Orthopod appointment lined up!

I was really surprised to get an email offering me an appointment in 11 days! Perfect! I work odd hours and six days on three days off so getting an appointment on a day off was almost a miracle!

I have been wondering whether a steroid injection would bring some relief? I have had one before in the same area. So painful compared to the ones just into tendon and muscle. It felt like someone was shoving a red hot screwdriver in between the bones. If it works then I can pull up my big girl pants and have one but I know it would only be temporary.

The surgeon is very forthright so I’m going to have to keep my head clear and not be bulldozed into doing something I don’t want. Hopefully I can take a support person with me.

I’ve made it 4 years, 7 months and 4 days.

I’ve made it over four and a half years post calcaneal osteotomy. Four years were pain free but the arthritis started to win the battle. I’ve tried to brave it out because I don’t want to give up my ability to run. I was told when I had it performed that eventually I would need an ankle fusion.

I’m at that point, in fact way past that point but I don’t want to go down that track. For me the pros are far out weighed by the cons.

Ankle fusion or arthrodesis involves cleaning up the ankle joint and fusing the bones together with screws, plates and bone grafts. Sounds easy enough?

New York Marathon 2018

• Well, it means limited range of movement - I have two flash hip joint prosthesises so I can run so they’d be wasted.
• It can change how you walk which can lead to, you guessed painful arthritis in other parts of your ankles, knees and feet! 
• Recovery can involve 10-12 weeks in a cast. Mines my right side and we drive on the left hand side of the road so my right foot is responsible for the foot controls. Therefore no driving. I work odd hours and can’t take public transport so no work or pay for 3 months.

This is the only likely option if I use our public health system, as I did with the original surgery.

My surgeon also works in private so that gives me more options. She does ankle replacements. 

• It has a shorter recovery period - 3-6 weeks in a cast.
• You regain a wider range of motion. Apparently most people return to active lifestyles but that would depend on your definition of active lifestyle.
• Return to impact sport is rarely possible.
• Need to have little or no ankle deformity - who knows if the CO has made it so!

So this is better than fusion but still unlikely to let me run unless the surgeon is brave. I’m waiting to get an appointment. If I went down this road I’d want a mobile bearing replacement rather than fixed. I don’t even know if that’s an option in New Zealand.

So what do I want? At the moment, a sharp knife and a ton of local anathestic! It is the most pain I have experienced in my life and I have experienced some high level pain. I also have a very high pain tolerance level. Right now nothing even reduces the pain to tolerable. I am taking Naproxen, paracetamol and lots of tramadol and it’s like I’m eating lollies. I can barely walk. The lowest levels of pain occur when I’m wearing the steel cap boots I have to wear to work because it’s really rigid support. Still painful but at least I can carry out my job.

It is actually something I am considering (not the DIY method!) but seeing where non-traumatic amputation for severe osteoporosis-arthritis falls on the scheme of things. I have friends who are amputees so I know all about stump issues and prosthesis fittings being hit and miss but the pain is really driving me mad and not being able to run after all I’ve been through to guarantee I can continue to run after two hip replacements is making me want to scream “Chop it off and just shove a blade on it!” Plus there’s the whole leg length issue. I was lopsided when I only had one hip replacement and that caused back and hip pain until I was straightened out with the second one. I don’t want to go down that path again.

So I wait to see when I get an appointment - how much longer I have to suffer in pain. Then I will ask for ALL the possible options and see where that leaves me.

Improving every day

I'm in that golden period now where the swelling as stopped, the sharp twinges have petered out and life is returning to normal. I still get a searing hot pain in the side of my foot around 9 or 10 at night and I end up balancing on the other leg to relieve it. It usually happens when I'm cleaning my teeth! It is totally unrelated to how much I've pushed my foot that day. All day on my feet or feet up most of the day - no difference.

Returning to running is going really well. Yesterday I went than Achilles New Zealand training session and had an excellent fartlek session. I had gone in planning on walking and ended up running. It was the start of my journey to the New York Marathon 2015. I'm really going to try out the handling of my new foot.

