Merry Christmas to All!

So I am doing much better! I have actually begun putting weight on my foot! It started out of frustration and being tired of using my crutches while out shopping. If I had to describe how walking feels, it feels like sharp needles poking at the bottom of my foot at first, as I walk more the tendons and ligaments are loosened up a little. I always have to begin my walking with at least one crutch but then once my foot loosens up usually five minutes later I can put both the crutches down and walk without any assistance of a crutch. My foot usually feels sore but it is never too bad that I would take the crutches back. I walk very slow soo people behind me tend to get frustrated when I am out and about...what do I say to them? Oh well. Yep they can get over it and have a little pacience.

Word from the wise...people ignore you when you use the electric scooters in shopping stores. They do not even see you and they will NOT move out of your way. Use these machines at your own risk. Lol

Feet are still loosing skin so that is something fun to deal with every day. I can take a shower with much more grace than before. I can sometimes wiggle my toes...trust me it grosses me out. I am so looking forward to all of this tape falling off! Tomorrow my husband and I will begin our half cross country road trip to see family for the holidays! Y'all have a blessed Christmas!

OUCH!

Long story short, I fell over my scooter thing and just out of instinct I put my hurt foot down. I had ALL of my weight on that thing. Needless to say I screamed and cried for about thirty minutes before I could get a grip on the situation. UGH! I have been doing so good! I think that I should be fine seeing as my doctor did tell me I could start to walk on it. I was also wearing the boot like I have been told to do. Whew. I'm still going to call to make sure they won't want me to get x-rays. Other than that I have really been trying to put weight on my foot. I am getting better at pushing down on my heel. YAY! Small steps forward are still improvements! I'm not giving up! I can do this!

 

Escape From Castle "Cabin Fever"

I got out today! YEA! It was all thanks to a wonderful friend of mine. She took me to a doctor's appointment and then we went shopping for Christmas stuff. The day was wonderful. I was up and moving around from 10:00am till 4:30pm. Needless to say all that being on my feet made my foot swell. I'm still resting it and it's almost seven thirty. My foot is so sensitive to touch now. When I just rub the top of my foot I can feel the nerve endings tingle throughout my foot...weird...uncomfortable. Just a sock resting on it irritates the skin. I wonder if it is because my skin is so tight or if it is simply because nothing has touched it in a few weeks now. I don't know if I told you this in the last post or not but I can definitely tell that my nerves are getting better. I used to only feel down right past my ankle. The feeling has now spread down almost half way of the length of my foot. YAY! I did make sure to take my vitamins today with my big glass of water. I managed to set up my Christmas Tree and pick my living room up. The house looks so much better.

I noticed I posted an updated picture of the back of my heel but I never talked about it. The pain has subsided from my heel and as you can see it is getting darker. I don't know if that is a sign of it getting worse or better. I figure no pain means it is getting better. I'm still keeping an eye out on that though.

Sleeping SUCKS! Seriously, it is middle of December and every bone in my body wants to be covered by a plush blanket...every bone that is except my bones in my foot. I have just enough feeling in my toes to know that they are cold and just enough feeling in my toes to feel like the blanket is crushing down on each of my little tootsies. I hate it. I get so frustrated just with that simple task that it keeps me up at least another hour until my body is too tired to fight for the blanket to be removed. Laying on my side also helps some, until I can feel the broken bones on each side of my foot throbbing. NORMAL SLEEP WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME!?!  

I took a shower yesterday. Yea...standing ovations are welcome. I was terrified! I waited till later in the day so that hopefully my incisions would have time to kinda air out and maybe dry. I did not let water pour directly over my foot. The splashes and misting from the shower head were enough to make it glossy with water. I was able to keep warmer since I could fully close the door...if you are having a procedure done...seriously think about stuff like that...weather makes a difference. I scrubbed softly (if you just go at it scrubbing it kinda burns) along the top half of my foot (no incisions are at this location). I didn't notice the typically expected dead skin sloughing off. It did feel good to know I was able to wash my foot though. After the shower I was then terrified to put that dagum sock back on. I only wear tight socks that go to my ankle. I couldn't pull the sock all the way over my heel because it would pull to tightly against my toes. Yep...you guessed it...made sleeping super peaceful...not. I did manage to find a few socks today that will be loose enough and long enough to make this more comfortable.

