6 week photos - all is great

Hello,

Gosh it feels like forever since I've written yet I hate to say it but I don't have much to report.  Everything is going great.  I really do feel like everything is back in order.

• I'm working just like I did prior to the surgery and I'm not elevating or icing my foot at all.  
• I am back to going to the health club every day.  I have not done a hot yoga class or have not been running.  I will wait on the running until 8 weeks.  Yoga I might venture into soon.  I was thinking maybe tomorrow, but not sure if my schedule will accommodate it or not.  We will see, but I think within the next week I will return and frankly I think it will be good for my toe/foot to do all the stretching, etc..   So exercise wise I'm walking, doing TRX training, elliptical, Stair stepper (the one where it's real stairs not just the stair master).  I even did jumping jacks last week and this week and some other high impact things but only for 30 seconds to a minute and I took it easy (slow), but I felt fine.  
• I got a pedicure as you can see in the pictures below.  The massage on my foot felt excellent and I was thinking about scheduling a foot massage soon too.
• I can still feel the scar tissue inside my foot/under my scar.  It does not hurt or bother me it just feels like my sock is bunched up or I have a cotton ball between my big toe/second toe.  I was told this might take awhile before this feeling goes away.  Yet, I do not stop myself from doing anything normal.  
• I wear normal shoes and have been since my last posting (4 weeks/3 days).  I do not have to loosen up my laces or anything.  Keep in mind I tend to wear more earthy shoes versus pointy, high heals, etc..  I'd say my foot is still a bit swollen right on top, but it doesn't get in the way of anything or bother me.   I even stubbed my toe the other day and was amazed I had NO pain.  
• My walking is back to normal.  No limping or slow walking, etc..  

Here are some 6 week photos. I find I like wearing my Birkenstocks in the house.  I like how I naturally have the toe separator built in (smile). My scar is shiny on here because I put Vitamin E on the scar.

Amazing how some polish makes the feet look so much better, hey : ) 

Close up of the scar.  In person it really looks good and I'm not worried about how the scar will look long term.  I will be surprised if one can see much in a few months and if you can oh well it's just another story to tell, right.  

So I wish I had something crazy to report, but I don't.  I will report back at week 7 even though I don't expect to much to change week to week.

For those of you who have been through this before.  How long did it take for the scar tissue to heal inside your foot?  I'm referring to that little bit of tightness that is still there.   Not sure if this makes sense.  

Have a Happy New Year!  Be safe!  Hope your all doing well!!

4 weeks and 3 days (3rd Post Op Dr. Visit)

Good News!  This Jack Sparrow Sassy Chick can resume back to all normal activities as of today!!  Yippee!

I had my 3rd post op visit today... here are the outcomes...

• Formal name of the procedure I had done on 11/17/2011:  Hallux Valgus Deformity with Metatarsal Osteotomy and Screw Fixation.
• Doctor said my bone/foot is healed and everything looks great inside and outside
• Since my last appointment the screws have not moved
• He said I can get back to my normal activities using common sense.  
• He mentioned to hold off on trying to run until I get to 8 weeks.  So a few more weeks there. Which honestly made me happy.  I was thinking he tell me to wait longer on this one.
• He said to wait until I do yoga until my walking is normal.
• I can downhill ski, swim, bike, do the elliptical, or anything else and just listen to my foot
• I can't hurt my foot at this point.  It's HEALED!!
• He recommends not trying to fit into my shoes if they don't fit yet and just wait for the swelling to go down otherwise I will just feel discomfort/pain, but my foot can't get hurt
• I do not have to go back to the doctor.  My visits are done.
• I can get a pedicure, take a bath, etc..
• He said to walk slow now, but try to walk normal to keep loosening up the tightness and let the full range of motion come back naturally.
• My range of motion is great and I do not need any PT
• He said to call if I have any questions or concerns
• When I asked if my big toe bending over is normal he said yes.  Everyone is going to have some degree of that toe bending over.  Usually it's about 15%.  He said there is a small procedure that can be done to fix it but it really is not worth doing.  He said to keep wearing the toe spacer for a couple more weeks just as added "support".  He had no concerns about the toe being bent over.
• He said when I over do it I should just ice and elevate my foot
• He said swelling is normal and then all of sudden it will be gone and stay gone.

