu also.
3) What herbs or essential oils can I use to help support this healing? I reached out to my good friend back in Colorado who is an herbalist and asked her what she would do. Arnica. Topically, orally, however I could find it – it helps alleviate pain and actually supports bone healing… And by the grace of God, I just happened to have a sample of Arnica & St. John’s Wort salve from a sample I had picked up a few years back and stuck it in my travel bag. Truth, I had no idea what it was when I picked it up, I just like free samples that I typically never use. Turns out this one would change my life.
Within a week I was walking normally (walking in sand still aggravated it) but was able to gingerly run again just once, just to see if I could. Yes, this was me taking it easy. It didn’t hurt that bad.
Vacation not ruined.
When I got home I started experimenting with making my own salve. ‘Cause that’s just what I do, that’s how my lip balm was born also, but that's a story for another time…
So I learned all about arnica (a pretty little seemingly magical flower related to the sunflower) and learned how to make my own arnica oil. I also knew that CBD was an analgesic (pain reliever) and helped reduce inflammation, and is basically good for everything so I knew I wanted to include that. I also researched a few of the best essential oils to support healing….and my Pain, Sprain, & Bruise healing salve was born.
Not gonna lie, sometimes I wish I could dip my ENTIRE body it in. #Homesteading is hard, y’all!
I shipped it out to my testers, gifted it to friends and family, and waited for the response. Here is a little feedback I received:
“Kelly, this stuff is like magic! I use it on everything that hurts.”
“HOLY CRAP, this works quick!”
“MOM! WHERE’S YOUR SALVE??!!?” (daily #boymom)
“Don’t tell anyone, but I used it on my hemorrhoids and they disappeared!”
“It works great on my sunburn”
“My son is autistic and gets really bad rashes, this is the ONLY product I have ever tried that has healed them.”
“This is the only thing I have found that helps my painful joints and muscles from my cancer.”
“This is the BEST product I have ever used, so much better than the expensive stuff I have been buying.” (Marine Corp Marathon runner after spraining his ankle 3 days before the race.)
“My Dr. wanted me to have surgery on these varicose veins that I have had for the past 50 years. I don’t want to have surgery so I started using your stuff on it just to see if it would do anything. I swear they are shrinking (and I’m not having surgery).”
“Ben (7th grade) was blocking an 8th grader that was 6’4, 250 and got clobbered, I put your stuff on it and he said it doesn’t even hurt. You can tell where I put it because you can see the lack of bruising there.”
It goes on and on and on….I love how much this has helped others from little kid bumps and bruises to student-athletes sprained ankles, to an adult fractured wrists and degenerative disc disease, this salve has supported a lot of issues & injuries.
Pain, Sprain, & Bruise is a product that everyone (especially with kids, especially with BOYS) should have in their medicine cabinet, first aid kit, and purse.
Pain, Sprain, & Bruise comes in 1 & 2 oz. sizes and you can find out more or buy it here: www.apothekellywellness.com/shop
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