I'm still trying remember to massage the scars as much as possible but they don't seem to cause any problems in shoes, which is what I was concerned about. 

They're still pink but are quite unobtrusive and definitely not worthy of gross out status. No one runs screaming when I reveal my naked foot.

Time seems to have both flown and dragged. I'm surprised at the speed of recovery but I'm also surprised that the six month mark is still so far out. It seems so long ago I was hobbling around in my shiny pink cast.

Four months post op

Well, it has been a while! Up until recently I wasn't sure how it was all going but now things seem to be going really well.

I've been having physio with all sorts of interesting exercises - picking up marbles with my toes, pressing a ball against the wall with the side of my foot, balancing on one leg on a towel - tricky!, bent knee calf raises and subtle movements with a stretchy band. At first my foot was not happy but it is starting to relent. I no longer need the bed cradle to keep the sheets off my foot. I wear an ankle support when I need to be on my feet for a while or put them under pressure. Finally the swelling has subsided and the cankles are gone - most of the time. I was on my feet for over five hours cheering on all the entrants in the Auckland Marathon on Sunday and it was a bit puffy at the end of the day.

But my piece de resistance is I am starting run again pain-free. It's really baby steps. I'm doing something very like the couch potato to 5k program. I'm running all of three minutes in one go but repeated and it is actually more comfortable than walking. The reason I am doing this is I may have the opportunity to run the New York marathon next year and I want to be ready. I definitely wouldn't be running it in its entirety but I'd like to be able to run walk and feel fit enough to finish.

My bicycling has had the benefit of not only building my scrawny calf back up again and helping the ankle to be more mobile but also building up my leg strength. I'm really glad that I had it there to help me. It was certainly a sanity saver when i could barely hobble around post cast removal. 

The scar under my heel where the screws went in is barely noticeable. The one up my leg is quite smooth and causes no problems. The one along the side of my foot still causes me some annoyance. It's rough and tight and can feel like it's on fire at the end of the day. I'm rubbing it with balm in the evenings to try and help break up the scar tissue and give some relief. It is soooo painful to rub. When the physio does it I am nearly in tears. Fortunately it doesn't seem to rub in shoes or anything so it is really mainly about aesthetics - it is ugly. I look like someone hacked at me with a blunt knife. 

So am I pleased I had the surgery? I think so. Occasionally my arch complains about being in its new position but nothing major. My foot looks better and I've got used to seeing it as a new streamlined version. The screws have caused no problems after the initial discomfort. I don't have the ongoing pain from the torn ligament and I can feel that once my heel settles down I'm likely to be pain free. Hopefully the realignment of my heel will stop me from being a so much risk for the inversion injuries. So yes, I am pleased!

Three months post op

The three month mark is nearly here. Tomorrow I have a check up with the orthopedic doctors. Hopefully they'll be happy.

My foot still swells if I even think about walking but not to the bursting point any more. I have pretty much ditched the moon boot apart from longer distances. While it definitely stops any pain in my heel while walking it is doing back things to my knee. I think the lack of ankle flexion means that sometimes my knee is forced to try and bend the wrong way and the knee cap protests.

I have had one Physio appointment which we both thought was a waste of time. She had instructions to not touch! She was only allowed to give me stretches. Considering that it was 11 weeks after the op and I'd been on my own until that was pretty redundant, I had already been doing them on my own. Tomorrow I am charged with begging them to let her touch my foot.

The ankle is almost fused. There's very little movement through it and I can barely point my toes. It's calling out for a bit of manipulation! I still feel like I have a bad case of plantar fasciitis with pain focussed on my heel. What I discovered the other day is it hurts just as much when I run as when I walk so I'm hoping that I'll be moving faster sooner rather than later. The idea of 'some patients are able to resume running after 9 months' is not a cheery one. Particularly since the ligament repair is causing no pain, it is only the "bonus" surgery on my heel that is causing any ill effects.

So hopefully tomorrow I'll get a new set of instructions and have some idea of where I am on the continuum of healing. Watch this space!

