Day 9

Below is a photo from today's game. Steve wrote "cold and rainy"

Go Badgers Go

Mr. Steve is all ready to go!!

Photos below are from a couple years back

I believe this is the year one of his buddies brought his brand new truck and after taking a taxi back to our house the guys thought it would be fun to go off roading on some land we had about 10 miles away from our house. Let's just say his truck didn't look so new the next morning. I will miss not waking up and hearing all about their stories, but I won't miss being woken up at 2 a.m. when they all get home. Even though over the years they do tend to come home earlier and earlier, but still tipsy as can be.

Have Fun Steve. As Joe mentioned a few days ago you earned it!

I keep tightening the straps on my surgery shoe which leads me to believe my swelling continues to go down. So I'm curious if my foot looks any different come Tuesday when I go back to get the stitches out. On the foot front really I have nothing new to report. All is going well.

I am getting a little sick of being confined to the house. This a.m. when Steve said I'm going out for coffee I said "hey, can you go to starbucks and get me a chai" and he said "no". Starbuck is 10 minutes away or less, but there is another coffee place 2 minutes away. I only like Chai at Starbucks. I'm not a caffeine drinker and once or twice a week I treat myself to Starbucks Chai on my way back from the health club. I know - doesn't make sense to work my ass off and then drink 220 calories right afterwards, but it's a treat for me so I do it. So that was my first rejection for the day.

Then I said... while you get yourself some coffee can you stop and pick me up some Chobani yogert or Stonefield Banavanilla yogert along with some different kinds of fruit. I added and no chips or crackers because it's too easy for me to munch on. Today I did get on the scale and I'm right where I need to be. There hasn't been any change in my weight over the last week, so I was happy.

Steve gets home from shopping and getting himself a cup of coffee. I said "so did you get my yogert?" He says "yeah", so I wobble out to the kitchen and see some Sugar River Rock Vanilla Yogert on the counter. Okay - grant it no big deal, but I couldn't help but say "REALLY, what part of STONE FIELD BANA_VANILLA did you not understand" and then I had to add "Today I will be getting in the car and driving, so I can get a CHAI and the yogert I WANT". Then I hear "Mom, stay above the line" coming from Anton's mouth. A couple weeks back I attended a training session on risk management and in that session the instructor drew a line and below the line he wrote Excuses, Blame, and Denial and mentioned when things go wrong people tend to go below the line, but when things go wrong people should stay above the line and he wrote the word responsibility. Well I took this theory back to my kids and said "okay boys we have a new rule and it's called "Stay above the line". On my sheet I drew a line and wrote whining, blaming, hitting, complaining below the line and above the line I wrote take responsibility and ownership. So over the last couple of weeks my kids have heard me say "Stay above the line" and it's been working really well. So needless to say all I could do was look at Anton and say "your right, I need to stay above the line". And he said "good, because I was talking to you and not to dad". And then Steve adds in "just add a banana to the yogert and you'll have banavanilla" and I said "I'm trying to stay above the line please keep your comments to yourself. Steve also bought a big bag of cheese puffs and his variety of fruit was green pears and red pears. I guess when I said "bring a variety of fruits like plums, necterines (spelling) etc.. wasn't clear enough. And also not sure if he understood do not bring any crackers or chips home either. The problem is when cheese puffs are in the house then I will eat them.

So today my goal is to exercise once Steve and the kids leave. Take another bath. Maybe get a nap in and read. I also thought I should work on my photo album.

Last night the kids and I watched Igor while Steve cleaned the house so tonight I thought it might be fun to watch Annie so they can see who the monster was trying to be in the show yesterday. Not sure if the movie Annie will go over well with two little boys but I thought it's worth a try, right : )

Also watched life as a tree movie - not really sure what I thought. I couldn't really keep watching it. A little to slow for me or my mind wasn't in the right place.

Steve thinks I should rename my blog to just say "Julie's Thoughts". He is probably right, hey.

Enjoy your Saturday,

Julie

Day 8

Look who just got home. Again, this photo should be at the end of the message, so it will make sense if you choose to read this post.

This photo was also suppose to show up at the end of my message not here. I have yet to figure out how to get photos to appear where I'd like them in these posts. When I go to attach a photo it always posts it to the top of the page versus within the text. This photo was just suppose to show you how I've been hanging out with the kids in my bed playing computer games. I can't keep up with all the excitement in my life these days (smile)

Three years ago today I lost my father. The two pictures below were taken two days before he died. I had the whole family over to my house to celebrate Riley's 5th b-day. It was a really nice day, yet had I known that was the last time I would have seen him... boy the things I would have taken the time to say to him that day instead of assuming it was like every other day we said good bye to each other.

I am at peace with thing now, but every day he is in my thoughts and I miss him dearly. I believe he continues to look out for me and he does continue to visit me in my dreams which I love. Sorry just needed to acknowledge him today.

My last photo of my dad and I. 11.23.2008

Whenever I think of my dad I always think of my dear friend Joyce. She was one of my best friend's/college roommate. I lost her a few months after I lost my dad. Love your parents and family/friends because you truly do not know when it will be the last time you see someone.

Okay sorry for getting sort of morbid on you.

Alright on to happier updates:

• Steve is out enjoying a long bike ride. I think it's like 50 degrees here in Wisconsin.
• I just got done doing P90x. Today was shoulders, triceps, and biceps. I also did abs. I stood the whole time and I didn't feel any pain in my bad foot. I put my body weight on my heal and outside of my foot. What I find interesting is if I sit normal in a chair. My foot starts to throb, but I can stand and it doesn't seem to bother me. I'm icing my foot right now and I continue to be good about icing it every 2 to 3 hours.
• Still no pain last night or today.
• Yesterday late afternoon when I had the house to myself I ventured upstairs and took a bath. It all worked well, but keep in mind I am 5'9 and 3/4ths, so our standard bath tub isn't the most comfortable for my long ass legs. I kept my bad foot rested on the top of the tub and NOTHING got wet. I was able to also turn on the hand held shower and wash my hair and rise off when needed. So that is how I will plan to stay clean until I can stand in the shower. And yes, today I finally did find some time to do some much needed body grooming, so I am feeling human again. Sorry Mr. Camera man wasn't around for my bath or grooming. Now those could have been some interesting photos.

Normally this weekend we'd go out and cut down our x-mas tree, yet I don't know if I'm ready for all of that to happen. Obviously, I wouldn't go along for the tree cutting, but I'm thinking about the bins of x-mas decorations and that's what I'm not sure I want to deal with right now.

Today has been all about hanging with the kids and I'm looking forward to Steve getting home soon because I might be reaching my "quality family time limit" : ) . The kids have been great, but they have had their little moments. I think it's good they will get out of the house more tomorrow.

If your just doing research on bunions my suggestion would be to keep reading different sites and blogs. You will quickly see how everyone's experience is different. What I found to be the best for me though was getting a hold of actual referrals from my doctor. At first I was told they couldn't get referrals because of patient confidentiality. When I pushed to get referrals then the nurse said she'd send some patients a letter and ask if they'd be open to being a referral and if yes, then she'd have to send them another letter to sign. I told her ideally I'd like to talk with someone that just got the surgery done, someone that is past the recovery period, and someone in the recovery process. The nurse was able to get a hold of 4 patients for me to speak with and I found that to be so helpful and I gained the confidence I needed in my cute Dr. (smile).

