This time next week...

Surgery day is getting closer. This time next week I'll have been realigned and reconstructed unless some little old lady's fractured hip bumps me down the list.

My foot has been becoming increasingly more painful so I'm glad I'm booked in. The surgeon believes it's going to be a mess in there since it's been three years of ongoing stress on the poor Perineus longus since the brevis got even more brevis.

I'm entering the swan stage - trying to look serene on the surface whilst paddling madly to get everything done before I become becalmed. I heard from someone who used an iWalk 2.0 post CO and really rated it. This is reassuring since all the testimonials seem to be fractures and Achilles' tendon repairs. He advised having a good try of it before surgery when you can't do too much damage. I have been - I tried stairs - easy going up but you have to be really careful of your foot going down. I also discovered that you can't really wear a skirt with the apparatus. Not that I was planning on it but I thought I'd have a play around today when I was and it was interesting.

My plans for the next three days leading into surgery week are prepare lots of meals that can be thrown in the slow cooker, get my blood tests done, attempt our driveway in the iWalk 2.0 with a supporter alongside.

I may also try out dog walking. I also need to get some knitting needles in case I decide to knit up some of the horde of wool I have collected.

All looks like a plan!

I has a pegleg

Today I received my iWalk 2.0 knee crutch all the way from the US. I waited for my other half to get home to assemble it because it works best with two.

So it sat taunting me until he had time to deal to it. Assembly was really straightforward. We didn't need the online videos but I had watched them previously. They were useful in advising about setting the height once you had conquered beginner mode.

Once it was all put together it was an awesome beast. It takes a bit of faith to trust it. The instruction manual had a few exercises to run through that helped to build confidence. Side bends and stretches - the physio has started already!

It's not a subtle device, that's for certain but if it gets me up and moving independently and let's me carry a cup of tea to my bed or the sofa then I'm sold.

What amazed me is the ease of using it.

Here is a demo!

Then within minutes it's adjusted to a higher and more comfortable height and we're off!

It's creeping up.

There are only eleven days until my surgery and I'm trying my hardest to get ready. So what have I done?

Bought sterigel for by the toilet

Ordered a iwalk 2.0 knee crutch.

Bought a selection of tie top bin bags for the time when I can shower. Also have small towels to go around the top to collect drips.

Currently planning a menu for three or four weeks or so so I don't have to cook. Of course before hand there will be much cooking & bagging but at least I won't be having to make choices from my bed. The family can just grab and cook or reheat.

Removed the nail polish on my toes and I've been spoiling them with lotion wraps to prevent them causing terror in the hearts of the doctors and nurses.

I've cleared the top of my drawers and bedside table to act as a medication repository.  I have also rearranged my drawers so that the wearable clothes are at the top where I can possibly sit on the bed but definitely balance on one foot to access.

I've got a positive backlog of books to read in my kindle and iBooks apps. It will be a lovely treat to not have to apologise for lying around reading.

I have replaced the battery in my MacBook Pro so that it can exist separate from its adapter again. I'll be able to do some writing , I hope.

I have also been exercising a lot. I want to not only go into the operation fit but to come out of it fit too. I've been seeing what exercises are conducive with an out of condition foot in case I am inspired to try to keep up my fitness.

I'm looking at bills coming up and trying to organise paying them before the operation.

So currently everything falls in two categories - BS & AS. Not a lot is appearing on AS list.

20 days of walking left

They say forewarned is forearmed but it is also a bit unsettling. I've been reading lots of blogs to try and get a consensus overview. That consensus is that I'm going to hurt.

An interesting common denominator is everyone's desire to cut out their meds ASAP. As someone who has cared for many women post-caesarean I have seen the difference in healing between the 'stoic' ones and the 'use any tool available' ones. Uncontrolled pain hampers wound healing research has found so I plan to pop as many pills as necessary. I have had good success tritrating off pain relief in the past so I'm prepared to risk it. Of course this may mean my entire blog just becomes a babble. I also have a high level of pain tolerance so I'm hoping that will result in feeling like my foot is being fried slowing in a cast iron pan rather than flailed constantly with a thorn edged whip.

I am grateful for the fact that a two day inpatient stay is standard. I can take advantage of the pain team to set me up with the best regime for me before trying to cope at home. Hurray for our tax dollars at work.

The background to my story

Since I'm just waiting for my operation so I can blog properly I thought I may as well write about how I got to this point.

I am properly manufactured! - I have dodgy hip joints, high arches and hyper mobile joints. This has meant a lot of trips and falls during my life but surprisingly few bouts of real damage to my ankles. I tend to stand on the outside edges of my feet when relaxed. Creepy to look at but I don't notice.

Despite having the worse possible body for a runner I started running marathons and got a kick out of completing them - especially if there was a t-shirt involved. I always had sore hips and spent a lot of time visiting physios. I was convinced that my hips were not right because they'd feel like they were clicking out if I made a drastic change of direction but everyone would just pat my hand and tell me not to be silly.

In 2010 I was training for a marathon and I stepped off a curb and something went click. It was painful for a little while but I presumed that it would come right. It didn't and after a lot of to and fro and an CT scan it was confirmed that I had split my Perineus brevis and possibly longus. I was set to get it fixed but with one thing and another didn't. It actually seemed to improve somewhat with time or so I told myself.