Three weeks of a naked foot

I am now using the moonboot much less frequently. If there is a lot of walking involved it is a good idea to plonk it on. I also revert to crutches when things get too painful.

I'm walking a lot, not huge distances, my longest so far would be 3km with 2.5 the average. I've been spending a good amount of time on the stationary bike and it has paid off. My calf is now once again the same size as my left one. 

I even have a bit of definition back.

Pain wise it is my heel that is the main cause. It still feels like someone cut the bone in half and shifted it sideways. Going down stairs can still result in a big jolt of pain. I rarely take anything for the pain because it's tolerable. My toes are a bit of a sorry state. The second toe has gone crazy and won't bend. That means the others can't really either. Pointing my toes results in a pulling sensation along the side of my foot, pretty much the same as the pain I had prior to surgery. I don't know if this is ok or not.

Next week I have a physio assessment booked. Hopefully they can sort out the kinks.

The scars are pretty good. The one under my heel is barely visible and the tendon resection scar is good. The scar where my heel was cut is a bit ragged and the skin dents in but it's only a foot so I'm not bothered.

I'm still removing dry skin from the heel. It's easier now the scar has finished healing.

Pretty normal

Having got myself worried about the pain and swelling in my foot I consulted Dr Google. What I found was a discussion about recovery and someone at 11 weeks post op asking if it was normal to still have swelling and the pain in the heel.

It is! So at less than 8 weeks it's perfectly normal to still feel like there's a big rock in your shoe and have your foot swell up if you look at it funny.

So I need to reduce my expectations! Some of the contributors said they were using a compression sick to reduce swelling so I'm going to give that a go.

I'm using a simple moonboot so I don't have the option to increase cushioning that a boot with air cells offers. I might have to try and wear my boot more frequently around the house rather than hobbling around bare footed.

I am not a nice patient patient! 

Six weeks

While my leg was in the cast I had no problem with swelling but after being freed my foot went crazy! Initially I had ankle swelling - a cankle - and it felt like I had a sprained ankle. Later on that day the whole foot swelled up and went a dull reddish colour. It continued to protest about any use of the ankle or toes. It had been perfectly happy sitting at a 90degree angle to my leg and would like to continue to be so.

I propped it up on a few pillows whenever I was sitting down or lying down, pretty much what I'd done initially post surgery. I did have a bath and it was divine! It was also pretty gross by the end. I used a loofah and a pumice stone to sloth off as much of the gross scaly skin that I could. The area around my screw insertion point was too tender to attack and the tendon resection spot above my ankle and the bone cutting point along the side of my heel where both covered in steristrips so too hard to get to. 

It was a success and now my leg is smooth, hair free but also scrawny.

Today I drove and that was fine once my brain got back into driving mode. I walked the dog with two crutches and a moon boot - fun! I also had a walk around the neighbourhood with the moo boot and one crutch and did a small supermarket shop. My foot still appears to be normal sized and happy. The only time I hurt it was when I whacked the heel against the shin of my other leg. My advice is to look after your heel. It will be tender because, as the registrar said, someone bashed around in there with a saw and cut it apart.

I am certainly enjoying being able walk relatively normally and being able to put my foot down on the floor when I hop out of bed. I also enjoy being able to wear jeans instead of sweats and yoga pants, being able to put a sock on my foot since it's felt like an ice block ever since the surgery.

Day 35 - 5 days until freedom (hopefully)

The day of separation for me and my cast is drawing closer. Although my cast seems fairly keen on doing it sooner. It has got so loose and when I'm sitting down I have to rest it on the floor because having it dependent means it slides down and gets really tight over the middle of my foot. It feels like I could slide it off like a boot, it's so wobbly. I am guessing there is one scrawny little leg in there now!

Here's the gap. The black is gaffer tape to stop the hard edge tearing my leg apart. It seems to be working and now I just have to wait for the previously damaged areas to completely heal.

I've been out and about spreading the word about the iWalk. People seem more likely to stop and ask about it now rather than covertly stare. I've got used to having to strap my leg on before I go anywhere. It'll be funny actually standing up on two feet. 