Also, when in conversion with friends, etc.. I'd just mention I'm thinking about having Bunion surgery and asked them if they knew of others that had it done and there too I was able to connect with a few other people. Just know everyone is going to have their opinions so you have to do what is best for you. I personally am glad I did not put off doing this surgery.

It's probably to early for me to say this, but so far I have not found this to be a painful process just more of an inconvenience and sort of boring to have to rest so much. Deep down I just pray that the surgery was successful meaning the pain is gone and that I won't know about for weeks/months ahead.

Last night Steve and I watched Bad Teacher. Tonight I have The life of a Tree's. That might not be the right title, but it's a Brad Pitt film. If you've watched any good movies please let me know. The other night we watched Days/Nights - Tom Cruise movie. I watched bridemaids and thought that was funny too.

I think Steve's 2 hour bike ride is turning into a 3 hour bike ride. This is also normal for him to say "oh I'm just going out for 2 hours" and then he shows up 4 hours later and says "what, I got a little lost or I got a flat tire". He did say he is going to clean the house when he returns, so as long as that happens I don't mind him being out a little long than normal.

The kids are sitting on the bed with me right now. Anton is on our iPad playing some Math computer game with a rocket and Riely is on a different laptop playing a ninago lego game.

Well, I hope your having a good Friday. For those of you who went out shopping last night in the middle of the night - your crazy (smile). I'm just not a shopper so I just can't wrap my head around the whole experience, but if you had fun that's all that matters.

Okay get out and do something active for me today.

Curious: When one's foot is in a walking boot. Is your foot still wrapped in a bandage? This bandage is driving me nuts how it keeps getting loose by my heal and I have to keep rewrapping it. This is an on-going activity. I look forward when this bandage is no longer needed.

Day 7 - One Week Post Surgery

Happy Turkey Day!!!

So I bet you only came back to check on one thing.... Does Ice Man get to go to the Badger Game on Saturday.... drum roll.... Go Badgers Go... Yes, he does. The kids will go to a friends house for a play date, then come home and be with me for a couple of hours and then a sitter will come and take them back to her house to provide dinner and run them silly. I will then just need to put them to bed once they return.

Steve and his college buddies do this once a year and usually they crash at our place afterwards, but this year I told Steve I think it's best if they just get a hotel downtown versus crawling back to our place in the early a.m. Then I don't have to deal with that man stink in the morning : ) Frankly, I knew I'd let him go I just needed him to feel a little guilty for not getting things aligned for the kids. Yet, who am I fooling he knew I'd let him go. Even yesterday afternoon I said "so have you got a hold of a sitter yet" and he said "No, but I'm working on it" and I said "Really, and how are you doing that... do you even have their numbers" and he just laughed and said "No, but I'd figure something out". He cracks me up because he is SOOOOO laid back and to his credit things always do work out for him.

Yay! a friend just called and she's coming to visit me. She wants to get out for a walk and asked if she could come visit. Love her!!!

Okay next bit of good news. I got down with Mr. P90X today for some Chest, Back, and Ab Ribber X. I felt strong and good. I did my best and forgot about the rest : ) (one of his mottos). It felt good to exercise, yet I will also admit that this past week felt nice not having to worry about getting in the exercise. This might sound sort of pathetic, but usually my last thought of the day is "what am I going to do for exercise tomorrow and what time do I need to get up" and then in the a.m. when my alarm goes off at 4:45 am or 5:15 I tell myself "Just get up and exercise and be done with it".

I'm 40 years old and can honestly say besides last week I don't know if I've ever let more than 2 days go by without exercise. It's just part of my lifestyle, yet I hate how moody I can get when I can't get it in. Yet, last week I was totally at peace which just felt so odd to me. Part of it I think is I am the type of person that normally my mind is always going and my to do list is running through my brain 24/7. Last week I truly did surrender and let things be. If the kitchen was a mess - so be it. As the laundry piled up - so be it. I think you get the picture. Okay, sorry that was a whole lot of rambling about nothing, but I think my point is I need to continue to relax and let some shit go. And if your about to have this surgery I encourage you to do the same. Just lay down, ICE, ICE, ICE and Elevate your foot (follow the R.I.C.E for healing) and all will be fine. If you feel pain take your meds.

Oh and I also got down with Mr. Steve last night and no foot was hurt (smiling). I know you've all been wondering how that subject ever turned out for me. I think he was willing to do anything to make sure he could go to the game : ) I hope you get my sense of humor.

On the pain front - The last two nights I did not take any Ibuprofen before bed and all was fine. Yesterday a.m. I took my tablets out of habit, but then didn't take any more until this a.m. This a.m. I only took 2 tablets because I had a head ache and I think that had to do with the fact I treated myself to two beers last night. So I truly do believe the Ibuprofen will be headed back to the cabinet today and will be staying there unless I over do it in the weeks to come. Which I'm sure will happen.

I realized today that it's been one full week since I left the house. Keep in mind I am sort of always house bound because I work from home full time for my job, but at least I tend to get out at least once a day. So that was a strange thought too.

If you happen to be a bike racer (criterium racer). I thought I'd share this fun website with you that Steve works on when he has the chance. http://criteriumcoaching.com/ Biking is his true passion. He is a man of many traits, but you will see his passion is bike racing.

I'm thinking one of my goals for today should be figuring out how to shave these lovely legs of mine. Let's just say the last time I shaved was LAST Tuesday. Things are not looking pretty, yet here too I just don't care : )

Turkey day for me I think is going to be enjoying a quiet afternoon. The kids right now are fighting out by the t.v. They are trying to get some netflix show going and I keep hearing "it's not going on". Steve is in the basement biking on his trainer and my dog is barking. Steve will take the kids to his parents house at 2:00. I think it's best I stay home. Okay, kids are now out on the trampoline and why is it that my 6 year old is in shorts. Oh yeah, today he came down and said "mom, I have to wear shorts today because I have no clean pants". The kid would live in shorts year round if I let him. Earlier this month I told him I will be putting his shorts away if he keeps thinking he can go to school dressed in shorts and a t-shirt in November. We live in Wisconsin might I add.

I'm trying to think what else I should share, but I think that about does it. Oh, I did work a couple of hours in my bed yesterday. I still have to work on my arrangements. How I'm currently sitting I know is not good for my back. That will all come together too. I just have to figure out the right set up between my phone, laptop, etc..

Thanks for reading my message. I am thankful for you. And just want to add I think everyone is wonderful.

Have a super day and lovely long weekend ahead.

Julie

Day 5 - photo gallery (1st Post Op Dr. Visit)

Mr. Ice Man!!

Today was my post op doctor appointment. As the nurse is unwrapping the dressing she says "so how long has this dressing been wet". Me: "Oh, did the water soak all the way through" Nurse: Yes, isn't your foot cold? I can feel the coldness through my gloves Me: Oh, well I decided last night to try and take a shower and didn't think all the dressing got wet Steve: She also has been icing a lot Nurse: Yeah, her foot is REALLY cold. Me thinking: YEAH it's frozen from icing it 15 times a day!!!

Ta Da!!! Pretty, Hey!!

Before shot below: Notice the big ball on the side of my right foot!!!

And now look - it's gone and both feet sort of look like each other!!

Yippee - hopefully no more pain when I run, jump rope, do sprints, do Mtn Climbers, burpies, and of course jumping on that trampoline!!! And think of the new found comfort in my shoes!!

Steve waiting patiently - Mr. Happy all the time.

