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.

Three days post-op

Today has been a better day. I've finally stopped vomiting and started being able to eat. I gave in to an overwhelming desire for a McDonald's cheeseburger, small fries and a lime milkshake. It was all I had imagined it would be.

I still have a minor headache but nothing like the migraine I had been suffering. I think it is more due to grinding my teeth overnight. I'm doing a lot of sleeping. It's hard work watching netflix and the like.

The best tip I have been given continues to be the hand sanitiser by the toilet. That and having a small footstool there to rest my foot on makes it an easier process. I'm using the elbow crutches to get around upstairs most of the time. If I have to carry anything then I put on the knee crutch. I haven't gone back downstairs again yet, simply because there is really no need and the stairs are a pain to traverse. I might just wait until I actually get an opportunity to leave the house before I head down them.

My mother has offered to drive me to the supermarket later in the week to buy some of the perishable items that I couldn't stock up on like milk. Hopefully I'll manage to have a coffee at the same time.

Pain is not a huge issue. I'm not certain that the tramadol does much but I guess I would notice if I didn't take it. I'm taking four doses of paracetamol to keep a low level of relief ongoing. I took a 800mg Brufen tablet yesterday evening because I was having bad breakthrough pain and it seems to have worked the trick. It's slow release and seems to provide a nice dulling.

My foot is much more mobile than I expected. I can lie it on the heel or over on the side of the foot when it gets sick of that. My quad muscle feels used from lifting the foot up and down and probably from having to hold the foot up while it was wrapped yesterday. I'm using three pillows to support it and that seems sufficient. I sleep with the foot out of covers and it seems warm enough in its shell. I have a bed cradle for keeping sheets off your feet in bed but with the pillows my foot would be above the top of it so it would serve no purpose.

I'm stick rocking my pajamas. They're comfy and the pants legs were wide enough to fit easily over the cast. I'm working up to trying a shower. Probably tomorrow. I've top and tailed with water and wash cloths but, it would be nice to wash properly. Also I had to wash my hair with the sterilising sponge before my op and it hasn't been kind to the texture. It's crying out for conditioning.

My hubby will be back to work tomorrow so I have to make sure that I have everything I need on hand before he goes. I think that I'll be having peanut butter crackers for lunch everyday. I do have some nice drink mixes if I want a hot drink and I've got fruit juice so I'll get vitamins and hydrated. 

So I was prepared for a lot more pain than I'm experiencing. I guess I'm not putting too much pressure on it and maybe when I head out into the big wide world it'll be much worse. I had a lot of pain from the little toe along the side of my foot to my heel prior to the operation and that pain has gone completely. My heel is where there is pain and it often feels more like heat than pain. I am allowed 2 tablets every six hours so the last two times I've just taken one tablet and then taken the second one as needed. This seems to avoid the spacey feeling two gave me.

Hobbling on!

Day two

I was discharged home yesterday and the drugs of choice weren't too impressive.

I have paracetamol (acetaminophen), Tramadol - 2 tablets 3x a day, aspirin to prevent blood clots and Ondansetron to prevent nausea.

None of it seems to be working 100%. The pain is not too bad apart from the middle of the night. The nausea drugs are definitely not working. I had been keeping my fluids up and they really decided to come up. My poor husband had to clean up the bathroom after a simple trip to the loo resulted in a scene of the Exocist. Every time in drink I vomit so I'm taking tiny sips of lemonade and hoping to get a handle on it. I haven't eaten since yesterday breakfast which bounced.

I've done the inevitable put the foot down but managed to not put much weight on it so it didn't result in too much pain.

I had set myself up with Netflix, books and knitting but currently I can't really focus on anything. Fortunately I have six weeks for that to come right.

The knee crutch works well. No one had seen one before and the physio took notes for future clients. Between the bedroom and the bathroom I'm just managing on elbow crutches. I crawled up the stairs last night and I don't plan on going down again any time soon.