Well that is all for today. Please if you have any questions feel free to leave it below my posts.    

3 Weeks Healing

I am so sorry that I haven't written in a long time. I really was struggling with finding something to talk about. I can now let you know that I have a lot to talk about. Today marks three weeks since the surgery date. I was able to take the wrap off my foot today. It was so freeing to be able to take that thing off and not have to worry about putting anything back on. I can also take a somewhat normal shower today. I can't let my foot soak but still I can get it wet and clean around my foot. SUPER EXCITED! Almost there to a normal shower. Here is how my foot looks now. Keep in mind it has been bandaged for three weeks and it is lacking in the moisture department. 

It is definitely swollen but come on I had a lot of stuff done to it. I would be shocked if it wasn't. I also took a shot of what the bottom of my foot looks like. It looks less Frankenstein and more bruised. I still can't believe how different my new foot looks. My mom even commented on how much it looks like her feet now. My foot is still kinda numb. I can't feel my great toe...like...at all. It is super weird and I gotta admit I'm kinda freaking out about it. I read another woman's log that said after a year she still couldn't feel her great toe. I'm hoping that was because her body was not good at regenerating itself or because she didn't have a great doctor who prescribed me some personally made vitamin supplements for me to take. Here they are!

I take two of these pills once a day with an eight ounce glass of water. From what I understand about these puppies, they are vitamins that will help with the regenerating of nerves and it also helps deal with pain. Today is my first day of taking them and I'll let you know how it goes from there. The list on the bottle is all of the stuff it has in it. 

My pain is pretty bearable. It gets very tight during the night so I take a pain pill before I fall asleep. I'm planning on beginning to put weight on it tomorrow. I need to start moving my joints. I feel really sore in my ankle. When I rub the joint I can feel the ligaments pulling down in my toes. That is not so pleasant so I usually only massage my foot for a few minutes before I can't take it anymore. 

I have to eventually get the courage to put a sock around my foot before bed tonight. I know it sounds so simple but the second my incisions catch on any fabric it is a nightmare. I have so many incisions and pins that it is almost impossible to avoid at least one.

On different news, MY HOUSE IS A WRECK! Seriously. I have started trying to get a few rooms freashened up every day. I miss being able to vacuum my floors, mop my kitchen, wash my sinks, and wash my clothes! I am going to have some serious catching up to do. Until then I can only focus on what I am able to take care of for now. I need to allow myself to recover fully before I push myself too far and then mess up my recovery.

I'll try to keep sure I don't abandon y'all for long.

 

 

So Not Excited About This

Here I am, so ready for this awesome wonderful experience. After the bandage was removed I had a quick talk with Dr. H. There was another guy that came into the room with him. I thought he was a student doing some observations. Dr. H let me know that I needed to keep pressure off of the back of my heel and that he would wrap my foot himself this time. He pressed up against the bottom of my foot to see it better and I thought I was going to scream. The pressure he put on the pad of my foot really helped me realize that my foot was STILL BROKEN. Dr. H then left the room and then the nurse began to remove the strips. This felt like my foot was on FIRE! And now on to the really good stuff.

(This is the sore that is on top of my foot. Man I have them EVERYWHERE!)

She let me know that the two sides tend to hurt the worse because the stitch has to come all the way through the long incision. She started with my toes first and I'm not kidding you I was trying my hardest not to scream in that office. I was cursing under my breath and crying. It was horrible. I finally asked her if we could take a couple minutes and she was great. She waited until I said I was ready to continue. Trust me I thought about calling it quits and saying that I would come back another day for the others.

This is me trying to hold it together. When she went to grab the incision for the Tailor's Bunion I screamed so loud! Another nurse came in just to help hold my leg down so that I wouldn't jerk it away from her. Needless to say I eventually made it through the last one and not a second too soon.

The next appointment will be January 2nd. I was told to begin putting weight on my foot but that I have to keep wearing the boot. I can take the bandage off next Thursday and I can get it wet but not soak it. YAY! The other guy in the room ended up being someone who works with a pharmacy. He is going to send me some supplements to help with my nerve regeneration and pain. I will also be getting a scar cream and a pain cream. I hit the jackpot!

So glad that horrible part is over.

 

Let's Play a Game of Mystery Diagnosis...