Highlights from my visit:

• Steve calling me 90 minutes before my appointment to confirm when he should pick me up and being a smart ass saying... well last time we got to your appointment 45 minutes early, so I was thinking I need to pick you up by 12:30 since your appointment is at 1:30. And I simply said "Just pick me up by 12:50, so we get there a little early. Of course he gets home at 1:00 and we pull into the parking structure at 1:27 and on the drive he did ask "are we going to 1 S. Park St?" And I said "I don't remember what was on the invitation I sent you" and he confidentially says "1 S. Park St". We go in and register and hear "oh, your not in the right location. You need to be at 20 S. Park Str." Steve got the evil eye look from me as the clock now says 1:33. I grab my lovely crunches to hobble back to the parking structure and of course I grab out my phone and look at the invitation and say "Gee, the invitation says 20 S. Park Street". Luckily 20 S. park street is just a cross the street. This is the story of my life. To give Steve some love he did say "I'm sorry I create extra stress in your life". He KNOWS I can't STAND being late.
• The doctor said everything looks great. He said "I can tell you have been icing and elevating your foot" he said the scar is healing great and looks wonderful. And then he added "You don't have to ice your foot 24/7 and all I could do was look at Steve and smile.
• The doctor said I can drive after I get my boot NEXT WEEK, but I should not drive in the boot, but in my surgery shoe I have now. I can start more physical exercise 3 weeks after 11/29, but it's fine to do upper body work, core exercises now.
• So it was a super doctors visit. He said to keep elevating my foot. He mentioned to keep icing it as needed and know that my foot will naturally tell me when I'm over doing anything.
• I asked if he has any concerns about me getting the full range of motion back and he said "No". I'll give you some exercises to do, but really I'm not worried about that at all.
• I asked if I should take supplements to help the healing process. He said if I want that's fine but really my bones looked so strong he doesn't see any issuing with it healing or needing anything additional.
• He was happy with everything and I gotta admit I'm sort of giddy myself. I did ask him if I should keep taking Ibuprofen even though I don't feel pain and he said "no, only when you feel pain otherwise it's not really doing anything. So folks I am now officially going to stop with all pills (no Ibuprofen unless needed). Let's hope I still feel the same tomorrow.
• He mentioned I had very little swelling and if I keep icing the foot and elevating it he thinks things will continue to go well.
• I asked for his ideas on showering and he laughed and said take a bath. He said he tried most of the products out there and they all tend to leak, etc...
• We got home and what's the first thing Ice Man says "let's get ice on that foot and then I gotta get back to work". At this point all I can do is surrender : )

Help me out here/Question:

I scheduled this surgery months ago. During that time Steve came home one day and said "my buddies and I are planning on going to the Badger game on Nov. 26 (Saturday). And I said "Oh, you do realize that's a little over a week AFTER my surgery" and he said "Oh" and I said "As long as you figure out something for the kids I don't care if you go, but I can't take care of the kids all day by myself that day". Steve: "Oh sure, no problem I will figure something out". Then a month or so ago I said "Steve, just letting you know my surgery is coming up and I'm not sure what you planned yet for the kids". Steve: "Oh yeah, I'll look into that". Two weeks ago "Steve, where are the kids going on that Saturday". Steve says "Right, I better call my parents" A week ago... STEVE are the kids going to your parents. S: I don't know yet. This past Monday he says "Well, my parents can't take the kids". I give him a look and said "that sucks". Today he comes into the bedroom and says "So on Saturday my buddy is picking me up at 11:00. The game is at 2:30. Then I'll hang out for a while and take a taxi home late in the evening". I listen to him and say "Really and where are the kids going to be". He shines me his pearly whites and says "I don't know can't you take care of them" and I say "Have you given your buddies a heads up that you might not be attending". And then he goes into the speech of "come on I only get together once a year with all these guys" blah blah blah.... And now I look like the bad guy because I'm telling him he has to find a home for the kids.

Am I wrong here? Is it realistic for me to take care of the kids while I am laying in bed starting at 11:00 am through 8:00 pm? And then I asked the doctor this same question and he laughed and said "Well, it depends does your husband have an extra ticket for me". REALLY!! did you not just say I need to stay in bed and keep my foot elevated. Again, the story of my life!!

Other updates:

• I had a lovely visit from one of my dear friends this a.m. So good to catch up and hang out.
• Slept for crap last night. Lights out at 9:00 and I was still wide awake at 1:00. Finally I went and took one of those all natural sleeping pills. I did have fun connecting with my oldest sister since she was also awake. But learned her 12 year old golden retriever has bone cancer, so that's sad.
• Pain: Well up to this point I have been pain free, but last night at 4:00 a.m. I was sleeping and all of sudden I felt like my foot was being pulled apart. It took me a while because I didn't know if I was dreaming or if it was really happening. And realized this is PAIN and it's REAL. At first I was going to grab the strong pain meds but just kept breathing and took some Ibuprofen and within 10 minutes or so the pain calmed down.
• Tried sitting at the work desk in the basement with my foot up under my desk, but that didn't work. My foot started to throb right away, so I have to think through that process a little more. I have some meetings I'd like to conduct next week if possible.
• My doctor: http://www.uwhealth.org/findadoctor/Provider.action?_sourcePage=/results.jsp&id=6556 He has been wonderful to work with and would totally recommend him if your in the Madison, WI area!!! I like that he gets to the point, yet has a decent sense of humor too. And he's not so bad to look at either. Maybe one of these times I should try to dress up and look nice for one of my appointments : ) (kidding)

So all and all life is still good. I just hope I can get to sleep tonight. Yet, all I do is lay around and rest.

The next big milestone is on 11/29 - Stitches come out. I am getting a little worried how I will be able to keep entertaining you until then, so I can't promise these daily updates will continue. I will do my best. If you made it through this long message - Thank you!! And if there is something I am not covering just let me know.

Day 4 - Shower attempt... oops

This post is a continuation of the earlier post from today.

As you may know I asked my husband to help me take a shower and once again tonight when I asked him if he was going to help me he said "Fat chance of that happening. Your not suppose to get your foot wet", but then he did proceed to go get me some plastic piggly wiggly bags to use on my foot.

We wrapped three bags around my foot with rubber bands. I tried to keep my foot outside of the shower door while I washed my hair and my body. I gotta love how that striped towel is hung just right!!! And no, I didn't ask Steve to take these photos. He did that all on his own. Well, when I went to rinse myself off I thought I'll just stick my foot in the corner of the shower quick and I grabbed our hand held shower thinking that would work better than the normal shower head.

And as you can see below my attempt was not successful. Water went down my leg and into the bags. I think I only got the heal part wet and not where the actual stitches are located so I'm not too worried. I am going to sleep with my shoe off tonight though in hopes everything drys out prior to my doctor visit tomorrow. My shoe got wet too since I left that on inside the bags. Again, I did mention my brain just isn't thinking yet, right.What can I say... I am clean, so that's all that matters right? I think my next adventure will be climbing the stairs to our bathtub because then I can at least just hang my foot out of the tub. When do I get the boot 11/29? So I think I'm stuck doing this creative stuff with the shower/bath until then. Then I think I can go barefoot and pretty again because the stitches will be out. Why does 11/29 seem so far away?

Good night,

Julie

Day 4

Okay, I'm sort of playing around today and trying to figure out how to add pictures within my post. A friend had suggested I keep adding photos and because I love her I will try and add some more photos. Yet, honestly I really don't have to many exciting photos to add.