So all and all I'm on my own now and should just ease back into things naturally!  Yippee!!  I will try and keep posting progress updates for a little while until I do feel like I am truly back to doing thing normally and not even thinking about my toe/foot.  I appreciate all your questions, comments and stories so please keep sharing and asking.  Thanks for following me on this journey!! I'd like to think in a month this surgery is something in the past.  Time will tell!!  Okay, gotta run since I have a meeting at 3:30.  Need to go prepare, but wanted to share the good news!!

The scabs are coming off my scar nicely.  This picture looks sort of gross. My foot looks all wrinkled from my sock, but every day I think the scar is looking better and better.

Here are the x-rays from today.  They look the same as the ones I posted in the past.

4 Weeks (photo & video)

Yesterday marked four weeks since I had my surgery.  Tomorrow will be one month on the calendar.  Not much has changed since my last post of pics and video.  Here are some 4 week photos and videos.  First photo is just a comparison of my two feet.  Notice no more black and blue toes or foot!  Yippee!  The right foot is the foot I had done.  I don't recall my big toe being so far over in the past but who knows maybe it was and I didn't notice it because I used to focus on my bunion.  The second photo is just a close up of my scar at 4 weeks.  It has not itched or peeled yet.  I have been putting vaseline around it the last week to help loosen up the skin and I did just buy some Vitamin E oil and started applying that to the scar as of last night.

Not much has changed in these videos since the last one yet I thought I'd show you two videos at 4 weeks.  One a front on view and one me bending my toe (s) by themselves.

Other things I've been up to...

• Walked a mile or more yesterday outside with the air cast and felt great
• Went to the health club this a.m. and walked the track (10 minutes) plus did TRX by myself for a good 30 minutes and then walked Allie outside for about 10 minutes.  I plan to go to a 45-60 minute TRX class tomorrow at 7:00 a.s..  I wore my air cast the whole time while exercising and plan to keep doing that I'd think for the next week or so just to be safe.
• Worked my first 40 hour work week and my foot really did not bother me at all.  Keep in mind I work from home so I'm at a desk, on the phone, etc... not on my feet a lot or walking from one meeting to the next.  I totally forgot about my foot so there was no icing, elevating, toe exercises, etc...  which at some point life carries on and the foot will continue to heal on it's own, right?
• Went to a friends party last night and stood for a good 4 hours and again I didn't feel any pain, but was conscious of me standing so long, but no increased pain.  Foot was a little more puffy when I went to bed.  I wore the surgery shoe to the party.
• Weight wise I'm still doing good.  Down about 1 1/2 pounds from four weeks ago, but I still feel strong and I'm happy I've been doing weight training this past month.
• I plan to have a mellow weekend and rest.  I will exercise, probably clean, and then try and lay around.
• Next milestone - doctors visit on Tuesday, Dec. 20th.  New X-Rays and 3rd post op visit. 

Day 26 - Walking Boot versus Surgery Shoe Pic

Amy and all, I thought I'd show you the difference between my walking air cast boot and surgery shoe.  Below is the walking boot.  When I have this on I can apply all my weight down on my foot.  I can cruise around in this boot because it has a natural bend/rock down by the toes so I glide nicely.  Not sure if that makes sense, but I can walk totally normal in this boot and feel totally safe in the boot.

