Foot Surgery

For several years now, I've had pain in my big toes. I had x-rays done for a broken foot about 18 months ago (Zatarain stepped on my foot and broke it - that's when you know you have a big dog!) and the doctor asked at that time when I was going to get my toe fixed. Even I could see that the x-rays looked bad, with huge bone spurs and arthritis, but I still had a baby to carry around, so it just didn't make sense to undergo surgery yet. Now that my little one walks on her own most of the time and the pain level was getting to the point that it hurt to press the gas pedal in the car, it was time to get my foot fixed.

I chose to have my right foot done now so I wouldn't be stuck unable to drive during the school year. The operation involved shaving off the bone spur and contouring the bone so it doesn't stick out so much. This alone will make it easier to find shoes that fit. My doctor also cut the bone and shortened it to open up the joint, cleaned the joint out to remove the arthritis, and drilled holes that will fill with blood and eventually form a fibrous cartilage to replace the cartilage that has been destroyed. He said no one my age should have feet that bad and was very pleased with the amount of movement I had at the end of the surgery.

I now get to spend the next 5 days laying down with my foot elevated to prevent swelling, with the exception of 5 minutes per hour where I need to be weight-bearing. I should be able to drive by Monday and my activity will progress depending on how I'm healing and how I'm tolerating increases in my activity. I should be healed in 6 weeks and able to have the second surgery done in 3 months.

Mike is taking the next 5 days off to take care of the kids and me. The kids are fascinated by this whole process. Our son has appointed himself my timer, making sure I'm not up on my feet for more than 5 minutes at a time. Our older daughter wants me to give her jobs to do to help out. So far, she has help gather the laundry so I could sort it, fed the cats and fish, gotten the mail, and taken charge of the garden. Our youngest has enjoyed snuggling in bed with me and wants to bring me "presents". At one point this afternoon, all three kids were sprawled out in bed with me, Ben was laying on top of me, and Zatarain was in his crate next to me. I guess no one wanted me to be lonely! I wanted Mike to come up and take a picture, but I didn't get a message to him before everyone started to move.

As you can see above, Dr. Chicory has also been taking care of me. He kept me company during dinner tonight (Mike made ropa vieja) and has been laying on the couch with us this evening. You can see the blue tubes for the ice machine that circulates cold water through a pad that is under the bandages so I don't have to constantly change ice packs. I've had these for other surgeries (this was number 10) and they make a huge difference in keeping down the swelling and making me more comfortable.