First photo my boys... they never leave each other alone and can not be apart. Even when they are mad at each other they can't leave each other alone. I just hope this continues 10, 20, etc... years down the road. Both boys are having fun in this picture just so you know. No one was harmed (smile).

The dog: Allie islooking at me and saying "get your ass off that couch and let me in". It's the story of my life (smile). She goes in and she goes out of the house throughout the day and when she wants to come back in the house we all know. If I was a dog I'd want her life. That's all I'm going to say.

The picture below is of my lovely ice pack wrapped around my foot. I attempted to try and watch some movies via our Wii using netflix and let's just say I was never able to get one downloaded and it was frustrating as all heck. One thing I can tell is right now is my mind doesn't really feel like "thinking". I think my mind is in "rest mode" too. I did spend a few hours on the couch though as a way to break up my day. But since I don't have any t.v. channels and could not get netflix to work it was sort of boring. I did attempt to work on my online photo album, but again my mind just didn't want to wake up, so I just laid and laid and laid. Fun!

I'm just playing around with my iPhone with the picture below. Another goal of my to do while I am laid up. I got the new phone and have not had time to really figure out all the ins and outs. This is what I look like today. Still no shower mind you since last Thursday, Nov. 17th. This a.m. I said to Steve. Will you help me later take a shower? Steve: I'm not sure you should take a shower yet. We don't want to get your foot wet Me: We'll if your not going to help me you need to tell me because then I will do it myself while you are gone Steve: I'll see what I can do. Let me think about it. REALLLY!! Seriously, I might try doing this on my own if I can get my mind to think through the process (smile).

I'm not sure who is resting more comfortably here... me or Allie.

Okay, enough photos. I will try to get one of Ice Man himself later. Speaking of ice. I need to go ice my foot and grab some lunch. I will be back.

I'm back...

I think I have to remember to carry that darn phone with me. I made it to the kitchen which is just outside my bedroom door and the phone starts to ring right when I sit down to eat my lovely go lean, crunch cereal and of course the person doesn't just leave a message they keep calling back until I wobble back into the bedroom and grab the phone... Guess who it was... It was Ice Man and what did he want to know? Have you been icing your foot? And then of course he did check in to see if I needed anything, etc... I forgot to say "YEAH A SHOWER". It was sweet he called. But of course I got myself back to the bed and what did I forget to grab.... the ICE. This wobbly crap is going to get pretty tiring (smile) and I have ONE GOOD leg/foot. I am sure if I had two bad bunions I would have done them both, but seriously bless you all that have two feet up and out of commission!!!

Okay back to business. What is it you want to know today.

Pain: Still no pain. Yesterday I took my dose of Ibuprofen 3x during the day (every 6 hours) and all was fine. I take 3 tablets each time for swelling. I can see my 3rd toe now and that one is also just as black and blue as the other ones. I have also started to take amino acid pills to help make sure I'm getting enough protein in my diet. I take those with my mid- morning and mid-day snack. I will ask my doctor if I should keep up with the Ibuprofen or if I should be taking something different for the swelling.

Post operation appoint is tomorrow at 1:30 CST. I will admit part of me is afraid to see what's under the dressing. Yet, it will be interesting. I believe he will also take an x-ray. So tomorrow I might actual have photos you care to see (smile). I just know it's going to look all ugly with the stitches, swelling, etc... but such is life right.

Sleep: Yesterday I didn't nap at all, yet I pretty much laid around ALL day. I was probably up more than I was the other days but only for 10 minutes here or there or transferring to a different location. I also know I am sleeping on my stomach. My foot is still elevated. It's just not facing up... it's facing down into the pillow. Do you think that's okay? It's the only way I am able to sleep. During the day I'm on my back and at night I'm on my stomach. Today I hope to get a nap in after I write this post.

Steve did end up staying home to help with the kids this a.m. and I was happy he did. I felt tired when I woke up and the noise level in the house was a bit more than I could handle. And I loved I wasn't the one saying "You need to wear a coat today, it's cold outside". And then I laughed when Steve said to me "I gotta jump in the shower. Can you get the kids to the bus stop" and I said "sure" then yelled "Kids, are you going out to the bus stop". What did he think I was going to do. Get up and walk them to the bus stop. Honestly, if one could record what takes place in the typical American home and just be able to re-watch themselves and the normal interactions that take place it would be so funny and could probably save many marriages and families. Right now all I can do is observe/listen (through a wall) and I just gotta laugh because it's the same ole same ole thing every day. AND learning to keep my comments to myself has been a blessing. I just gotta let Steve run with it because really at the end of the day if the kids are still happy and alive that's all that matters. Everyone does things their own way. There is no right or wrong.

I did finish my book yesterday. It was called The traveler's gift - Seven Decisions that determine personal success. It was a quick read and good. Below are the 7 decisions my friends, so go and be successful!! Seriously though it was a good read. Look it up.

1. The buck stops here. I am responsible for my past and my future.

2. I will seek wisdom. I will be a servant to others.

3. I am a person of action. I seize this moment. I choose now.

4. I have a decided heart. My destiny is assured.

5. Today I will choose to be happy. I am the possessor of a grateful spirit.

6. I will greet this day with a forgiving spirit. I will forgive myself.

7. I will persist without exception. I am a person of great faith.

Earl Nightingale's Greatest Discovery is the next book on my list.

I keep sort of thinking about the surgery center and how many people are in there day in and day out and just hope everyone is okay. We tend to forget about everyone that is going into some sort of surgery every day. Some don't make it back out and it's sad how caught up we get in our own little worlds. It's normal, but I can still hear 2 babies that were crying the day I was in there and I thought gosh I wonder what they are having done. Okay, that's my deep thought for the day. Just appreciate your life and notice the small things today.

Regarding work. I did make my way downstairs yesterday and decided to leave my laptop and stuff there. I figure if needed I will make my way downstairs today, yet I can see what is coming through via my iPhone so I'm feeling okay.

Not sure what my goal really is today. Continue to rest and try to think positive. This a.m. I could tell I got a little snappy with Steve when we were discussing the whole shower thing. I don't know if you've picked up but I'm a bit of a control freak (smile). See that's the other thing I'm learning... I gotta slow down and just let things be and life will still be good (probably even better).

One funny story. So since we have no t.v. channels I go out to the different players on the internet. Well, I decided to watch desperate housewives and after watching several episodes my one 6 year old son comes in and says "what did they say about a dead body". And I tried to explain this is just a silly mom show. Well, the next thing I know I have all three boys (Steve, Riley, and Anton) in my bed watching this stupid show all because they wanted to see the dead body. And I know the show is not appropriate for little kids but it was too cute. And I loved when the one lady was taking some sex drive liquid and my kids were like "what is she doing" and Steve and I were like "I don't know she's taking something she shouldn't" and then when there were long kissing scenes the kids would say "boy those two sure like to kiss a lot" and I'd be like "yeah". So now I have my kids hooked on Desperate Housewives! Nice Hey!!

Okay my friends - thanks for reading! Please if I'm not covering a topic you'd like to know about regarding bunions please let me know.

Enjoy your day!! And say and extra prayer out there for anyone that might be having some sort of procedure done.

