Well your in luck because I was going to watch Stupid, Crazy, Love or Crazy Stupid Love but it's not done downloading yet. So I'm going to write to you instead! I wish I had some crazy stories to share, but it's sort of the same ole same ole as it relates to my foot.
If you read my post the other day you know it takes us 2 hours to get to our get away. And let me tell you about 5 minutes into the car ride I thought "I don't know about this". I was in the last section of the mini van with one foot up laying against the whole back seat and resting on the window sill while the seat belt was 1/2 choking me because my body was twisted. Ben10 movie was blaring in my ear since the speakers are in the way back of the mini van and the kids kept say "Dad, can you turn it up". I tried to think... what would Eckart Tolle do to block out this noise and discomfort. I just took some deep breathes! The trip felt LONG, but I was happy as soon as I got there.
I'm already getting my days/nights mixed up, but figure we didn't get there until 6:00 ish on Friday. We had stopped at subway for dinner along the way, so when we got there it's the normal unpacking, etc.. The kid just go into hyper mode because it's some place new to play. I did do the normal unpacking and then I sat down to ice and elevate my foot. Steve put up the fake x-mas tree. Riley wanted to watch some mega shark eating octopus movie that was on netflix. I could only take so much of that movie, so I went in th basement and noticed Country Strong was playing and even though I had seen that movie before I decided to watch it again. Steve came down with some beers so we watched our Country movie while the boys stayed upstairs and watched the Octopus take on the Mega Shark. I never did ask which one of them won the fight!! At some point Riley did come downstairs and said the movie was over and Anton fell asleep and of course he had to sit down right when the inappropriate sex scenes took place. Well, after the movie ended we put the kids to bed and I figured out my foot arrangement for the night During the movie I was getting periodic sharp pain sensations in my foot, so I thought "oh great, here comes another fun night". I took some ibuprofen before bed and put an ice pack on my foot and I am happy to report out I had no pain at all! I slept just dandy and I'm sure the beer helped me relax too (smile).
Saturday my foot felt fine. I laid around in the a.m. on the couch and read my Tolle book which I'm totally enjoying and the kids played games, etc... Steve biked on his trainer in the garage and then I did the CORE P90X video which I really like. It's been awhile since I did these videos so it's sort of fun to pull them out again. I would recommend this program to anyone. I just think all the videos are good and you truly do work your whole body. Saturday I just played with the kids. Riley and I tossed a sky ball back and forth in the great room and I just let myself be in the moment. I let the house be in chaos with the toys laying all around. I allowed myself some good beer and chips in the evening.
Regarding my foot (sometimes I forget that's the topic of this blog - smile) You'll be proud to know I remembered to do my toe exercises. I took a shower no problem. My stitches did ooze a little blood but I took comfort knowing I read that Deb's did the same thing. They didn't bleed a lot where I had to get a bandaid or anything, but there was some fresh blood. All weekend I wore my surgery shoe with my toe spacer, but totally barefoot! It just feels good to be barefoot. I truly can get around really well and not that I am doing it, but I could walk barefoot if I wanted. If anything it's annoying having to limp because this shoe doesn't bend which makes one have to hobble vs walk normal. I'm tempted to try and put on a regular shoe, but I won't. I'm also tempted to try and hop on the bike and see if I can spin in the basement, but I won't. A friend of mine who had surgery 11/11/2011 just reported out that this past week she was able to bike on her trainer, yet she still can't walk so good. I find it so interesting how everyone has a different story. Obviously that is normal, yet it's just interesting. Please go back to my past two days and read the story Donna posted regarding her story in the comment section.
Okay - not sure where I left off! Today (Sunday) I slept in until 8:00 a.m. and was woken by two boys in the middle of a big argument over some toy. Anton was in a full crying mode and I told him to come in for a hug and by 8:24 both kids were back in action. This experience has allowed me to sit back and watch things take place and really see how quickly things get resolved, yet in the heat of the moment it's so easy to get caught up into the latest fight, the talking back, etc...
On the foot note today - I totally forgot to do my toe exercises. I think around 5:30 p.m. I realized it so I got in a few sets. My toe felt a little heavy this a.m. when I woke up, but after I iced it it was totally fine and hasn't bothered me all day. So all and all it was a wonderful weekend until we got in the mini van to go home and we were all (well Steve an I) like "WTF" is that smell! It smelt like dog crap! And I mean it was horrible!! And of course when I went to look at the bottom of my shoes... I found a big ole pile all over the bottom of my surgery shoe! And Bless Ice Man! I took off my shoe and said "Steve can you go clean this". Yet, I'm telling you the WHOLE way home it smelt so bad, yet we couldn't figure out where else it was. Steve cleaned the whole car when we got home and he gave Allie a bath too. So by the time I get done with this shoe it will have experienced EVERYTHING!