My bathroom set up is working well. I've got a toilet chair which doubles as a seat to sit on when vomiting. It is nice and stable and has side handles so it's easy to sit down and get up. I'm using hand sanitiser afterwards as advised by another blogger and that works great. There's no struggling with taps and coping with wet hands.

I certainly miss the pain pump but it's bearable. I just have to make sure I take everything regularly and try to keep on top of the pain. I also have to relax and not do anything but recover. That may take a bit of time.

Hit the road Jack

It looks like I will be going home this afternoon. Probably a good thing since my roommates are very noisy - coughing, snoring and farting!

I have to have another dose of antibiotics otherwise they'd probably have kicked me to the curb already. I'm going to miss my lovely little morphine pump. 

Apparently they have ordered me a knee scooter. Most confusing since the medical officer at the clinic had told me to order one myself. Good thing I didn't! 

My pain is much more controlled today. I basically made good use of the pulp overnight and that seems to have given good coverage. I am a bit spacey though!

The total dependence on staff is a pain. I have to ask to be taken to the bathroom and totally failed on the bedpan. I also have to chase up my medications since I have to hand them over. 

Starting to feel a bit spacey again so I'll sign off now.

The deed is done

I have now been under the knife and don't I know it!

In Nee Zealnd we don't get the nerve block so I'm attached to a pain pump and trying to get my pain under control. Hard to do!

It hurts like bajeebers to move my foot in any way.  

The surgeon used a different technique to repair the tendons. Cutting higher up the fit and stitching them together. It means a smaller scar and less pressure so well see what it turns out like.

So now I'm settled in my ocean view room, eating my cream cheese and cranberry sandwich and waiting for the family to descend.

Less than a day to go!

At 11:30 tomorrow morning I report in for my operation. The bonus with that time is I get to have breakfast as long as I have it before 7am.

I've been practicing on the iwalk 2.0 and I really rate it. I can bend over and pick things up off the floor and wander around quite happily. Going down stairs is a bit of a challenge, simply because the toe of the resting foot is very close to the previous step each time you step down. I will just have to take my time. I've managed to walk up our terribly steep drive. I used a crutch on the other side just for a bit more confidence but it went well. The only issue is that you can't swing your leg through since you effectively have no knee to bend so it's a lot slower going. Going down is fine.

I've packed my bag since I will be admitted. They provided a helpful packing list so that nothing is forgotten. I'm just hoping my pants fit over the splint or cast. I forgot to buy ear plugs. If I can't find my travel ones I'll just have to rely on my EarPods if I'm sharing with a snorer.

I've got our spare room set up for when I come home so it won't matter if I wake up in the middle of the night and have to turn the light on. I have an electric water dispenser that provides a cup of boiling water at a time so I'm set for tea and hot drinks. I also made sure to put aside a couple of bottles of Schweppes lemonade because it always makes me feel better when I'm sick.

 

My ipad is loaded with books to read, my knitting bag is full of wool, needles and patterns, my MacBook Pro has a new battery, netflix has loads for me to watch (although Agatha Chrisite's Marple has inexpilicitly disappeared and I had two series left) and there are also the regular TV on demand sites available as well. I think I should manage quite well. I do still have firefly on DVD if I find my self in times of trouble and Cap'n Mal comes to me speaking worthy of wisdom like "I am to misbehave" and "I'm a good man, well an alright man,"

I've measured my calf  so I can see how much it actually atrophies rather than guesstimating. It currently measures 35.5cm /14in across the widest point of the gastrocneus. I've epilatored so hopefully it will only minorly resemble the leg of a gorilla when the cast comes off. 

Note the attractive rolling outward of the feet.it really is a mutiny.

This is further illustrated by foot positioning of choice - just visible is the scar beside my great toe for a removal of a sewing needle in the year whe just every one was doing it. It has bee boxing out the top dog scar against my quite minor caesar scar and my perfectly petite hip replacement scar. I repco known there are another two scars on their was to take the top spot.

So now it's just a waiting game. Roll on 11:30 July 3rd.