Day 3

YEAH I finally POOPED!! Sorry, but this is big news for me since I'm normally a very regular sort of a girl. If you recall I even started with Miralex on day 1 to try and prevent not getting plugged up, but looks like it still happened. A big thanks to my friend Michelle who dropped off a wonderful and yummy box of fruit yesterday!! It was perfect!!!! Another friend dropped off a big bag a carrots since she knows how I love my carrot, apple, and celery juice. Hey, what can I say my friends know me oh too well (smile). Seriously, though everyone has been so kind and considerate.

I am laughing right now because my window shade is open and my kids are out jumping on the trampoline. They just crack me up and I think when oh when will I do that again with them : ) Yet, I can say that was another deciding factor on getting this surgery done. I'd be out jumping with the kids and within 30 minutes my lovely bunion pain would always set in. Here is a silly video we put together this past summer. http://www.youtube.com/user/criteriumcoaching#p/a/u/0/Arqbkl27NZ4

Okay what else do you want to know... you know me I could ramble on about anything...

Pain: I am proud to say that I still feel NO pain or discomfort. Yesterday I started with Ibuprofen every 4 hours then went to 5 hours and then took my last dose at 8:30 and made it through the night and woke up with no increased pain/feelings. This a.m. I only took some thinking I should to help keep the swelling down. From what I can see my toes are swollen but it doesn't look to bad. I'm almost afraid to see what's under all this dressing/wrapping on Tuesday. My toes are black and blue. My big toe is really black and blue and yesterday my second toe joined the B&B party, but in a fainter color. I can't see any of the other toes do to the dressing. I'm curious to see where the act cut is and stitches are located and how sensitive that whole area will be.

Sleep: I slept fine again. The thing is I literally have not been leaving my bed or have only bed up maybe 10 to 20 minutes of the day. Otherwise I am in my bed and for some reason I'm content being in my bed resting. I did go out to the couch last night to watch Horrible Bosses just thinking the change would be good.

Ice Man: Continues to be very helpful. He cleaned the house yesterday WITH the boys. My foot is being iced as I type, he accomplished entertaining 15 boys yesterday for Riley's b-day party. He has been great as much as I like to pick on him. And tomorrow will feel weird being home alone for the first time. I will have to get the kids ready for school since Steve has to be to work early. Part of me looks forward to a totally quiet house and just being able to rest. Yet, it's nice when I get hungry just to say "STEVE..." or call one of the boys. This whole resting thing is just interesting to me, yet I wonder how I will feel in a week (Smile). I'm curious if I will be going crazy or still being content knowing it's what my body needs.

Okay my goals for today: Finish reading the book I started a few weeks back. I never got to that yesterday. AND maybe shower (smile). Oh and the big one is try and get my work laptop upstairs. For some reason I left all of my work stuff in the basement thinking "I'll just go down stairs and work if I feel up to it". Well, let's just say I have no motivation to try and walk down 8 steps and make my way back up. I figure I can just have my computer set up in the kitchen and check email a few times throughout the day tomorrow. I don't think I want it in my bed yet otherwise I won't be able to shut off from it and right now I do just want to allow myself to rest and be shut off from work if that's possible.

What else do you want to know about.... how about sex (smile). I'd be game and suggested it last night, but Mr. Ice man is afraid of hurting me right now. I told him the foot just needs to stay elevated, so come on we could be creative and have some fun, right (smile). Personally, I think he is too tired from chasing after my ass all day long. Don't worry I'll get him yet. When there is a will, there is a way.

Okay, just had to try and make you smile/laugh. I truly feel blessed that I am not feeling pain and each day really does feel better. I just have to stay in the mind frame of resting and I think I will be okay. Believe it or not I have not even thought about exercising yet, but figured I'd allow my mind to go there after my dr. appointment on Tuesday. And when I say exercise I'm talking about sitting down with my foot elevated and trying to do upper body weights/bands, some sit ups, etc... Just something to keep the blood flowing and trying to keep my body alive. I have been curious what I weigh in at these days. I normally weigh myself every day so not being able to weigh myself makes me just sort of look at myself in the a.m. and think... all is still good. I have one of those body fat scales where your bare feet need to be on the scale, so that's why I can't weigh myself. It's probably a good thing, yet I don't think I've gained any weight these past few days. I truly am feeling good, healthy, and positive - right now. Tomorrow could be a whole new day (smile).

Kids: Kids are doing great and are still happy and continue to give me big hugs and will just come and sit with me to talk about pokemon cards, toys, ask me questions about my foot.

Allie: (dog) - thinks all these pillows are for her. I gotta take a photo of her when I'm on the couch with my foot up. She thinks nothing of jumping up on me (she's 50 pounds) and then she hugs my foot and pushes it aside so she can rest her head/body on the pillows. I've had to move to the middle of my bed so she can easily jump up and down on the bed. Let's just say she continues to get her needs met.

So there you have it for Day 3. If you want to know anything else just ask and I'll tell.

Until next time - keep smiling and being positive and keep praying the pain stays away and my foot is healing as it should.

Day 2

Hello,

So just thought I'd do a quick report out regarding the rest of my day yesterday through this a.m. I did get out of bed yesterday for the first time at around 6:30 p.m. to have some b-day cake with the family. And then we all went and watch a movie on the couch which was nice.

So you'll all be proud that I did space out my prescription pain pills yesterday. I only took one at 6:30 a.m., 12:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. AND my foot felt the same. I had no pain over night so this a.m. instead of taking the normal pain pills I am changing over to ibuprofen. So we will see how this goes and if I feel any different being on more normal pain pills. Right now I don't feel pain but I can tell my foot is more sensitive to little movements I make. I can feel a pulling/tightness sensation when I shift my foot. Getting up today my foot felt more like a brick/heavy. And when Steve put on the 10 pounds of ice on my foot today too I could feel pressure. Steve is starting to drive me a little nutty with the ice because he piles it on and wraps/ties the ice to my shoe and I literally feel like I have 10 plus pounds pulling on my toe/foot. This a.m. when I mentioned to him about lightening the load he just said "you have to keep icing your foot" and then he stuck another pillow under my foot. You gotta understand Steve is a big bicyclist and he religious ices his knees and back every a.m. and night, so this is one task he does not forget to do. He forgets to take off the 10 pounds of ice often. Yet to be honest I don't actually feel the cold through my shoe and the bandages. I don't know am I suppose to be taking this shoe thing off or not. Okay, Steve just walked in the room and said "you are probably ready to ice again, right" and I just laughed because I have only been up 2 hours and I already got iced once. Plus he brought be 3 scrambled eggs and said "you need protein" and I said "how many eggs are in that bowl" because it looked like a ton and again he said "You gotta eat this protein". When does he go back to work (smile)? I am kidding he has been helpful.

I actually think I slept great last night. Probably getting out of bed and moving to a different location prior to bed helped.

Today Riley (my son) has his b-day party and once again I am leaving Steve to take charge. It's at a sport place and I asked my friend's to ask some of their husbands to stay and play with the 14 - 8 year old boys. There too I laugh because I've been telling him what to get and last night I said "You did pack plates, forks, and spoons, right". And again I heard "Oh, yeah those would be good things to take along". I can only laugh because some how even if he forgot these items I'm sure all would be fine too.

I did remind him today that laundry probably needs to be done for the kids and he said "oh, okay", so I'm curious if he remembers to do this or not. Anton then did say "yeah, I only have one pair of pants in my closet". I haven't even been upstairs so I can just imagine what their rooms look like. Let go, Let god.... (smile).

