A Week Later...

Let me first start by saying that this has been A LOT HARDER than I ever thought it would be.  We really take for granted what we can do independently until we can no longer do those things.  Lucky for me, I have a wonderful family and amazing friends.  Mike has been wonderful to me.  He has made sure I am comfortable and helps me do a lot of things.  The girls have been helpful as well.  It's nice to know that I have them here.  My friends really overwhelmed me as well.  I could not believe what they did for me.  Not only did they collect money for us to use for meals, but some of them also brought over dinners so that Mike wouldn't have to worry about cooking.  You never realize how incredibly helpful that is until you are on the receiving end.  I have felt completely loved this past week.  I count myself as very blessed in the family and friends department.  :)  To my family and friends... thank you and I love you!

Right after surgery

The day after surgery

Well, it has been a full week since my surgery.  The first coule of days I don't remember much.  Pain pills have a way of knocking me out and making me loopy.  By about Saturday, I started to become a little  more lucid...I think.  I don't really know.  Ask my family.  lol

I think the pain meds were messing up my stomach and making me feel bad.  I took my last pain pill Tuesday morning at 4:30.  After that one, I decided that I was done with those.  I'd stick to Advil or Alleve.  So far those have been working for me. It took until Wednesday before I started feeling better. I got up Wednesday morning and still didn't feel too great, but I had to get ready for my first post-op doctor's appointment.  

We left the house in the pouring rain.  I was worried about getting drenched but somehow I managed to stay pretty dry.  Mike was able to borrow a wheelchair from the doc's office to wheel me around.  That was pretty cool.  It made my life quite a bit easier.  lol 

After cutting the bandages off my foot this is what I saw.  I was completely unaware that I had a pin sticking out of the side of my foot.  It kind of freaked me out, but then again, it was kind of cool.  So, I took pics.  In this picture, my foot looks like it is crooked.  That was a concern to me, but my doctor assured me that it wasn't crooked.  Apparently, that's just the way it hangs naturally.    

This next picture shows the incision for the tendon that has caused me trouble.  I was lucky that it wasn't torn or anything.  Actually, he said the membrane surrounding my tendon was full of fluid and needed to be emptied.  I'm not exactly sure what all the purple markings are above my incision.  Part of the reason for this surgery was that I no longer had an arch.  If you notice in this picture...it's back!  Yay!!!  That was nice to see.  

This picture is the "gross" picture.  When Lori, my doc's nurse was removing the bandages, she covered this side up when I said something about it.  I guess people get weirded out about this kind of stuff sometimes.  It doesn't really bother me.  I thought it was kind of cool.  This is pretty swollen in the picture.  The middle purple mark is actually the incision.  This is the side where the bone graft was added.  The pin is in my foot to help hold the bone graft in place until it heals.  This is the side of my foot that actually hurts.  I should be getting the pin out in week 4 of this after surgery ordeal.  That means it'll come out around Valentine's Day. That would be a lovely Valentine's Day gift from my doctor.  :)  

Beginning last night I started getting some feeling back in my foot, and it has continued today.  It is nice to get the feeling back, but at the same time, it is a little weird.  Parts of my foot are still numb.  Half of my pinky toe is numb and the top of my foot is numb towards the outer side.  (pin side)  

You can probably see in these pictures that parts of my foot and toes are a little on the orange side.  That's from the iodine wash they use to sterilize the surgery site.  I was looking at my toes today.  I need to get one of the girls, probably Allison, to clean my toenails off for me tonight.  (I can't turn my foot to reach my toes too easily.)  I thought the orange stuff would wear off, but it hasn't.  I am tired of my toes looking like I've been eating Cheetoh's with my feet.   

I'll keep updating my blog with the progress I am making in my journey to a "normal" foot.  Until then, I need to get my dowel stick and do a little scratching.  This leg is starting to get itchy!