Below is what I call the surgery shoe because that's what my doctor calls it.  This shoe DOES NOT bend.  So I have to limp or hobble when I have this one on.  This is what I have been LIVING in and what I slept in up until last week or so.  I could tell as the swelling went down because I'd have to cut the straps shorter and shorter so they would not drag on the floor.  The doctor actually said I could just keep wearing this shoe if I wanted versus using the boot, yet I took along the boot too on 11/29 just because it's the safer if I'm out and about.  I have not used the boot much.  Just once when I was out and a few times when I have exercised.  It would be hard for my foot to get hurt with the boot on.  I can also do normal push ups and front and side planks etc when I wear the boot.  I have started to exercise with the boot so I can do all the squats and lunges, etc..  and not worry about putting to much weight on my foot.  I wondered if I could do yoga in this boot and might attempt it.  We will see.  A yoga instructor prior to my surgery thought I'd be able to do it and thought the whole hot yoga thing would be good for the healing process too.

So I'm on 3 days in a row walking Allie for 15-20 minutes outside and I gotta say for some reason today my toes all feel great.  I feel like some of the stiffness has left my foot!!  Maybe I'm dreaming it, but I swear my foot feels more normal and walking barefoot now seems to have come back to me.  Up to today I was still very hesitant to walk barefoot and it felt like I had forgotten how to walk normal.  Today has been a crazy work day and I almost didn't get in my walk except now Allie comes and whines and cries until I get her out, so I had to finally get her out around 3:00 p.m. and I can say on that walk I went fast and I'm even going up and down a pretty steep hill.  If I have time tomorrow I hope to go 1 mile, but again work has been crazy so I don't know if I'll get it in or not.  The weather has been great in WI so I gotta get out and enjoy it even if it's only for 20 minutes.  I also plan to hit the health club on Friday.  Not sure what I will do yet, but I'm going to do it.  I called and I can wear the boot in the club, so I'm going to go.  I won't over do anything, but I think it's good to just break my routine after a month of being almost house bound.  Again, only try walking if you feel ready.  I have felt ready for a good week, but was hesitant to do it, yet I'm glad I did.  I feel like I could do more and the other day I was tempted to get on the spinning bike but I thought... just wait Julie... figure in one week I go back to the doctor and he certainly better tell me I can let loose or I think I might have to do it anyway (smile).  The thing is my foot is not swelling up and I am not experiencing any pain or anything.  I will say the bottom of my foot seems a little more bruised, but it doesn't hurt or anything.  So I'm sure that's just the pressure from the extra weight.  I don't know.  One could analysis this thing to death!   So for those of you who have been through this before if you think I'm over doing anything please let me know.  Thursday will mark my 1 month post surgery and I don't want to screw anything up.  I am icing my foot right now.  Not sure why, but I thought I would for the heck of it.  Partially because I honestly didn't pay any attention to my foot today because I was so focused on work.  I think I even caught myself jumping steps while I went up and down them.  I did have my surgery shoe on so that puppy does always keep me going slower then I'd like.

I will say I have been so bad at remembering to do my toe exercises.  Maybe I get in 4 a day compared to the 8, yet I do get good range of motion when I do it and now I include all the toes in the bending forward and backwards to try and get them loose too.

Okay - you know me.. I'll stop writing or I'll just keep rambling on about something.  I always appreciate your comments or questions.  Hope you had a great day!  Enjoy the rest of your week!

And for the record I'm SO HAPPY I got a surgery shoe.  It made sleeping and everything so easy right from the start.  I don't know how I would have slept with this big boot on my foot.  Bless you all that only got a boot.

Also Amy - interesting your getting your pin out.  My pins stay in forever as far as I know.  Your the first one to mention something about getting the pins out.  Have others had that done too?  Just curious.  

Day 24

Hello All,

Just thought I'd say hello and I hope your all enjoying your weekend.  My weekend has been very low key and that was my plan.  Since I was on my feet a fair amount last week I though this weekend would be good to try and rest more and keep my foot up and iced every so often.