Everyone has been great. Okay. Not sure what the day has in store for me today, but I think I'm weaning off the pain pills which is good. I'll keep up with the Ibuprofen though for a few days and especially at night. I am curious if more pain sets in today or not. Otherwise it's a day of rest, I have the movie horrible bosses to watch, and I figured I should finish a book I started a few weeks ago. Okay, this might be too much information, but I was also curious when I should venture in for a bath or shower. Not to sound gross but I haven't showered since Thursday (smile), yet our bath is upstairs and I have no interest climbing stairs case to get there and I just haven't thought through showering with a bag on my foot, etc.... I might have to go another day on this one. I have been washing my face and brushing my teeth each day if that score me any points (smile).

Okay, maybe I should shower today now that I just made myself conscious of things (smile). Honest to god all I can do is laugh. And I'd still love to take this darn shoe off that is squeezing my foot tight. Life really is okay.

Enjoy your day and if anything eventful takes place on my end I'll let you know. Keep praying for no pain - thanks!!

Tootles,

Julie

Day 1 - 24 hours following surgery

How'd I'd sleep last night? I rested just fine but I honestly don't know if I actually feel asleep. I'm one of those sleepers who takes over the bed when I sleep. We have a king size bed and my husband sleeps on one small end and I pretty much toss and turn, spread myself out as I wish, so you probably get the picture oh and one last detail I don't sleep on my back. I sleep mainly on my stomach so, to have pillows up in the bed for my foot and for me to sleep on my back really didn't work for me. I tried to be creative with different twists and turns but nothing really worked. Also, I'm a human alarm clock, so I had set my alarm for 2:15 to make sure I'd remember to get up and take my pill. Well, needless to say I did not need an alarm clock. So I'm not sure how this sleeping issue is going to get better while I'm wearing this shoe thing to bed. But the GOOD news is I had no increased pain in my foot, yet I think that's because of the pain pills.

What I feel is I'd like to unwrap this bandage and let my foot breathe. I feel the throbbing that is normal, but really this I only feel as I get closer to taking my next pill. I'd also like to take a long knitting needle and shove it down my big toe dressing and scratch the hell out of my foot, yet realize this would not be a good thing either and keep trying to tell myself to enjoy the itchy sensation because it's gotta be my bone healing and working to come back together, right (UGH). So if I had to describe what I feel is itchiness and mainly my foot feels like it's asleep. I can move my toe if I want and then I do feel tightness, yet I'm trying not to move my toe or foot since the sheet I got from my doctor says "DO NOT MOVE YOUR TOES OR FOOT". Also, the back of my heal feels like it's getting a little blister or something just from my heal sitting in the heal cup and the moving around it does. I just feel like someone is squeezing my foot very tightly.

My husband is still trying to convince me not to take these pain pills if I don't feel pain and just laughs at me when I say "but I don't want to feel pain". So today instead of 4 hours apart between the pills I am going to try to go for 5 hours and then MAYBE 6 hours. He keeps telling me that the pills are addictive and I get that, but honestly I've only been addictive to exercise in my life and I keep telling him it's not like I feel anything different. I just don't feel pain. Then he laughs when I say "I'm not going to get addictive to these pills" and in the next sentence I say "where are my pills my four hours are almost up and I can start to feeling throbbing". He keeps saying feeling some pain is good too. Maybe he should try and get his toe cut off and then reattached with pins and see how open minded he'd be to feeling the pain. (Smile - I say that with love).

Something interesting did happen to me this a.m.. Okay, Steve has been religious about on the hour every hour having me ice my foot which is nice, yet some times it feels like that first night after one gives birth and a nurse is in poking at you every hour and it usually happens right when you just fall asleep. But anyway... of course around 6:00 a.m. is when my body decides it wants to SLEEP and then at 7:00, 8:00, 9:00, and 10:00 Steve comes in to ice my foot. Well on his last shift he came in and he said "Maybe you should go out to the couch or do something different" and I said "let me first get dressed, but I think I need to eat something", so I get my crutches and walk into my closet naked (sorry I like to sleep nude) and Steve left the room and all of sudden I felt like either I was going to throw up or shit right there in the closet and all I could do was lay down on the floor. And then I start saying "Steve somethings not right" and of course he doesn't respond right away. And I honestly laid there thinking WTF is going on because I really didn't know what end was going to explode. Well, finally Steve made his way back in the room and said "What are you doing? Did you fall? And I said "No, I just got really sick. Go get me a bowl. I can't move" and then the sweats started to come on and I started sweating up a storm and I was just watching my wrists and forearms as sweat drops came to the surface and I could feel my whole body get this way from head to toe. Steve for some reason said "breathe" and then I took deep breathes and within minutes I felt better and crawled back to bed on my knees and got in. Steve put ice on my foot and got me some veggie juice and I've been fine since. And then he said "maybe you should just stay in bed". And then he had to add in that one of the side effects to the drugs I'm taking is dizziness, nausea, vomiting, light headedness, etc... Anyway. I wasn't expecting that all to happen at once, but now I lived through it and all feels okay. And you'll be happy to know I'm at my 4 1/2 hour mark and I have not yet taken another pill.

Other fun news is my 6 year old is just so sweet. He is Mr. helper. One thing he likes to do is when I get up and he sees I am on my crutches he thinks he is helping me by carrying my bad foot. I don't have the heart to tell him he is not making things easier by making me jump on one foot to get to where I need to go. It's adorable and he keeps giving me big bear hugs. My 8 year old is in his own little world because today is his birthday, so it's all about presents, etc.. he came to my bed at 5:30 this a.m. to say "mom, I'm eight. Can I show you some of my new pokemon cards". He has been sweet too, but just been distracted and excited due to his b-day. And of course both boys wanted me to take off my bandage and dressing so they could see the cut/scar that I have in my foot. My dog Allie has found her way back into the bed which is fine. I just laugh at how that dog finds her way to communicate her needs and doesn't stop until she gets what she wants. Maybe that's an owner's issue (smile).

I did end up checking work email via my iPhone because I left my laptop downstairs and all is in control on that end, so I'm feeling good with that and I'd think by Monday I will have more energy to put in some time, yet I will bring everything upstairs. My house was built in the 80's so I have a few up and down steps between rooms and let me tell you it's a pain. And I have ONE good foot. I honestly don't know how all of you do it with two bad feet. I couldn't image having both feet wrapped. So bless you that get both feet down at once. I only had one bad bunion thank god.

Well I think that might be it regarding my update 24 hours since I've been home. Pray I don't have anymore dizzy spells. Steve did just have to leave me for an hour or so to go meet the kids at school for their holiday luncheon and I just said I'd call him if something came up. Also, not sure if the mirelax is doing it's job. Lord knows I ate enough fiber yesterday too and so far today nothing has come out and that's why when I was in the closet I thought you gotta be f---- kidding me and then I thought .... oh well if I'm going to explode on both ends then Steve will just have to clean it up. (smile - Just Kidding).

Okay I do have to mention Steve really has been wonderful yet this whole experience has taught me I just gotta let go. I will admit I'm afraid to go look in the kitchen and on our island. I am sure it's covered with the kids school papers and everything else. This a.m. when I heard him getting the kids ready all I could do was breathe and just tune everything out. Needless to say I'm an organize freak and I don't like to see clutter and even yesterday when I made my way out to the kitchen for dinner I just couldn't even look around. Yet, the kids are happy, Steve is happy, and he is helping me out so much and putting up with my "Steve...." commands. But you have no idea how many times I've heard "oh, yeah I'll do that' after I say "Steve, did you remember to order Riley's b-day cookies" Or "Steve, Allie needs to go out one last time and you need to go make sure the lights are out and garage doors are down". AND I've kept a lot of my reminders to myself so I don't take him over the edge (smile).

