My next surgery is less than a week away. I'm beginning to get pretty nervous. I really hate to start all over again but I'm so happy with the way my first foot is doing that I definately want to get it done. My new foot looks normal, it fits into normal shoes and most importantly, my balance is better on that foot now. The first week is the hardest, so I'm just looking to Christmas as my goal. Christmas day will be a week and a day after my surgery so I know that by the time I get to Christmas I'll be feeling better.
Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers on Thursday morning (12/17/09).
A very Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year to you all!!
Dana, I feel for you. I will be glad when they get it all done. It is hard to look beyond the pain, but it will be worth it. I am going to have to have minor surgery on my left index finger. It has a growth on it under the skin. It has been there since the 90's. It is a cyst of some kind. I will be finding out more about it in January. It is getting very noticeable. And at times causes some pain. We wish you a Merry Christmas! Gilbert
ReplyDeleteHi Dana,
ReplyDeletegood luck for your op this week. I bet you are nervous, I am nervous at the thought of having to go through all of this again. It feels like such a long time since I had the op. It is nice having the walking boot, even though the first day I hated it. I couldn't walk in it at all, it is so high. I am more used to it now after having the weekend to walk on it. I haven't done too much, just walking around the house, but as you said when you got your boot, my foot has swelled up quite bad this weekend. I have been elevating it as I can and putting ice on it. I am just hoping that it will go down soon like yours did.
It is great to have the cast off though! My scars have all healed really well and aren't really that noticeable, which i am really happy about! I am back at the hospital on 18th January to have x rays and give the boot back so hopefully then I can discuss my other foot!
My range of motion in my foot is very little really and it is very numb all over and feels really tight at the back of the ankle when I move it, was this the same for you when you first had your cast off? At the moment I can't imagine ever being able to stand on it, but I am hoping with exercise it will improve! I have never known my ankle to feel so weak!
Speak soon!
Laura
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Good luck with your finger surgery Gilbert, I'll be thinking of you. And have a very Merry Christmas!!
ReplyDeleteLaura,
ReplyDeleteYes, my range of motion was very poor when the cast was first removed and I also had a lot of numbness. My range of motion has greatly improved with the Physical Therapy and over time the numbness has been reduced to just a small area on the bottom of my heel. That small area has improved some but is still quite numb. I'm assuming there may be a bit of nerve damage there and it will take longer for that feeling to come back. I had nerve damage to my lower lip one time after I had a tooth pulled...it took about a year for the full feeling to return. The dentist said that the nerves had to re-route around the damaged area and that it could take up to a year. I'm guessing the same principle applies to nerve damage anywhere in the body.
My ankle was also extremely weak and stiff afterwards...and very painful if I tried to bend it too far while bearing weight on it. But slowly over the weeks of physical therapy it has worked it's way back to nearly normal. I'd say my foot and ankle are both about 80% at this point. '
Now that you're out of the cast you should notice big improvements every week or so. That's the way it worked for me at least. Every week I would be amazed at something new I could do or some improvement over the previous week. And at about 4 weeks out of the cast, you'll find yourself beginning to forget that you had surgery unless something happens to bring it back to your mind or you overdo.
3 more days and I get to start over...but then I'll be all done...so it'll be worth it. Keep me posted with your progress!!