Yesterday a.m. I had two objectives - help Steve clean the house and exercise!  I accomplished both and had no increased pain or swelling.  I exercised 1 hour and 15 minutes (Shoulders, Chest, and Ab Riper video) and then cleaned for 2 hours wearing my air cast walking boot.  The afternoon I really did spend most of my time in bed just relaxing.  I had a friend over for each child so they were totally entertained and having a blast.  At night I watched the movie Case 39 - more of a thriller movie where there is a psycho child, so it had me jumping a few times.  All and all Saturday was a good day!

Today - I am proud to say I did my weight stuff for an hour (Legs and Back) and then are you ready.... I ventured out of the house for a walk down the road.  Yup!  A whole 14 minutes!  And I felt totally fine, but instead of going longer I thought I'd just come home and rest and take it easy the rest of the day.  If I have no increased pain or swelling then I think I might have to start adding in walking each day, so I hope the snow stays away for at least this week.  Allie however decided to stay out a while longer.  She likes to take off on me and run the neighborhood when I don't put her on the lease.  And today I just thought I'm going to let her run free since it's been a while for her too.  And she took off right out of the driveway.  We have invisible fencing so normally she stays in the yard, but she knows when we are going for a walk and when it's okay for her to cross over.  She she came back as she always does.  She goes and eats all the bio food people throw out back in the woods.  That part drives me crazy, yet at this point I think if she's happy I'm happy.  She's 12 and has had a good life so why try to change old habits! As you can see she fell fast to sleep when she returned and hasn't moved much!

And you can see I'm icing my foot like I should be...

I put my health club membership on hold just for a month, so figure come 12/17 I could get back in there too, but I'm trying to hold out until I get the official thumbs up from my Dr. on 12/20.  Also, I'd probably have to call and see if I could even be in the health club with the air cast or not.  I know someone else mentioned they were not allowed back in with an air cast on.

The boys just got back from skiing!  Their ski lessons started yesterday and they had so much fun they wanted to go back and ski today which was nice to hear.  They have been skiing for the past few years, but usually it's a pain in the neck to get them out the door.  Today they didn't complain or anything so it was great.  It's the same with going boating... you hear "I don't want to go on the boat", yet once they do it they have a blast and every time I just think "stop with the complaining already" because sometimes it can just set me off.

Have a great week.  Thursday marks 4 weeks for me so I'll try and remember to post photos.  The only changes since last week's post is all my strips have come off and I think most of the black and blue toes are gone.  My skin has not gotten dry and shed like I heard from other people.  Maybe it's just not there yet.  My scabs are looking good.  The two above my pins are a little more red then the other ones.  I am trying to put vaseline on my skin around the scar just to see if that helps keep the skin less tight feeling.   That's the only thing that bugs me is how tight that area feels and still the little bit of tightness in all my toes when I'm trying to bend them forward and backwards.  Here and there I've been trying to walk normal with my foot, yet find it funny that I feel like I have forgotten how to walk normal.

Day 21 - Three Weeks Post Surgery (Video and photo of the foot)

Here is a short video clip I put together so you could see what my foot looks like in action at 3 weeks!

So as you can see I can move my toes and foot.  All my toes do feel a bit stiff and it's sort of driving me crazy.  I'd love to do calf raises on my tippy toes or something just to start getting those toes moving, but I'm trying to be patient.  I think the thing is I just feel ready to start trying to walk normal and it's bugging me that I know I shouldn't be doing it so I haven't.

Hopefully this videos shows you a bit of how far I can bend my toe forward and backwards.

Here are some general photos at 3 weeks!

