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.