In 2012 my hip was getting so sore compensating for my weird gait so I demanded an X-ray. The sports doc agreed and low and behold it was discovered that I had very shallow hip joints. I was already developing arthritis! So I had a total hip replacement and now it's like I'm Wonder Woman. No hip pain.

So I was behaving like a normal person until August last year. I was walking my dog and slipped on a rock into a hole. I felt the familiar pain in my ankle. I tried physio but after a couple of months and being made to balance on a wobble board I pulled the plug. I got a referral from my GP to the orthopedic clinic at my local hospital. It was a long wait! 

When I was finally seen I had an X-ray that wasn't conclusive so I was sent for an MRI. Another appointment was made to discuss the results. There were split tendons looking messy and arthritic changes in the ankle bone. The next step was to have a steroid injection in the joint to see if that helped. No, it did not!

I had to wait six weeks after the jab to report back but finally the day rolled around. I was disappointed having to report the failure of the jab but the Orthopod was pleased. It showed it wasn't arthritis causing the pain it was the tendons most probably. 

I was given two options. Have surgery to stitch the remains of one tendon (the brevis, I think) to the other or have my ankle fused and the tendon fixed. Since the pain wasn't likely to be caused by the changes in the ankle I thought it silly to reduce my range of movement unnecessarily, time enough for that later.

So I was put forward for surgery. I got a call on Monday this week to see if I could come in on Tuesday for my pre-op. Darn right I could. I saw an anaesthetist first and had a long discussion about anaesthesia since I have a problem with the muscles in my throat due to multiple sclerosis. I have had spinals in the past because of this so I was keen to go that route if possible. It basically came down to "We'll see" which I'll take as a no even though it's been consultants in the past who have said I shouldn't have a GA.

Next was the orthopedic consultant. I found out the date for my surgery there so that was useful. She once again made me stand up facing away from her and then had me stand on my right foot - instant wobbles. Once I'd sat down she said that when she feels the joint it feels stable but when I stand on it it obviously isn't and I lean laterally. She said she also wanted to do some work on my heel bone. Nothing major, just chop it in half, slide the outside edge over and whack in a couple of giant screws. She said it would just be keyhole surgery for that so it should be interesting. The other procedure won't be. She also asked me if my tight calves bothered me but you can't catch me that easily. I said no because I'm not keen on a tendon release right now.

The final person I saw was a medical officer who basically said you will have lots of pain and swelling for a really long time. Such a cheerful soul.

So that brings us to this point - me twiddling my fingers and waiting for the big day while surfing the inter webs for other fellow sufferers.

23 days until surgery

This is my first entry in my blog following my experience of having a calcaneal osteotomy and tendon restructure on my right leg. Aren't you excited!

My surgery is booked for the 3rd of July and for someone living in New Zealand that is pretty near perfect time. It's during winter so the beautiful weather won't be mocking me and I can wear track pants without shame. It's also nearly the school holidays so I won't have to figure out how to get my son to school for two and a half weeks since I'll be in hospital for the last two days of term and the following two weeks are the winter holidays.

I've been doing the usual blog surfing trying to establish what it will be like post-surgery. I'm thinking painful. The medical officer who gave me the documents and lab forms for my operation told me in no uncertain terms that my hip replacement for poor manufacture was a walk in the park compared to this surgery. He gleefully told me that his mother had had a similar surgery last year and was just starting to come right six months later.

My plan is to research and organise and record what I'm doing pre-op here. I'll pop in links to useful sites and bits and pieces about ideas and equipment that might help me. Then of course once I've had the operation I'll totally slag off my idealism and say I should have just bought lots of XL track pants and three months supply of chocolate because I'm going to become one with the bed.

So at this point when everything is sparkly and exciting rather than terrifying what are my worries?

• Who is going to walk my dog? I have plenty of able bodied souls but it can be like trying to use an XBox one to turn the TV on convincing them to actually do it. You know "XBox, turn on TV" said in normal voice. ""XBox, turn on TV" said in deeper voice, "XBox, turn on TV" said in creepy old man voice, "XBox, turn on TV" screamed at Xbox at the top of your lungs. It usually results in you saying I'll just do it myself but that is unlikely to be feasible with the dog.

•  How am I going to cope with my coffee and tea addict? No jumping up and grabbing a cup when I want one.
• There are stairs into the house, there are stairs between levels of the house. Am I going to have to make a choice about where I set up camp and remain there for my whole bed bound period.
• How am I going to move around? The doctors suggested a knee scooter
  
  . I don't think it would be practical in our house, I'd never be able to get it out of the house - remember those stairs! Once they're vanquished I either manhandle it into the car or climb a driveway that challenges many people with its steepness. 
  
  
  I'm wondering about the iwalk 2.0 - a knee crutch so your hands are free. Of course I'm probably unlikely to even want to move at all and my trusty elbow crutches will be sufficient to transport me from bed to bathroom and back.

I guess I'll just have to cogitate for a bit and then decide what to do. Hiring isn't cheap and I don't want to be throwing away money on something that becomes a glorified clothes rack.