Less than two weeks before I take the plunge. I just got off work and I am planning on living this three day weekend up to it's fullest. These next two weekends are my last chance to enjoy no restrictions for a while. Monday I go to have my pre-op appointment. I'm working on a list of questions to ask my doctor that day. I'll keep you posted on what all he tells me. 

Today our school had a dance for the students. It was so much fun! I got out there and shook my tail feather with the best of them. After a while my feet began to throb. Then it hit me, maybe one day after all of this work is complete, I will be able to dance the night away and not feel like my feet are broken the next day. I LOVE to dance, and I will push myself to dance for a long time. When I get home I usually limp around because my feet just are done. In previous pictures I posted a picture of me at my wedding, (no shoes). I had to take those puppies off so I could really let loose. That's right people, I'm the one that dances barefooted out there. Judge not! I never want to let some genetics keep me from having my fun! 

I keep looking up videos of bunionectomies. I do not really suggest this, but I just can't stop myself. I cringe every single time I watch them. It has never made me change my mind about the surgery but it definitely reminds me again and again that this is a serious intense surgery and that I should not take this decision lightly. Oh my goodness I'm going to have a completely different foot in less than two weeks!!!

(My feet at 15)

 

Today is an exciting day! I will be traveling to a meeting about Young Living Essential Oils. These oils are all natural and help to keep the human body in balance. Looking forward to getting some more information about them tonight.

I have heard about a mixture of oils that when put together are called a morphine bomb. If anyone has ever tried this mixture please leave me a comment or email me to let me know how it worked for you!

 

email: mcook12aug@gmail.com 

I was looking back at my previous posts and I realised that I did not really explain what my surgery will entail. Here are a few pictures to help explain the procedure. 

 The first part of the procedure will be the work done on my great toe's bunion.

The incision will be on top of my foot. I was really hoping for it to be on the side so that the scar would not be as visible. The doctor will then expose the bone and use a bone saw to cut the bone "knot" off. They will then cut through the bone like this. 

The bone will be realigned and then a screw will go though to bone to keep it stable. (ouch).

The next incision will be to fix my tailor's bunion. The same procedure will be done on this bunion and the "knot" will be cut off. No further action is taken for this part. 

The final part of the procedure will be to fix ALL FOUR of my hammer toes, (could I be related to Thor???). Small incisions will be made over each knuckle. Parts of the bone will be removed to make sure the toes are aligned correctly. Each toe will then have a metal pin inserted to keep it stabilized until the bone heals. I have been told to expect the pins to be removed six weeks after the surgery. Dear heavens I hope they give me something to help with the pain that day. 

Well this is everything that I am having done on my foot. The doctor said that the surgery will last close to two hours. They will use an ankle tourniquet to keep the blood loss at a minimum. 

 

Tick Tock...

November is here. Wow. I feel like I wait and wait and wait and then BAM, the month that I have surgery is here. There is a lot going on this month and that just makes time fly by. I keep distracting myself with things that have nothing to do with my feet. I think I am going to try to change my hair before the big day.

Why Do I Feel Like I'm Biting Into a Poisoned Apple?

With each passing day I get closer and closer to surgery day...and with each passing day I also battle the thoughts of backing out of the whole thing. I have done a lot of research on the procedure. I have read many stories about what others have experienced, and I have seen what others in my family have experienced first hand. I know everything will be worth it in the long run, but I can seem to get this annoying thought out of my head, what if I cannot escape the pain? What if the medication is simply not enough to counter the pain? It is a scary thought. 
I think I remember saying that I would never do something like this ever again. 
So about two years ago I was working at a pool as a lifeguard (yes, it is a fantastic job). One day there was absolutely no one coming to the pool so, a few of us guards decided to take some time to play around in the pool. Long story short a guy tried to swim under me, take out my legs, and flip me over in the safety of the water. I was smarter than him though you see, and I decided to swim over him. Weeeell, my plan did not work out as I had intended and we hit faces. My nose smacked right into his forhead. I got out of the water feeling the shock starting to wear off. I soon discovered that that guy's head had broken my nose. Kinda ironic right...lifeguards were the ones roughhousing and lifeguards were the ones needing rescuing. The doctors scheduled a surgery for my poor nose after the swelling went down. Now, keep in mind, breaking my nose...HURT...BAD, but I figured it was already broken, getting it fixed couldn't hurt THAT bad. I was sooo wrong. I woke from the surgery screaming bloody murder in the recovery room. I kept telling them I needed more for the pain. At one point I heard a nurse talking to another nurse, she said "I don't think he [the Dr.] knows how bad this surgery feels." After that experience I told my mother that there was no way I would ever have any surgery on any bone. Now, here I am, voluntarily subjecting myself to the horrible experience. The apple looks good and tasty, but it smells of a really bad experience. Can't wait!
    