I have to pull out my Eckart Tolle "New Earth" book and clear my mind. Even though I was quiet proud of myself last night how I allowed myself to just rest versus get pissed that I wasn't falling asleep. I'm sure I did sleep somewhat but honestly I'd be surprised if it was more than 2 hours and now I'm afraid I'll sleep during the day and then again be up at night. But right now I feel like if my body will sleep then I'm letting it sleep.

Okay - I think I rambled enough for one day and it's only 11:15. And now I'm at the 5 hour mark for my pain pill.... what to do what to do... take it or wait another 30 minutes. I actually think I will wait. I have to get up to pee and put this ice in the freezer and then maybe I'll take it and hope I get in a little nap.

Alright I apologize if I write too much or mention too much personal information. I'm an open book sort of a person. Hope you have a great day and I'll keep you posted if I end up naked on the floor again. Maybe I'll go attempt to get dressed again since it's only 11:30 AM. I do gotta admit part of me thinks it's good to just allow myself to rest and lay around. I'm a strong type A person and I truly am usually on the go or don't take enough time to just sit down and relax. Here is the other funny thing. About 5 months ago I decided it was silly for us to pay for direct tv, so I got rid of all of our tv channels. We still use netflicks and have wii that we use through the t.v. but no actual t.v. channels, so it's not like I can go channel surfing and occupy my time that way. So if you know of any good movies let me know. Okay now I really am going to go.... otherwise soon I'll be writing..... I made it to my 6 hour mark : ) which really is only 45 minutes away and all still feels the same. Why is Steve always right (smile).

PS: for my friends out there that are reading this thanks for all your emails yesterday and today. You are all very sweet.

Take care and be well,

Julie

Surgery Day - Nov. 17

Reminder: To read other days following my surgery see right hand menu "day's" that follow after pictures to the right (ex: Day 1, Day 2, etc).

If you want to book mark this site it's best to click on "Downs Bunion News" and then I believe it will always take you to the most recent post.

Hello,

So today was the day. Right now I am laying in bed resting and have slept a good 3 hours since my surgery. Here is what I recall. I dropped off kids off today at 7:15 by a friend and was home by I think 11:15 a.m. We got to the surgery center by 7:35 and of course we didn't need to be there until 8:15 so all my husband could do was laugh at me. We sat and chatted in the car for a while and then went in and everything started right away. Registration was quick and then I was off to my room to get prepped for surgery. A nurse came in to help me and go over general information. Had me clean my foot as seen in the photo. Then the IV nurse came in and of course she couldn't get the IV to stay in and another nurse had to come in and try again. I have lots of valves in my blood which is a good thing but the needle wouldn't stay in so they did whatever they needed and got the IV to work. During this whole process my nerves set in and I'd cry and get a bit impatient from sitting, yet the whole process did go quickly. My doctor came in to say hello and mark up my foot and then I was wheeled into the room and I remember 4 people looking down on me and saying something and then I was out. I woke up and kept dropping the F--- bomb word (smile) every time I talked. "I don't F--- know?" WTF, etc...

In the waiting room the doctor talked to Steve and said my first question to him was "will I be able to run again". The doctor said everything went great and he was able to straighten my toe, he used two pins, which I guess is normal, he said my bones were really healthy and strong and could tell I was a runner, he mentioned everything was really healthy and he wished all his surgeries were this easy. He mentioned I should heal well. When I woke up in my room with Steve again my first words to Steve were "will I be able to run" and then "WTF is going on", and then something like "Steve I love you dearly but you drive me nuts sometimes because we are so different" then I brought up my son's math test he has to take tomorrow and then I apologized to him for how I acted at home this a.m.

Let's just say you feel out of it and my mind was racing and I was analyzing everything. I even asked the nurse if she loved what she did and I think I asked her how old she was too. when she brought me crackers I asked if she had fruit instead (go figure). Anyone that knows me knows this is normal behavior for me but now picture me being on steroids and you can imagine the situation. I am embarassed to post this short video my husband took but it gives you an idea how out of it you are when you come to it.

For my surgery they put you to sleep but not totally out of it, but enough to the point where you don't give a dam. I don't remember anything. I didn't hear a thing, Nothing!! I do remember my nurse saying today you don't want to go on a computer or talk on the phone because you might continue not to remember things. Okay, so enjoy this silly clip and I do laugh because when Steve said "I sent you the video" I said "what video?". Also, there is nothing flattering about this video either so ignore the angels and paused shot of my lovely nose at the end of it (smile).

So all and all I feel fine. The doctor mentioned as soon as I feel the tingling sensation in my foot to take my first pain pill which I felt about 20 minutes ago so now the drugs have began. Also... Thanks Deb and Sara for being open regarding some toilet issues you had because I asked my doctor about that and he recommended getting ahead of the issue now verses waiting to get plugged up due to the pain meds, so I also had my daily dose of Miralex. I can say I am starting to feel sleeping again. My children will be home in 30 minutes so we will see how much sleep I get and which boy is the first one to jump on my foot.

So it's done and over. I have no regrets. My next steps are I go back to the doctor on 11/22 for him to clean my wrapping, etc... 11/29 I go and get my stitches out and then will get a boot. He said the key right now is ICE ICE and ICE and keep the foot elevated, so that is what I will be doing. I am not even going to check work email today or tomorrow because then I know I won't be able to rest. I am sure by Sunday I will catch up on things. Who knows. At this point it's one hour at a time and I just pray pray pray that the pain isn't to bad or pray I'm like you Deb and have NO pain. Right now my foot just feels like it's asleep. I also do have ice wrapped on it. I was given crutches to use and will have to force myself to use them. I can apply pressure to my heal, so really walking isn't an issue as long as no pressure goes to the top of the foot/toe.

Okay whoever is reading this I hope you are enjoying it and not thinking.... that Julie is some crazy chick! (Smile). Pray I have a restful day and next few days ahead.

Again Sarah, Deb, and KatBird I can not thank you enough and hope your bunions (or lack of bunions now) continue to be pain free.

Oh and poor Allie is a little confused why she has to stay on the floor, yet I am sure at some point too she will be jumping on my foot and causing me lots of pain. This dog is 12 years old and has pretty much never left my side except when I leave the house without her. She just keeps looking at me as if she is the one suffering. Go figure. Okay, I should probably go back and re-read this yet I'm getting really tired right now and need to go.

Note: Comments from this page are below. For other posts scroll up and look to the right.

Surgery Night - Nov. 16

Well I am headed to bed. Tomorrow I need to be at the doctors at 8:15 and my surgery is at 9:15 a.m. It should last 45 minutes and I could be home by 12:00 if all goes well, so I'm told. Right now I can say I am totally calm and relaxed. Earlier when I got home from work I could feel my heart racing just because the house was sort of a mess with me being gone the last 2 days plus work emails just keep coming in and then I feel like I need to get back to my customers right away and make sure they have what they need. Tonight I just tried to get the house organized, hung out with the kids, and did one last load of laundry. I had the normal thoughts like WTF am I doing, am I doing the right thing, and yet I know I am so I just tried to stop thinking silly. I debated taking one of those natural sleeping pills but decided not to. I can feel my mind and body is physically tired and lord knows if I don't rest well tonight I will have plenty of time over the weeks to come to lay down and rest.