I realise that the journey is only partway through. I'm not really certain of what will happen once the cast comes off. I'm presuming I get a moon boot and start partial weight bearing. I can't figure out why it'll be hard but I'm sure I'll find out come Tuesday afternoon. It will be nice being able to wear something other than sweatpants and my too big straight leg jeans that have enough stretch to fit over the cast (useful for situations where sweatpants are not de rigeur.

I have continued to have issues with falling when using my crutches, especially at night. I swear that gremlins reach out and grab them. I've only had one really bad thump on my heel that felt like I'd split it open but most likely resulted in a big bruise. All the other times had been momentary touches of the foot. All apart from the time I fell over backwards in the dark in the walk through wardrobe (it leads to the bathroom). Then I managed to save the foot but hit the floor with everything else. Not a pretty sight.

I do look forward to the day when I can climb up the stairs without holding the handrail with a death grip. It's ok at home but not so much out in the big wide world.

I went for a walk in the large park near us at the weekend . It was lovely. We saw some very handsome bulls who were very interested in us!

It was a welcome relief to get out of the house!

Day 25 - sanity restored.

For the whole weekend I haven't been able to use my iwalk and I have been going insane. I even resorted to using my crutches to go up and down stairs. It was awkward and very tiring, especially literally hopping up the stairs holding the handrail like grim death. It also meant I couldn't carry anything so I was stuck in the kitchen if I wanted to make myself a drink.

I was starting to feel really down. I put the iWalk on this morning to just try it out. I padded up over the sore areas but they all oozed and it was too painful. I had to tiptoe on the iwalk. That movement made me think that a solution might be to move the resting point of my knee from the bottom to the middle. I padded up the foot end of the platform, covered my battle scars and tentatively strapped in. No pain! No pressure on the wounds. I celebrated with a cup of tea and some marmite toast. My independence is back!

I used a wheat pack and strapped it in position with the back strap. By making sure the other two straps were tightly done up I had no leg wiggle. Ah the relief.

Day 23

Yesterday I met with the New Zealand distributor of the iWalk2.0 (Proable) and was videoed talking about how well the iwalk works for me and performing on it. She has given me some cards and brochures so I can give them to interested people and hopefully get some into the orthopedic outpatients clinic.

My cast is causing me a bit of bother, I may have to get a new one. I've got a number to call but it's weekdays only so I'll see how things go over the next two days. It's loose and my foot can move up and down. This means the cast scrapes up and down my shin, resulting in a set of nasty blisters.

 I've had blister blocks on them but they have gone really nasty. I guess it was bolting the stable door after the horse had bolted. Now I'm just trying to dry them out for a while. The most annoying thing is I can't really use the iwalk while I wait for them to heal because it means kneeling on them and that is very owey. 

I also don't think my heel is getting the support it needs since it can float around inside the cast. 

I've also had cramps in the calf which is nasty. You just have to ride them out and hope for the best.

In case you were unaware, using crutches depends a lot on good balance. I got up during the night for a bathroom break and someone had left the landing light on so there was a glow to guide me so I forgot to take my torch. I turned it off before returning to bed. I found myself wobbling all over the place and ended up falling over backwards because I seemed to have a distorted centre of balance. I must have been leaning backwards when I though I was standing upright. The husband turned on the light and I crawled to the bed to get myself upright again. So here's a hint - always use a nightlight or a torch!

Today I had brunch with friends and that was nice - like being a normal person. The weather was lovely , a nice sunny crisp Winters day. It was lovely to be able to be out enjoying it. Now I'm back on the bed looking out at the clear blue sky. Yesterday it was pouring and gale winds and today it's beautiful!

Day 16 - up and at em

On the back of my big walk yesterday I have been on my feet (or technically foot and knee) more today. I took my dog Millie for two short walks, which was nice. She was excellently behaved, walking at a sedate pace and walking beside me and keeping an eye on me going down our steep driveway. I took a walking stick as well for added stability on the hills. I probably didn't need it but it helps me feel more confident that I will make it home.