So, my foot needless to say is not doing any better. As you can see in the picture it looks worse than a couple of days ago and I'm starting to see a blister forming. After taking this marvelous photograph and waiting for the wonderful assistants of Dr. H to get back from their lunch break, I made a phone call. I let the nurse know that I had a sore forming on the back of my heel. She followed normal protocol and let me know that Dr. H would call me back shortly. When Dr. H did call me back he asked what was wrong. Then he told me that he wasn't worried as long as it wasn't open. Well that was a relief, I'm so glad my doctor doesn't feel worried about a sore that is getting worse with each passing day, at least not until the thing becomes an open and festered wound! I feel safe! (For those of you who do not know me well, this is what my sarcasm sounds like) He then told me that I am not supposed to be putting weight on my foot yet, like it was caused from me walking on it! I told him I was not putting ANY weight on my foot and that it was not on the bottom of my heel but around my Achilles Tendon where the nurse wrapped a bandage really tight and where I rest my foot when it is elevated. As if he hasn't already put the blame of the sore on me enough, he asked why I was messing with the bandage. I told him I hadn't messed with the bandage but that I could see red forming around the part of my heel that was exposed. Eventually I just told him that he could look at it tomorrow during my next scheduled appointment and that I just wanted to know if resting my foot to the side would cause any damage to the surgery site for my Tailor's Bunion. He said it wouldn't cause damage and he would look at the heel tomorrow. Gosh! This guy is ridiculous! So now I lay on my side and get SOME relief from this sore on my heel. Other than that exciting conversation, not much has changed. A wonderful friend picked me up today and took me to lunch. I really needed some time out of the house. Chick-fil-a has magical sweet tea that can make anything better. We then took a nice stroll through our local Walmart and that was enough excitement for me. As far as how my foot feels today (other than my heel) I do not feel any bone pain, I have taken no pain medication, my foot feels very tight, the incisions feel like someone is either poking them with many tiny pins or someone is ripping duck tape off of my skin repeatedly, and I also get this goose-bump feeling under the bandages that is followed quickly by a cool almost wet feeling. Other than that nothing new.  I have been feeling under the weather today. I feel very nauseous. It can't be from medication because I haven't taken anything since 8:00am. Who knows?

I can't wait to have new news for you tomorrow and pictures of what the incisions look like once the stitches are taken out.

12 Days 8 Hours Healing

The day after tomorrow will mark the two week mark since my surgery. I get my stitches taken out and I find out if I can begin putting weight on my foot. I have been encouraged to take my pain pill before the appointment to help with the pain from taking the stitches out. I'm also planning on doing a little preventative work. I need to find out if the nurse can wrap my foot a different way this time seeing as the bandage tends to create a sore on the back of my heel.

Well, nothing much has changed with my recovery. I'll leave you with this short post. Up to date pictures are soon to come! 

Can Someone Loosen the Noose Around My Foot?

Ok so above this is a picture of the back of my foot right above my heel. I think I wrote in some earlier posts about how I was feeling a lot of pain in my heel. Well, today I got up from the couch and saw that my bandage had kinda lifted up the back of my foot. Right before I pulled it back down I noticed the back of my foot was really red! I lifted the bandage a little higher and found this beauty. Gosh! They didn't even work on the back of my foot! I can now understand exactly why the back of my heel hurts. I honestly don't know if it is from the bandages or if it is from resting my foot all day long. I know I saw three pink and redish spots on the top of my foot and I can only imagine how they look by now.

Pain: I am still in a lot of discomfort. I can't really call it pain as much as discomfort. It feels like I have a steel rod that has been shoved down my foot and I can't bend or move my foot. This feeling is more aggravating than painful. Every once in a while I feel a stinging pain, kinda like when you get a scab hung on something like a piece of clothing and then you accidentally pull it up or off. That is how it feels around most of the incision sites. My whole foot has this really tight feeling as well. It is like my foot is a balloon and it is stretched to the max. I wonder if that is from swelling. I feel like if I could just stretch my foot and wiggle my toes that feeling would dissipate. BUT no wiggling of toes so far. I really only take my pain pills regularly at night. I try to stay ahead of any pain or discomfort by taking a pill every four hours, plus it helps me sleep.