 Here are my thoughts at 3 weeks:

• The black and blue color is going down in my foot / toes
• I'm totally comfortable standing in the shower normal, but I do find sometimes my scabs will start to bleed more in the shower.
• Toe exercises - are easy to do it's just a matter of remembering to do it.  Top scabs will bleed when I bend my toe forward and backwards which I guess would be normal since at this point it's like every other scab/sore that's healing.  I'd like to be bending my whole foot and all my toes, but don't know if I should be doing this or not.
• I'm icing less and less - yesterday I did not ice my foot at all and I don't know if it even matter.  I did not feel anything different from one day to the next.
• There is still some swelling on top of the foot and in all my toes.  Some days it's more noticeable than others, but I'm wondering how long until it's totally gone.
• Still no pain / no pain pills
• Sleeping barefoot now and starting to move around the bed normal and will walk to the bathroom barefoot in the middle of the night or to the kitchen if needed.
• Driving now and it's no problem with the surgery shoe (ask for a surgery shoe versus a boot right out of surgery).  I think it made it more pleasant for me all around.
• I am able to put in a good 1/2 days worth of work and can sit in a chair normal now without my foot throbbing, but force myself to go elevate my foot for a while and then go back to working.
• When I'm laying on the couch I put an extra pillow under my foot to elevate it otherwise I'm not elevating my foot any longer.
• I can be on my foot standing for long period of time.  I'm usually on my foot from 4-7 at night because of the kids... between sitting and standing with helping with homework, cleaning up the kitchen, playing, etc..
• I have been doing p90x videos (only the weight ones no cardio)
• All and all I do feel good, but want to be doing more now.  I'd like to be able to go to the health club and do some of the low weight bearing exercise machines, I'd love to get back into some of my classes, etc... but I know.. patience grasshopper!!
• Weight wise - I have lost a little weight but nothing dramatic.  I have eaten very healthy and I avoid salty foods, processed foods, etc.. I pretty much eat fruits, veggies, and lean meats!  And I do treat myself to some crap food when I feel like it otherwise I would go crazy!  I'm just conscious of my food intake since I pretty much have no activity in my life at the moment.
• Mentally - all and all I've been able to keep my mind in a good place.  I have my lovely moments that Steve gets to experience but for the most part I've been proud of myself.  I thought I'd go completely nuts and so far I haven't (smile).  
• My next milestone is my 3rd post op appointment on Dec. 20!  I pray he says I can go back to the health club and do everything except I'm sure running.  Which at this point I'll take.  As long as I can do spinning, swimming, and some low weight bearing exercise machines I'll be happy for a while.  I'm still not sure how yoga or TRX will go over since a lot of it is on your toes!  All with time I'm sure!  
• Remember baby steps are key!  Right!!

So there you have it!  I'm at 3 weeks and really do feel like I have my life back except for the fact I am not exercising like I used to do.  And I think Steve thinks I'm back to normal too.  This a.m. I had to remind him how I should still be resting a little bit.  I've been the one up now in the a.m.'s getting the kids out the door while Steve bikes in the basement, I've been back to doing the laundry, and picking up the house.  He still is doing a lot, but he is back on his schedule versus allowing me to rest longer in the a.m. etc.   All really is good.  It was just nice not having to do the bullshit work (SMILE).

Until next time - tootles!

Day 19 -

So yesterday I decided to take back my life as much as one can in this situation.  I decided I needed my bedroom to get back to being just my bedroom.  I moved all my work stuff back downstairs and was able to work in the basement a good 5 hours throughout the day.  I'd force myself to go back up stairs and elevate my foot with ice.  I continue to ice my foot even though the doctor told me I didn't have to do it so much.  Not sure why I keep doing this as I'm not sure it matters at this point.  Maybe I do it 4 times a day if that.  I usually always do it right when I wake up and right before bed and then some where during the day I do it once or twice.   So I was happy to find that I can sit down for small periods of time and not have my foot throb.  I try to have my foot up under my desk.  The only problem I have is I have too long of legs to keep them extended and still sit comfortably at my desk.  This week I plan to have all my teleconferences from my office too, so we will see how that goes.  I have one this afternoon and then a couple meetings on Wednesday and Thursday.  I continue to ease my way back to work which has been nice.  So my first step was getting my work stuff out of the bedroom!!  Done!!  And hopefully it stays that way too!!  The only problem with this is I do have more trips up and down the stairs.  I just have to remember to go VERY SLOWLY on the stairs.   There is times I can tell I'm trying to rush walking by going quicker, etc... and I just keep thinking... slow is good Julie.  There is no reason to rush around.