There is no such thing as a stupid question.
Having surgery like this on my foot was no joke. I did not just wake up one day and decide "hey, I think I'll get my foot fixed today". I have bounced back and forth on this for a long time. Just like many of you who are reading this right now, I was trying to find answers, learn what to expect, and how I should prepare for this. Sometimes I read articles and think to myself, "I got dis!", other times i feel like calling my doctor and cancelling the whole thing. This was no tiny decision to make. I wanted to be as prepared for this as I could be. Let me go over some of the information that I have found out for myself.

How should I prepare?
I have found where some people stock up on foods that are high in calcium to help with the healing of the bones. I definitely know that I will be cleaning the house the week before the surgery. I always feel more relaxed in a clean setting. I have begun to look into a medical device that pumps ice cold water into tubing that wraps around your foot to keep the swelling down. I will talk to my doctor about it to see if it is even an option for me. Ice packs should do fine if the water thingy is a no-go. I still have yet to decide where I will do my healing at. Our house has an extra bedroom in it that I could use but I think being stuck in there would make me feel trapped. I'm also looking into making our couch a temporary bed until I feel safe to sleep in my own bed again (I have this fear of my husband rolling over and hitting my foot in the middle of the night. Seriously I've had nightmares about that happening). I will be getting one of those shower seats to help make that more comfortable as well. I will be going home for Thanksgiving to see my family four days after surgery. Keep in mind...this is the plan...Hopefully I will get the check off from my doctor that I am doing good at my four day post op appointment. Needless to say, I will need to pack ahead of time for my mini vacation! Ha! I just hope I remember the trip while being on the pain meds. I also have other questions that need to be answered but I think those will have to wait until my pre op appointment in 18 days! Wow it is so far away but still, 18 is not a big number! 

Oh and by the way, thanks for joining me on my journey!    

In Pursuit of My Glass Slipper.

 Like most of those inflicted with bunions, I have wonderful genetics to thank for my feet. Unlike my family members, it would seem I did not inherit a single good gene for my feet. I am twenty-four years old and I have had horrible feet since I could remember. When I was younger I went to a podietrist to seek treatment. I, like most suffering from bunions, was told that the only real treatment for them was surgery. It was not until this past year that the pain I felt became unbearable. I then made an appointment to have a date set for surgery.
I have found a wonderful doctor who will be performing the surgeries. Yes, you read that correctly, surgeries. Although my feet are pretty jacked up, they are both jacked up the same way. I have seen where there have been people that went through a double bunionectomy and everything went smoothly, but I have not been able to wrap my mind around putting weight slowly on BOTH feet. My doctor let me know at the first visit that he refuses to do double bunionectomies but that he has no problem doing a lot of work on one foot at a time. So, the date was made. I work as an intervention aide at an elementary school. I call it being a gypsy teacher. I like to describe my job that way because I travel from one classroom to the next ALL DAY LONG. Since I knew I would need to have as much of a recovery time as possible, I planned my surgery to be during the Thanksgiving and Christmas break. Most surgeries will not take that long to recover from.
Can I get a fry with that?

Let's talk about having it my way. I will be having a bunionectomy on my left great toe, a removal of my tailor's bunion, and the correction of four hammer toes. I feel like I am getting a full reconstruction of my left foot. Keep in mind this will all be happening to my right foot during the summer. Whoot whoot!