My doctor has told me to start bending my great toe back and forth a little bit each day. I must say this is the worst thing I could ever imagine. I know that my toe will not break and that I will not cause a lot of damage but it freaks me out so much that I can hardly bring myself to do it. I know that it will help keep my toe flexible and it will reduce scar tissue but on my goodness I almost pass out from the stress build up that I get before I even touch my toe! Can anyone relate!? 

I already feel like a bum. I made myself pick up around the house today. I hate having to ask for every little thing. I also have begun to play this game I like to call "The Great Scavenger Hunt" I send my husband off with the biggest list of things I might need to use in the next hour so that he doesn't have to keep getting up and down. This has begun to work a little bit. I feel like such a burden, but my husband is the best and he really works hard to help me out and he does it with such grace and willingness. I am so blessed to have him with me.

So I know that when someone has had a horiffic accident or something similar people tend to stare at the person. I think this is extremely rude. I still cannot understand why a young woman who only has an ugly black boot shoe thing and wheels around on a knee scooter is so intriguing that EVERYONE and their momma have to stare at me! I mean seriously, I already feel like a fool scooting around having to take more time than the average Joe, I don't need your scrutinizing eyes watching me like I came from another planet! My husband and I went for a quick stroll through a store so that I could get out of the house and no kidding everyone had no problem staring at me and my foot. When we got back in the car to go to get my husband's hair cut I asked if he noticed, he said no. Then when we walked to the store his next words were, "wow everyone is really staring at you!". I was mortified. Way to go public, way to make me feel awkward and stressed on my once in a blue moon outing.

This has definitely been a journey of more than just the physical. I battle the frustration that goes on mentally and emotionally while in this recovery. To everyone else going through this I hope that you don't feel alone and keep in mind that this will not last forever and that you will get up on both feet one day and walk around to do normal daily things without a problem. 

 

 

 

(Just thought since Thanksgiving is about family time, I would show a picture of me and my dad,

 the one who gave me my feet.)

Thanksgiving, Family, Food, and a LONG Car Ride

Man, it has been forever since I updated y'all on the progress of my foot so let me try to catch you up. After my post op appointment my husband and mom began to pack up the car for the long drive back home to Georgia. I participated by verbally reminding them of things to pack while I sat on my butt. We got on the road at midnight and began the journey. Three adults, a cat, and a dog all crammed into a small suv. We were so excited. The car ride was not bad at all. My pump still had meds that were keeping my foot pretty numb. We made it to our destination in roughly seventeen hours. After getting settled in we enjoyed time with family and friends. I was able to use the scooter to get around the house. My pain level was never unbearable, but at night I still felt like my foot was going to explode and then burn to a crisp. After being out of town for a couple of days I began to get sick. Nothing like feeling sick while recovering from having all of your toes broken.

After time with the family was over my husband and I packed back up and headed back to Texas with the cat and dog. This time the trip was not as pleasant. My medicine ball had run out of all of the wonderful whatever that stuff was that pumped into me to keep my foot numb. I could literally feel the broken bones in my foot. The other side effects of running out of my medicine were feeling burning sensations throughout the day and I could feel when my foot was swollen. 

We finally made it home and then this morning I had my husband pull the catheter out of my leg. That moment was terrifying. I had no idea how it would feel, so I took a deep breath and put the biggest grimace on my face. Surprisingly enough it did not hurt at all, I mean that, it did not hurt AT ALL. I was so relieved to get that thing out of me. Afterwards I could finally take a nice long hot bath to help me relax and enjoy some quiet time. 

Still waiting to get my appointment time for getting my suchers taken out. My pain is more intense than before but the meds are keeping it under control. I'm able to hold out for the full six hours before taking another pill.    

'

The Big Reveal!

The following images are graphic. Viewer discretion is advised.

I went to my first post op appointment today. I was so excited! I couldn't wait to see how my NEW FOOT looked. It is super rainy today so I had to wrap my foot up in a plastic bag before getting to the car. 