I also baked a batch of ginger nut biscuits because I really felt like something with a bit of a bite to it. 

I also ironed ten shirts for the husband while watching the shopping channel. 

Then we went off to buy some chocolate for the husband's birthday but I'm self-propelled in the wheelchair because sometimes it's just nice to sit down. No leg board but it felt fine.

15 days - no holding me back!

Today I went for a 3k (1.86miles) walk! I know, crazy! You wouldn't be doing that on crutches without sore arms. I really got the hang of the iWalk 2.0 and found holding the handle made tackling all but the steepest hill doable. Going uphill more pressure goes on the front pad of the foot and coming down more pressure goes on the back so it balances the wear out.

The only I'll effect I have is a bit of a rub from the top of the cast. If I had padded it like I padded the plaster cast then it wouldn't have happened but I know that now. 

It's just a little red and there's a slight lump where the bruising is. The rest of the leg is fine, no swelling, no pain.

It was nice to get out in the fine weather . I enjoyed it so much. It was a hilly route so I think I must have burned a few calories, definitely more than lying around on the bed or sofa. We are due for another dump of heavy rain over the next two days so I'll have plenty of recovery time.

Now, if I only had hand controls on my car there'd be no stopping me!

Day 13

Having read other blogs I was prepared for lots of pain and mega swelling. I seem to have been really lucky. Pain has been manageable and I have had zero swelling. I was rattling around inside my plaster cast because room had been left for swelling. It's nice to be in a firmer cast now. I was putting a bit of pressure on the ankle when I used my iwalk 2.0 if I didn't pad the top of the cast.

When I was having my cast removed and I told the nurse that the tape on top was because it was oozing and they wanted to cover it up she was not impressed. She said "they should not have done that. They should have replaced the cast." Shows the difference between being on an Ortho ward and an elective surgery ward I guess.

If it has been good management reducing the swelling I thought I'd list what I've done.

* Kept the foot elevated on three pillows night and day.

* Propped the foot up whenever possible - on a stool by the toilet and shower, on seats at cafés and on the sofa.

* Wiggled my toes regularly to help improve circulation.

* Used the iWalk 2.0 rather than crutches whenever possible because the leg is supported rather than hanging down which is a sure cause for fluid pooling.

* Drank lots of water to help flush the fluids through my system.

I think elevation and wiggling are the tops. I also took a couple of NSAIDs when the tramadol was just hammering me and they also reduce inflammation. Best to check with your ortho if they haven't been prescribed or ask at your preop appointment.

One other thing that I've found helpful, although a bit bad, is a long handled shoe horn. It is smooth and fits easily inside your cast. You're not meant to put anything into your cast but when you're being driven insane by itchy it's hard to stop. This has to be better than a knitting needle.

Day 10 - out again!

This post failed to publish so it appears out of sync. Sorry.

There hasn't been much to report the past few days. The weather has been dreadful so I've been watching Netflix, reading books (one in a day) and sleeping. My foot hasn't swollen so it is really comfy in my splint cast. I'll miss its soft cottony inside when it's replaced.

I'm only taking panadol now. I tried tramadol again one day and ended up with twitching that stopped me sleeping so I think the side effects outweigh any little relief it provides. I had a bit of pain around the ankle area but worked out it was caused by pressure on the top of the cast deflecting down when I used the iwalk 2.0 because it is loose and bendy at the top. I stuffed a rolled up washed cloth in and now there is no problem. I also have a dull ache on the heel if I don't have a soft pillow on the top of my stack.

I'm finding eating in a jackknife position causes lots of spills. I need a bib! There are little stains on my chest and wearing the same top two days in a row is not going to happen. I managed to do three loads of washing on Friday and that felt like an accomplishment.

We had family visit yesterday and I spent a few hours on the sofa chatting. By the time dinner came around I was drained and I ended up crashing. It's amazing how tiring simple things are.