Deb - thank you so much for your support and sharing your personal journey with me. And again I am so happy your recovery is going so well for you!! It gives me hope and faith. Sara, if your reading this thank you so much for starting your blog and bringing us all together. I hope your enjoying swimming, hiking, and biking!! Katbird it's been great hearing how your doing in your recovery as well and thanks for sharing your story with us as well.

Okay this is probably going to sound really odd, but today it dawned on me that I have not told that many people that I am having this surgery done. I told my closest friends that I love and trust dearly and my kids friend's mom's that I hang out with (local friends), but it dawned on me today that I never told my 2 brothers and my 1 sister about this operation. My one sister (I have 2 sisters) did find out through my mom. She is a Physical Therapist and she shared her thoughts and strong opinion about the whole thing. I honestly did not intentional not tell my other siblings I just never thought about it because they are 2 hours away and they are all busy with their own lives. Plus deep down I am one of those people that likes to do the research and formulate my own opinion and decision and then I move forward with whatever I decide. I feel like this is such a personal thing I'm doing to myself and sometimes I can only take so many opinions from others.

Today or throughout the week I heard from everyone that knows and I just gotta say people are so nice and kind and I know if I need help any one of them would step up and help and I will ask for help as I need it. It's just nice when you feel so loved and feel like people sincerely do care about you. I know my mom is so nervous and she doesn't get why I am doing this even though her sister has to have this operation too and has just been putting it off. Anyway tonight when I talked to my mom I could tell in her voice that she is worried which is normal.

Okay, I am going to go since tomorrow will start a new chapter in my life and I will just take things day to day and do whatever I need to do in order to get back to where I am today regarding my activities and my health. I will be extra conscious regarding the foods that go into my body tomorrow. I'm pretty much thinking fruits, veggies, and lean proteins. No salty foods or processed foods for me. It's good that I do truly eat heathy now, but if I have a bad craving for something I do treat myself time to time. I just know right now each day I burn lots of calories from exercising so I can eat my share of food. And starting tomorrow I need to cut my calorie intake down somewhat.

Until next time enjoy your day and get out and do something you love! Tootles! If I don't feel to drugged up tomorrow I will let you know how it all went, but I'm told my memory could be a bit off due to the drugs so you might not want to trust everything I write tomorrow (just kidding). All will be good!

Good night!

Tuesday, Nov. 15

Okay, I am tired so this will be quick. All and all today was a great day and it went by quickly. My all day meeting and evening out with the teammates went by quickly and it didn't give me much of a chance to think about Thursday a.m. which is coming up quickly. I just hope my appointment is indeed at 8:15 a.m. There should be a message on the answering machine tomorrow when I get home regarding what time it's at.

Tomorrow is my last work out class. I will do TRX at 6:00 a.m. and then head back to the office for another full day of meetings with my team and there is also another dinner out tomorrow, yet I will just see where my mind is at and decide if I go or not. Tonight I gotta admit it was nice to be out and hang out with my team. I only see them once a year so it's nice to catch up, etc...

It's my son's b-day on Friday and so far this week I haven't really seen my kids much which is totally out of the norm since I am usually always home in the a.m. and when they get off the bus, etc.. Yet they seem happy as ever and my husband continues to take the load completely off of me which has provided so much peace of mind. Even though I forgot that 20 years ago today we met and I was rather impressed he remembered : ) I got a lot on my mind what can I say : )

I am curious what I will be thinking tomorrow night, yet hopefully I will be just as tired as I am right now and will be resting peacefully. At this point I gotta remind myself it doesn't pay to worry or stress out about anything. And I do believe my dad up above will be taking good care of me too, so I take comfort there as well.

Monday, Nov. 14th - 2 days before surgery

My day was busy as I expected, yet I got done everything I needed. Right now I actually feel at peace as I'm trying to finalize little details that I keep thinking about such as ... gee I need to leave before the bus comes so which neighbor should I drop the kids off at prior to Steve and I leaving (duh)!! I talked with the nurse today and she did her last set of questions for me so she can prepare for everything. She thinks I will need to be at the doctors by 8:15 a.m., but will confirm on Wednesday. The other time would be 6:30 a.m., but she thinks I will be the second patient of the day. She said I should be there about 3 hours. Procedure will take maybe 45 minutes.

My mind is at peace at the moment. This a.m. when I was driving to my health club I did start crying in the car for no reason knowing this was my last time I'd be doing this work out class for a while, but once I did the class and got my adrenaline going I was fine for the rest of the day. As I completed each work meeting I was able to put closure to things too and know things are the way they are and all will be fine. I just gotta give up the control.

Tomorrow I plan to do my 5:30 a.m. boot camp workout class and then I have to be at work by 8:00 and go all day plus have dinner with my teammates, so it will be non-stop. Which I guess is good.

So all and all I'm doing well. My husband was great tonight and let me be in my own little world as I did whatever I thought I needed to do. I even got out and bought some new comfy clothes. I just gotta add Title Nine rocks. I love the clothes and I can't believe you can return items after 360 days without any questions asked.

Okay, that's all I gotta say. Oh and it's going to be hard not to EAT or DRINK anything after 12:00 AM on Wednesday, yet that's the least of my worries (smile).

Until next time take care,

Julie

Sunday, Nov 13th

Hello,

I'm not really sure what I am doing since when I tried to enter information "about me" I got some strange error message and I'm too tired to try and figure it out right now. I have my bunion surgery on Thursday, Nov. 17th. I just had a terrific weekend with friends, so I am a bit tired and can't really think which is probably a good thing. This week will be busy up until Thursday (the day of my surgery). Tomorrow I have lots of meetings for work and then Tuesday and Thursday I have to go into the office for all day meetings. I normally work from home, so this is out of the norm, but my whole team is in town. What do you want to know about me? I am 40 years old, married and have two little boys (ages 6 and 8). I have a dog who is 12 years old and things are usually non-stop in my house. I really do not know how this is going to work with me being on the couch all day. Once the kids get off the bus it will be interesting!! I only need one foot done so that is good, yet the recovery time is all the same. I am getting my bunion removed because I love to exercise and over the years my bunion has become more painful to the point where I am starting to have to limit the miles I run, it hurts when I do something simple like jumping jacks, etc... I love running, water skiing, TRX, hot yoga, boot camps, etc... I have always been physically active so I can not quite grasp what it will be like not to exercise for a while or to have to completely change my routine. Yet, I'm hoping in the long run I have no regrets and I'm back to my normal activities within 3 to 6 months.

So the good news is I'm too tired to think about Thursday and the bad news is I know the surgery is going to be here in a blink of an eye. Mentally, I have been thinking about this though for months. Okay, hopefully I will find time this week to write some more, yet I'm not even sure if this blog thing is going to work right now so I'm going to stop and just test things out and once I know what I'm doing then I'll be back (smile). I should warn you I write as though I am talking so my sentences will not always be clear (smile), yet if you take the time to read what I have to say ... well thank you. I will do my best to express my feelings and emotions and my overall thought process as I go through this recovery period.

Until next time... Tootles! Here is a lovely picture of my bunion (right foot). I know I needed a new pedicure, but what can a girl do (smile). At the moment I am trying to just quiet my mind because the to do's are rushing through my brain as if there is no tomorrow, but this too shall pass. I just need to take one day at a time.