My next step was to recreate a new resting place in the house for ME!  And as you can see Allie thought I was creating her a new soft spot to rest!  Again the story of my life with this dog of mine.

Yes, my foot is under her head!  So regardless what I do I have a cuddlier 24/7.  You can sort of see my black and blue big toe sticking out above her head!  I will admit this is one of my favorite times at the end of the day.  Once the house gets quiet.  I love to go put on a movie and just relax and Allie will just come and rest right next to me.

Last night I had to laugh because Steve put candy in the kids stockings for St. Nick and of course Mr. Riley had to make his way downstairs right after Steve finished and he came running and said "MOM, come LOOK.  ST NICK has already been here!  I wonder how he did this with you on the couch and dad in the bedroom!  Steve was still awake so of course we had to go celebrate with Riley.  Then Riley adds in "you know I don't sleep much and one of these times I'm going to catch him".  And then he said "but the elf hasn't moved yet, so I'll have to keep an eye out of him tonight and see if I can catch him moving around".    He was still surprised in the a.m. to find stuff in his shoes.  Now this was news to me and first I should admit the kids came home yesterday and said "Mom, ST NICK comes tonight" and I said "Really, one second".  And I quickly went and called Steve and said "I guess St Nick comes tonight so can you stop and pick up candy".   Anyway then the kid went on about how ST Nick puts things in kids shoes.  And I said "I think he just put stuff in your stockings" and they were pretty sure he put stuff in their shoes too, so we couldn't disappoint and we also stuffed their shoes.

Steve said he will order the kids toys online.  This weekend we put some items together on amazon.com and frankly I can't even look at how much it was or it will just make me sick.  Steve's better at spending money than I am and will just order the stuff.  Me, I'd sit there and think "Do they REALLY need this?' And then I'd get all pissy when it's time to check out because I'd think... this is too much $$ to be spending on TOYS!

Last night I bared all!!  Yup, I slept totally barefoot!  And it was fine, but I was conscious of every time I turned or twisted throughout the night and the scar part is still a little sensitive/tight.  I will probably continue to do it.  When the shoe is on at night I just turn that foot which ever way I want and don't think about it. I also then did not sleep with the toe spacer in thinking it would just fall out anyway.  AND I was able to walk barefoot back to the kitchen when I realized I forgot to move the elf.  I went VERY slow, but I did it.  Again, I put most of my weight on my good foot!  Yesterday I think I was good with getting my toe exercises in.  I didn't keep track on how many times I did it, but I tried to do it throughout the day.  The toe and area that was cut still has some tightness too it, but I think that's all normal.  When I'm pulling and pushing on the toe I think I'm getting good range of motion.

One thing I really do find interesting as it relates to everyone's stories is the different amount of pain we each experience.  In general it seems like either people do not experience much pain at all and only need to be on some sort of pain pill 2 -3 days.  Where other people are in SO much pain that it's unbearable.  Obviously we are all having different things done, yet at the end of the day we are each breaking our foot in order to have this procedure done. I wonder what makes it so painful for some and not for others. I read some one's story and she described her pain as worse than having a child.  And I will admit when I had my first child that was the worst pain I had ever felt.  I had no drugs (not that I didn't want them, but it was too late in the game) and let me tell you I truly did think the whole pushing process was awful or maybe I just wasn't prepared for it!  And you ladies will hate me when I say I had my babies fast!  With Riley I think I got to the hospital at 3:00 p.m and by 7:00 p.m. he was out.  With ANTON we got to the hospital parking lot at 4:00 a.m. and he was out by 4:45 a.m. I did a water birth with him and honestly nothing hurt on that one.  Or maybe it's because he was born in Germany and I didn't know what the hell the nurse was saying to me : )   Okay, my point being is I truly do feel bad for those of you who experience a lot of pain with this bunion procedure.  It does seem though the worst of the pain in within the first few days to a week and then things get better, right!  