Friday if you remember I had a dentist appointment and I learned I need to get a crown. Now if that doesn't make me feel old. Needing a crown on a tooth while recovery from bunion surgery! So I go back this week for the first appointment and then go back at the end of December for the actual crown. Oh and it's just a lovely $500.00 out of my pocket! Gotta love that!! Merry X-Mas Julie!! After my appointment though I did stop for a yummy Chai from Starbucks!!
I do feel sort of bad that I really do not have much new to report on my foot. Each day I can tell I am getting more and more comfortable with walking. During my toe exercises while I am pulling my toe forward I can also take my other toes and pull them backwards. The stitches at times still feels a little tight but nothing like they did last week. I'm still sporting the lovely black and blue bruises and can't wait for that to fade away! I feel like I could be doing more activities or maybe I'm just getting antsy. But it's weird when you don't feel any pain yet know your doctor told you not to do anything crazy. So for now I'm trying to be a good girl and keep doing what I've been doing... resting! And writing to you (smile).
So get out and do something fun this week! Be active! Eat Healthy! And Be Present! This Thursday will be my 3 week mark! It's funny how it's exciting hitting those 1 week marks! And really if you want this surgery don't let anyone talk you out of it! Just do it and be done with it! Until next time, Julie
Good to hear that your doing so well & had a fun weekend. My wife helped me hobble on my crutches next door to the neighbors for an outdoor fire tonight. It was fun & had a few beers. I am really suprised that I'm having almost no pain & haven't even needed so much as an aspirin in over 2 days (I hope it keeps up)! Talk to you later.
ReplyDeleteJoe
Message from Donna: Hi Julie, I have not been successful getting Part 1 to post. Here is the beginning of Part 1, which I will call Part 1A. I have enjoyed reading your blog and Deb's blog. I can guarantee that you are helping a lot of people. I wish that I were able to read your posts before my surgery in March 2011. I don't have a Facebook account, so I am posting about my surgery on your blog. I have bunions on both feet, much worse than yours. I had a Lapidus fusion and bunionectomy on my right foot. My doctor only does 1 foot at a time and requires 1-year recovery time between surgeries before he will operate on my left foot--I think that Deb is a brave woman to do both feet at once! I don't remember the brand name of my walking cast boot, but it looked like this Tall Swede-O Walking Cast Boot: http://www.scriphessco.com/products/swede-o-walking-boot-tall/725-0008/?sourcecode=SHNEXTAG. the other parts of this story can be found on day 14
ReplyDeletePart 1B from Donna (Continued from 11:54 AM):
ReplyDeleteBefore the surgery, my doctor advised me to get a knee scooter (aka knee walker or roll-about), and I think that was the best advice that I received or that I can give to anyone considering bunion surgery. The doctor wanted me to be strictly non-weight bearing for the first 6 weeks, and the only other option was crutches--ugh. It was cheaper to buy a used scooter from a medical supply rental company then to rent for 6 weeks. I paid $200, but you can sometimes buy nice used knee scooters on Craigslist for $50-$100 dollars. This was a personal expense, as my medical insurance covers crutches but not knee walkers. I will keep for it for a year to see if I do the other foot, then donate it to a non-profit group that provides medical equipment to those in need.
On the day of surgery, my check-in, pre-op, and recovery at the hospital were as others have described, with the exception that my foot was cleansed and disinfected in the surgical suite by the surgical team after I was asleep. My first 72 hours of post-surgery recovery at home were also as others have described. I took Colace capsules and fiber tablets regularly, starting immediately post surgery, to try to avert the constipation of the pain medication.
Also, I started the pain medication immediately post surgery. It was prescribed as 1-2 tablets every 4 hours as needed for pain, so I started with 1 tablet every 4 hours, although I didn’t really need it the first day. Pain was intense on Days 2 and 3, after the surgical bloke wore off, and then 1 tablet every 4 hours wasn’t enough. Instead of increasing the pain medication to 2 tablets every 4 hours as directed, I took 1 tablet every 2 hours, producing a more constant level of pain medication in my blood stream. This dosing regimen didn’t cause the drowsiness and queasiness that I got when I took 2 tablets taken at the same time, and the pain never came back between doses. People who have just had surgery should try this dosing trick. I stopped the pain meds on Day 4. I didn’t even need Alleve.
I was not allowed to go up-and-down stairs for 6 week, so I took up residence on the foldout couch in our basement rumpus room. It has direct access from the driveway, and it has a bathroom with shower, in other words, heaven on earth for a post-op patient. We have a large flat screen TV in the rumpus room, and my husband installed NetFlix, Comcast, and Apply TV. I spent my days watching old movies, Rachel Ray, The View, The Talk, and Oprah, while I worked from home on my laptop.
Whew! End of Part 1. Parts 2 & 3 were published on Dec 1 (DAY 14) -- Donna