Once we got to the building my husband let me out and I scooted my way inside. This knee scooter is the most amazing thing ever! I love it. After checking in and waiting to be called back we were shown to a room. I sat in the big green chair and the nurse began to take my vitals. She asked how my pain was doing and I told her that I was doing really well. She told me that I was going to get to see my foot for the first time and that after she took the bandages off we were going to get new x-rays. I was a ball of nerves people! Like I have never passed out but this was really close to being my first time. I started taking the pictures but as she got further and further under the gauze I had to had the camera to my husband. I was about to faint. There was a lot of blood from the procedure done on my great toe's bunion. The other procedures didn't look like they bled too bad. After the bandages were off I was in TOTAL SHOCK! This foot belonged to someone else. This was not MY foot. I was freaking out! It looked like my little toes had been beheaded and then sewn back on my foot! I couldn't believe how raw it all looked. I kept looking at my husband hoping that he was having the same reaction. I think he just thought the whole thing was really neat. I was so disappointed. My foot looked fat and swollen. It was covered in a blue hewed bruise. And the incisions were intense. I'm telling you all of this now so that if you don't want to look this is your chance out of it.

 

After the bandages had been taken off, the nurse wheeled me into the x-ray room to take post op x-rays. She asked me to try to flatten out my foot as much as possible. Man, that was tough. I got it done and we were back in the room in no time. I couldn't take my eyes off my foot. It was just so wow.

 These are my x-rays. The picture on the farthest left is the post op picture and the picture next to it shows what my feet looked like before I went in for surgery. Here are some better pictures.

 This is it. My new foot in all of it's glory. You can see the three metal pins in my three middle toes. If you look close enough you can also see the screw that is holding my great toe together. Crazy! Look how straight they look in the pictures!!!

 To go from this to what they are now is incredible.

 I thought that after the x-rays were taken I would get my foot rewrapped but that was not the case. The nurse told me she had to take the strips off as well and replace them with new ones before she could wrap my foot up. Y'all, I was so glad my pump was still pumping that amazing local anesthetic down to my foot. I felt hardly any pain when she did this but after I could feel a burning sensation around my little toe and little toe side. Man alive!

I was told that this bleeding is normal.

I made it through the hard part!!! Now to have my chat with the doctor.

And here she is, in all of her glory, four days after surgery.

I was told to begin to move my great toe back and forth at the joint that was broken. OUCH! As much as I really don't want to do this it will help keep my toe mobile and reduce scar tissue. Scar tissue = pain later down the road.

Sutures come out in ten days!

I'm a happy girl while my pump still has meds in it! All done!

3 Days, 6 Hours After Surgery

 

Everything is going very well. I was able to bump my little ball back down to 2 ml today. That should really help me make it to GA for the holiday. 

I was finally able to get cleaned up today. I called the doctor office yesterday to ask if I could take a bath with my catheter in and the nurse said she would call me back. Well I think he was so shocked that I would even ask that he called back personally. He said "You did not just ask if you could take a bath while your catheter is in."  To which I replied "yes". He told me to take a guess at what the answer was. I said no. He then asked me to take a guess as to why. I said, because water might leak into the catheter. He said yes. Then I asked why my toes were burning at night and he let me know that it is from nerves regrowing. I'm like oh well that is comforting, this burning is TOTALLY normal. Good to know. I talked to him about a few other things like bending my ankle and my heel feeling like it was broken to which he replied all was normal. I'm like well that is just great all this crap is normal. Totally made it feel better. So today I got in the bath by laying backwards and leaning my head back with my foot hanging out of the side. The bath was not filled up with water so that it wouldn't hit the catheter site. My husband washed my hair and I was able to take a little sponge bath. I laid out on the bed and hung my head over one side where my mom was able to blow dry my hair. Talk about feeling like a new person. IT WAS MAGICAL.

 

(This is to remind you of what the catheter looks like. No it is not the kind that goes to the bladder. It pumps a local anesthetic to a nerve behind my knee to keep my foot numb.)

  Tomorrow I go in for my post op appointment. This should be fun. I expect to get to see my before and after x-rays. YAY! I can't wait to see my new foot. I can't remember if he will change the bandages (I was a little out of it when the surgery was over). I hope I get to see what it looks like. If I do get the chance to see what is under all the wrapping paper I will definitely take lots of pictures so you guys will be kept in the loop. Keep in mind they will be graphic. Use caution (Lilly I'm thinking of you here). 

I used my scooter for the first time today. Man was it hard to bend my knee, not painful just very unfamiliar and weird. I think between my leg being swollen and me being freaked out about moving my catheter that is in my knee I had a few mental hurdles to jump. Never the less, everything went smoothly. Crutches are definitely faster, but I like that on the scooter I can take a break and my arms are not work out after walking across the room. 

