Stitches out!

The doctor’s office called and asked me to move my appointment up to today so I got my stitches out a little bit early. I couldn’t wait to get the stitches out so they didn’t get any complaints from me! The gal that took the stitches out this time was awesome! I barely felt anything at all. She was so fast I almost didn’t have time to catch it on video.

Here’s a couple of pics of my toes with and without the stitches.

I got my wish about the gauze. Once the stitches were out the nurse said all I needed was bandaids over the pins. I would’ve preferred to skip the bandaids too but she said that they prefer to keep the pins covered. Evidently they’ve had people get them caught on things and rip them half way out. That doesn’t sound like fun so I guess I’ll deal with the bandaids. Also, since the pins are covered I should be able to wear loose socks. That’ll be nice.

I also asked the doctor about the surgical shoe. It had really become a problem. The hard plastic sole was so slick that I had almost wiped out at work a few times. He had one of the nurses bring in a different style for me and it was much, much better. It has a rubber sole which is very much like the bottom of a tennis shoe. The other nice thing is that it doesn’t make noise when I walk. The original shoe made a loud clacking sound each time it hit the floor and since I had a tennis shoe on the other foot, there was only one clack which made it sound like I was walking around with one shoe on. I got a lot of odd looks in public. The new shoe also has a strap over the ankle which keeps it from flipping up and down on your heel while you walk. Overall it’s just a much better and more comfortable shoe. The nurse said they have stopped stocking the other shoe because no one else liked it either. The only downside to the new shoe is that the smallest woman’s size they make is medium. That’s a little big for me with my size 6 1/2 feet. The nurse was able to shorten the straps but of course there’s no way to make it shorter. I’ll just have to deal. 

My next appointment is scheduled for October 15th. That’s when the pins will come out. Until that time I have to make sure I keep the pins clean and dry so I don’t end up with a bone infection. It’ll be nice when the pins are out so I can take a shower without having a giant plastic cover over my leg.