We have had a horrible storm system sitting over us with gales and torrential rain every day. It has made being housebound not so depressing since there was nothing to enjoy out there. It seems to have finally moved on and there were some patches of sun today. The thought of getting organised to go out seemed too much effort but I pushed myself. I managed the shower like a pro so that helped. We drove to a local park and had a nice slow stroll around.

It looks flat but I swear it was uphill a lot of the way. It was great to get out! 

Now two more days until my new cast, I hope I get to choose the colour!

Day 7 - escape from Colditz

Today was my first time out of the house since leaving hospital and it was great. All it was was a trip to a local mall to buy some groceries and get a coffee but it was so great. I manueuvred around easily on the iwalk 2.0 and didn't get any obvious stares. I could basically do anything although pushing the trolley felt a bit strange.

I needed a sit down for coffee after doing the shopping but it revived me and I was feeling good. 

The hardest thing was finding some decent pants to wear. I'm a straight or skinny jeans girl so none of them would have come anywhere near fitting over the cast. I have a few pairs of sweatpants that I lounge around in at home but I didn't want to wear them. Luckily I found a pair of black yoga pansy that fit the bill perfectly. It looks like they will be seeing a lot of action over the next few weeks. It's midwinter so shorts are definitely out of the question and skirts don't work with the iwalk. 

I was a little tired when I got home but no more than I am after a shower. My foot is maybe a little sore. It feels hot and has a dull ache across the arch as if it's been cut in half and stapled together and the heel part is heavier and dragging down. I have taken my first tramadol in ages just in case I feel worse tonight.

I have an appointment for my first check-up. It's on Tuesday, five days away.. It'll be 12 days post-op so I hope I've done all the right healing so I can go on to the next level. I'm not sure whether a fibro cast will be better or worse. The splint-cast is lined with cottonwool so it's soft and warm. It's also firm but not tight. I can wiggle my toes and reckon if my foot itched I could easily fit a knitting needle into scratch it. The cast will definitely be tighter. 

Tomorrow will be a boring stay at home day but I'm sure I can find things to entertain myself. I might even manage to do a load of washing - how exciting is that!

Day 6 - slept through it

Nothing happened today! My mother did bring me lunch which was a nice change from peanut butter crackers but that was the most exciting thing.

I was just incredibly tired all day and struggled to keep my eyes open. My foot is now just bored with being in the same position but not painful.

I got the operation report in the mail so now I know the exact nature of my op. I had a lateralizing calcaneal osteotomy with two 6.5mm cancellous screws implanted. I also had a right Perineus longus to Perineus brevis transfer. All this to correct my cavovarus right foot with peroneal tendon pathology! 

I'm hoping tomorrow I'll feel much perkier because I'm going to go and do some food shopping. If I'm really lucky I'll manage a cup of coffee as well. It'll be my first public excursion with the iwalk 2.0 so hopefully I won't come a cropper.

I've been awake for four hours now so I feel like its time to crash again. Goodnight all!

Day 5 and feeling clean

Having been warned that the recovery from this operation would be much tougher than after my hip replacement I have been pleasantly surprised. After my hip replacement I could only lie on my right side with a pillow between my legs and it took over a month before I could physically turn myself onto my back. I was weightbearing but I could not bend down, cross my legs or balance easily on one leg. Try putting your shoes on, pulling your pants up and reapplying your compression sock with those restrictions. Anything dropped on the floor had to be retrieved with a pickup stick, unless it was the grabber, in which case it stayed where it fell until someone rescued it.

Today I was feeling so grotty as I'd only had a sponge down in hospital and my hair felt like straw. I was using my iwalk 2.0 to get around because I'd had to go downstairs to start the slow cooker to cook our dinner. I was planning on asking for help to wash tonight but when I went into the bathroom and thought about I decided that I could do it on my own. I'm very fortunate that I have lots of equipment but if I hadn't the OT would have arranged the hire of some. I had both hands free so I could lift my shower chair that swivels into the shower.

I detached the shower head and draped it by the chair so it would be in reach when I was sitting down.

