One Week Post-Op

It’s been one week since my foot surgery. Like many things in life, in some ways I can’t believe how fast it’s gone, and in other ways, it has seemed like an eternity. I have nothing to compare my recovery to, no reference point, but it seems like it is going well. During the first couple days post-op, I felt like I would never walk normal again. Limping the few feet from the bed to the bathroom was tremendously difficult. And I couldn’t imagine giving up the crutches and walking only with the boot, as the doctor suggested.

But yesterday I had my first post-op visit and dressing change. The nurse assured me my foot “looks good” (I don’t know about good, but I agree it’s not as ugly as I imagined it would be), and I’m recovering well. She also strongly encouraged me to start walking. More. Without the crutches. She said the longer I wait to start walking in the boot, the longer I'm going to be in the boot. Well, that got my attention.

So, I’ve been working on that. I’ve been bearing some weight on the foot while still using the crutches. I’ve started only using one crutch. And I’ve taken a few steps here and there with no crutches. Surprisingly, it’s not as painful as I thought it would be. Not at this point. Now a day or two after surgery was a different story. With the slightest pressure, it felt like my foot would shatter. But now, mild discomfort, at the most. And I’m progressively cutting back on the pain meds.

Today, I’ve made two trips down the driveway to the mailbox. Several treks through the living room and out to the kitchen. And one out to the backyard to rescue a mockingbird ensnared in the wire mesh covering the blueberry bushes – he’s smart enough to figure out how to get in, but can’t get back out again.

I’m feeling optimistic. Two more weeks, and I get the stitches out (I was surprised to see there were only about five! I imagined more.)

I hope no one minds me posting this photo. I know some of my readers are squeamish. But I want to document my progress. Really, it’s not as bad as I expected. The purple looks like they highlighted it in magic marker, but it’s actually bruising. And any day now, I’m going to re-paint that toenail.