THREE DAYS DOWN!

 

The Time Has Come The Walrus Said...

(say hello to my nurse, isn't she so attentive?)

Pain...lots of pain today. Sorry no picture with this post. The toes do not  look like they have changed very much. I tried turning my pump down yesterday from 4 ml to 2 ml. This went well for about half of the day. I then started to feel like my little toes were being put closer and closer to a fire. They kept getting warmer and warmer. I would get a very intense sharp sting through what felt like the incision site and then it would dissipate with a little time. I was dying! To all of you who wrote a blog about your bunionectomy, you never said it would burn! I then put my pump up to 6 ml and took a strong Tylenol pill to help me go to sleep.

Now let's talk about my heel. My heel feels like it is broken. Maybe not broken but definitely like someone has sliced my achilles tendon in half. It burns too! I also get slight cramps in the arch of my foot and across the top part of my foot near my ankle. I think my tendons are tired of being stretched but I simply do not have the strength yet to bend my ankle up. It just lays out kinda in a point. I tried to move it this morning and I could feel it pulling my incision on one of my little toes. OUCH! 

So here I am, laying once again in the reclining love seat counting down the minutes til I can take one of those lovely Tylenol pills again to put me to sleep for an hour and a half.

Gosh, this is the life!

 Say hello to my BEST FRIEND!

This has kept my pain at bay.

This little ball of awesomness is linked to that little filter and then it goes to the regulator. I get to pick what my take home pump puts out. After surgery I had a really good nerve block that lasted until I went to bed. I then turned on my pump to 4 ml per hour. Now I have gotten brave and I turned it down to 2 ml per hour. This has really helped my ankle not feel so bad. I don't feel a lot of pain but every now and then my four little toes start to feel not so well. I like to describe it being like playing in the snow for a long time and when you come inside and the heat kinda burns your toes, that is what it feels like.

My doctor has told me to rest, rest, rest. I have definitely been doing that! Naps are my second best friend to this on q ball. I have noticed that I feel kinda nauseous, but it hasn't been that bad. 

Well, that's all I have for you today folks!

 

 

Surgery Day Pictures

They only gave me one sock to wear and I was totally feeling photogenic before they made me the human pin cushion. Haha, lack of sleep will make a comic out of anyone.

 

I had the worlds best people with me today. My mom is my best nurse ever. My husband is such an amazing supporter. They were so awesome! I can't thank them enough. I was all gowned up and ready for my IV. Ha! Ready. 

 Yea, so a lot happened before this picture. The nurse cam in to start my IV and to take blood. They had to make sure I wasn't prego. She couldn't get blood from the IV in my left hand. OUCH! So another lady came in to take blood from my right arm. That hurt like crap! I cried. The next step was to get my nerve block. My husband and mom had to leave the room and two anesthesiologists came in to use ultra sound to find the nerve. They marked my leg with a pen, gave me a shot of feel good stuff in my IV ( I felt GOOD) and then numbed the area. Once it was numb they put a needle in to guide the catheter by and right past my nerve. They put it right past it so that if it pulled out a little it would still work. I cried...again. The doctor came in and wrote on my foot and the wait for numbness began. My mom and husband were able to come back and wait with me. I was as you can see, out of it. The bottom picture is of the catheter in my leg. 

 He drew a smiley face.

 I don't remember a lot of this part.

 They began to wheel me out, I cried. They took me back to the OR and I remember big lights, them moving me to the operating table. It was tiny. They had my feet hang off the end and they strapped my arms down, gave me oxygen. When they did something with my IV, I think put meds in I screamed, it hurt so bad. They told me to breath and calm down. I was like I will punch you in the face! They gave me more meds and there I went off to lala land.

 I woke up in AGONY! Not from my foot, but my leg and my throat. They intubated me and that never feels good. Apparently my leg hurt because the tourniquet was on my upper thigh. OUCH CARLIE. I finally got meds to help right away and my husband and mom came in. After I woke up I was able to get packed up and sent home. I just woke up from a nap and now I am waiting till my nerve block starts to wear off before I turn my "onQ" local anesthetic pump on. It is hooked up to my catheter in my leg. This bag should last 2-3 days.

Talk to you soon.