To me there is such a myth out there on this procedure.   From my experience anyone who I told I was having this surgery their eyes lite up and they said "OH I heard that's PAINFUL or I'd hear "I'd NEVER have that done".  I just think people think this is worse than what it is.   I do find it painful to sit around all day and not do any activities!  But again for anyone new reading this don't let others opinions scare you and know yes you might feel lots of pain in the beginning or you may be pleasantly surprised and find you barely have pain.  It's just odd to me how different each story is!  My one bit of advice would be to get in really good shape.  Eat healthy!  Exercise prior and get to a good weight, so when you can move around it's comfy, and just take care of yourself.  Also, be conscious of what you eat while you are resting since you won't be burning a lot of calories for 4-8 weeks!

Boy did I just go on and on about that, hey!   My next goal about trying to get my life back is just each day start to do something whether it's cleaning a room, getting out of the house to grocery shop, or something.   Yet resting, resting, and resting!  I can just feel I am getting a little stir crazy.  My head is still in a good place, but I need to get back to something besides working and resting : )

I also was thinking I do like that I had this done in November.  I think with the holidays it has really made the time go by quickly and I'm hoping winter seems shorter too.  Figure I haven't left my house much in the last "almost 3 weeks", so I haven't felt much cold.  I'm assuming (or hoping) come Jan. 1st I will be able to be back to more of my normal schedule and then I will also only have to deal with 2 1/2 months of WINTER!  Don't get me wrong I like Winter.  I just don't like 4-5 months of it.  I'm also curious if I will be able to down hill ski come Jan/Feb.  Thoughts on that one?  Figure mid-January I'd be at 8 weeks.  Getting into real ski boots is never fun so that might be painful if my foot isn't moving with it's full range of motion by then.  Time will tell!

Enjoy your day!  Two more days and I'm at 3 weeks!!!  Whoo Woo!!!  Sorry folks, but updates on the foot are becoming less and less since not much is changing.  I feel like I'm at a good spot regarding being able to walk, not experiencing pain, trying to do the toe exercises.  I'd like to say my black and blue color is going down slightly.  The little white strips are making their way off the scar.  One fell off and three look like they will be coming off soon and two look like they are on normal.  I'm still feeling good and I'm actually WANTING to walk and put my weight on the foot, but I'm trying to stick to the book.  All is going good - knock on wood!!

Be kind!
Julie

Day 17

Hello All,
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

Day 14 - Two Weeks since Surgery!

Yay!  Two weeks down and what 6 weeks to go!  Lord have mercy : )  Just Kidding.  Truth be told the last two weeks have gone by quickly and my days just seem to get busier and busier.  No pain again last night! Yippee!  But don't get mad when I say today I had to go do the P90X Shoulders, Triceps, and Chest video.  I put on my big ass ski boot though so I could bare down weight normal and not hurt my foot.  I felt fine during the video!  And really it does the mind and body good!  I was feeling a bit sluggish and sure I could have taken a nap but I choose to get up and get my body moving (well my upper body).  It will feel so strange once I can run again or do something really physical and I wonder if I will feel out of shape or how quickly I will get back to the Julie from 15 days ago!  For some reason I think I'll bounce back pretty quick, but I could be wrong.  I'd think I'll be sore once I get back to the TRX and Hot Yoga just because I'll be using my muscles differently again.  Who knows!