Then I used my toilet chair as a launching platform. I sat on it to remove my comfy cozy pjs and my not so comfy cozy compression sock. I hung fresh pjs and my towel on the seat and hoped that it would be within reach. The towel rail was obscured by the shower door since it had to be open for my foot to stick out. I wrapped a light towel around my leg above the cast and then stuck it in a big rubbish  bag. It tighten up reasonable tight but I stuck some real duct tape around the top for security. I knew that it would be ok on my skin. Then I propped a footstool up in front of the door for my foot to rest on. I hopped the few steps to the shower and sat down, then turned the seat so I was facing into the shower. It was easy from there on and I managed to wash my hair and my body without getting any water near my cast. The duct tape wasn't even necessary.

Drying off was a bit harder because it was a big reach to get my towel but once I had it I just dried off in the shower and then hopped across to the toilet chair to finish off. I could never have done this on my own after my hip op!

I made one other great purchase that was more of a last minute thing but has served me well.  I bought a cheap pair of slippers with grippy bases. 

If I do use slippers they tend to be slip on mules or big ugg boots and neither seemed appropriate for slouching around the hospital. When I was changed into the theatre gowns and one compression sock my feet were left bare and so the slippers kept them warm and I wore them right up to the table in theatre. Now at home the single slipper is quick and easy to put on my good foot to stop me skidding around in my compression sock. Much easier than pulling on a shoe or a boot. Also quite comforting when you have a cold.

So I feel like I've achieved much today. I'm going to take my first dose of tramadol for the day now at 3:48pm because I'm just starting to feel like there's a stone pressing on the heel of my foot. Last night it really spaced me out to the point of having mini hallucinations so I felt like I was not metabolising it very quickly and I needed a break so my body could clear it all out. Hopefully it'll work!

Day 4 and the future is bright

I have 99 problems and my foot is not one of them. I only took one tramadol rather than two this morning and when my middle of the day dose was due I postponed it for an hour and only took one again.

I'm taking regular panadol and trying to convince myself that regular light pain relief is the way to go. 

My feelings of spaciness is worse today but I can't decide whether it is due to the tramadol or the fact I have succumbed to the cold that I've been dodging prior to the op. The blocked ears and nose are certainly due to the cold and the fuzzy eyes could be too. 

I'm being pretty independent. I made crackers and peanut butter and a cup of tea for lunch and could carry it easily using my knee crutch. 

I'm sleeping fine at night. I do wake up but it's not due to pain and I usually fall right back to sleep. I can lie on my left side and still keep the leg elevated so I have to sleeping positions which my butt appreciates. I often dream I've got up and walked on the foot just prior to waking up so my mind is obviously reminding me not to do anything stupid. I also sleep a bit during the day, I'm probably on a toddler sleep regime. I think the fuzzy head from the cold makes me feel like I'm more tired than I am. Still, sleep is good for healing and fighting colds so bring it on.

I am getting a little cabin feverish. But the thought of the performance that would be involved in even leaving the house soon cures it.

Currently my foot hurts less than it did prior to the op. That was what I was hoping would happen since I already felt like it was hurting worse than it felt after I had an operation to remove a needle from my foot. My take on this operation is that if you're having it because of repeated injuries that heal you're probably going to notice the pain more than if you're having it to repair a long standing injury and to prevent future ones. Possibly the surgeon makes a difference as well. I'm looking forward to seeing what she did since everything was supposed to be smaller and higher up than originally planned.

It has been interesting seeing the difference around the world. I got to stay in 24 hours but had no nerve block and went home with very low level opioids compared to US bloggers. I'm rereading blogs now I'm living through it to be aware of any future problems. Crossing my fingers that there not be any.

A bit of a mess

Apparently some people ooze more than others after this operation and the ooze can seep through the plaster and look unsightly.

After having a session with the physio a large area if blood appeared on my cast. This is normal and a reminder to keep the foot elevated 24/7. The nurses found it distressing so arranged for an orthopedics nurse to consult with a surgeon. 

The decision was made to cover it with a soft cast that can be unwound if there is too much swelling or oozing. It's not waterproof like a regular fiberglass but it doesn't add much extra weight and gives a certain satorial elegance to things.