So I don't know if you will be able to tell or not but see how my foot/leg is purple?  Yesterday it seemed even worse, but this is what happens once my leg gets wet and I'm standing in the shower.  It doesn't hurt.  Just turns into a little piece of art work (smile).  Have I ever told you that I truly hate my feet and toes!  I have always thought they were one of my worst features so I can not believe the way I have been putting them on display for you! But again they get me around and for that I'm thankful for the good man upstairs.
Also don't be mad, but I finally ventured out of the house today!  I went to my friend's purse party and treated myself to a new shoulder bag and wallet so that was fun.  I did put on the ski boot when I got there.  I almost just went in with the surgery shoe since it's a little more petite, but I decided to go on the safe route.  My foot didn't bother me at all.  Figure I was only gone 2 hours and then I came right back and iced my foot and elevated it.  I even took an Ibuprofen just for the heck of it and I'll probably take some tonight before bed since it was the first time I was up and about and out of the house!!
Remembering to do the toe exercises again - pain in the neck.  I still have one more set to get in and I hope if I do these exercises over the next few weeks then I'm done.  It's so simple yet just hard to remember to do!  I do want to get my full range of motion back so I am trying to just get in the habit of doing them.   I still haven't done any x-mas shopping.  I'll do it all on online, but still I probably should get on that.  See I really do hate buying presents for the sake of buying presents.  The kids don't need a darn thing, so I really struggle with what to get them.  I've never been one to go crazy with toys in general, but I hate wasting money on toys.
So my next adventure is this weekend.  We have a little place on the lake that's 2 hours from our home.  And I think we will be going there tomorrow.  In my mind I'm just trying to figure out how to sit in the car with my foot up.   Either I will sit in the back seat and extend my foot over the seat or I figure I can sit in the middle seat and rest it between the front seat and the window with a pillow.  A change of scenery will be nice though - I think (smile).   I'm just not looking forward to the car ride, yet it always goes by quickly
Last night I got rid of all my pillows and comforter so I had no elevation in bed.  But for some reason I then slept with my surgery shoe on!  I guess I'm not ready to bare all yet (smile).  Part of it is I pee a lot during the night and it's pain to find my shoe and then put it on, etc..  But also my foot just felt a little to exposed.  Maybe tonight though I'll keep the shoe but lose the sock!  I know I'm really living on the edge!!
I put in more than a 1/2 days worth of work today as well, so I've been a busy little camper with a broken toe!  I just got assigned a new assignment again today, so I will have enough work to do between tomorrow and early next week.  Which again I think is a good thing and I'm not being pressured.  I actually told my manager that it was fine to assign me something new.
So there you have it!  I lead a pretty exciting life, hey!  And we remembered to hide the little elf guy last night and the kids were so excited!!
So tell me what would be some good presents to get my boys!  Age 6 and 8!
Don't worry I won't keep bugging you with this, but if you haven't gone out to this facebook page yet... do so and post something to share!  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bunion-Surgery-Recovery-Chats-QAs-and-Connection/266239080090146

p.s. to the London guy (see aren't I nice not using your name) that posted a like to FB- thanks!  Too bad you weren't my doctor - I'm so funny!!  Only I can see the people behind the likes on FB and it's so fun for me to put some faces to people versus just seeing how many hits I'm getting to this site.  And London guy just so you know your not alone... I have 51 hits/visits from the UK.  Hopefully you came back today and you know I'm talking to you!  It amazes me each day to see how many visitors might be reading this little blog.  Thanks to all of you that went to the site and for those of you that wrote something and shared websites, photos, etc..

As of right now on this bunion blog I've had 1, 082 traffic hits, yet who knows how many of those hits are just scammers versus real people.  I don't know if that's a good number or not but it's be interesting watching the different countries that have stop by.  Most of the hits are from the US.   Now I'd love it if I heard from more of you!  Either on this site or on the facebook site.   You know me I can only talk about so much!  Soon I'll just have to start talking about whatever comes to my mind... Sex, Love, Relationships, Marriage you name it!  And let me tell you if you think I can talk about bunions... don't even get me started on one of the other topics :  )   Believe it or not... Bunions are not my true passion.  Gosh, I hope your smiling along with me.

Any who!  Have a super night or day depending on where your located!  Do something completely unexpected today!  Make yourself laugh! And just be kind to those around you!  Hugs!