Yesterday and today I decided to stop taking the perscription pain medication. Now I’m taking a normal dose of ibuprofen once each day - about 30 minutes before I wake up (my foot still consistently hurts when I wake in the morning) or maybe twice if I’m up and about a lot. I still have some sharp and deep pain during the day but I can deal with it by resting my foot.
I had my second post operative appointment with my doctor. She removed my bandage and my stitches. The wound is completely closed, which is amazing considering how big it is and that it is only been two weeks since it was cut open. I received a thin compression sock (it looks and feels like super control strength nude pantyhose), which provides a nice barrier between my foot and the world, but is much more sleek than the bandage. I can now take a shower without any kind covering over my foot. She gave me permission to drive and exercise so long as I feel comfortable and confident doing so. Basically, I cannot easily mess up my incision site through either of these activities. It is all to be dictated by how comfortable I am. Next week I hope to get into the gym to use the recumbent bicycle or to take a short Pilates lesson focused on other parts of my body besides my legs. My ability to bear weight on my right foot (walk, push down, etc) is getting better every day, but still extremely limited and a work in progress.
I took my first drive today! My confidence isn’t there. I can drive using the side of my foot (incision is on the left side and I can awkwardly use the far right edge of my foot), or the middle section of my foot, but not the ball of my foot. As I continue to feel less pain bearing weight on my foot, I hope to feel more confident about driving. However, I can do it and it is kind of nice to have an added reason to be extra alert in the car. So often, I find my mind drifting while I drive and I have to stop and remind myself that I am piloting an enormous piece of metal at quite high speeds. I’m a cautious driver by nature, and this will make me more so for at least a month. By next week I hope I feel confident enough to get on the interstate, have my kids in the car with me, and drive at night. One of the annoyances of driving right now is that I have to remove my boot to do so. This means that I get into the car with my boot on, remove it, drive to my destination, then put my boot back on. This doesn’t sound like a big deal, except there’s not much room in the driver seat to bend down and put on a bulky boot with five Velcro straps. It involves a lot of contortion and it takes a while. Luckily, the last two weeks have taught me to get used to moving through life more slowly… Not a bad thing necessarily.
Speaking of my boot, I will be wearing it for another 2 to 3 weeks. At this juncture, it is hard to imagine not wearing the boot through my daily life. It offers nice protection, has a curved sole that is designed so as to keep me from bearing weight on my toes, and basically enables me to get around pain-free. That said, now that I have the bandage off my foot and I am only wearing a thin compression sock, I have walked around my house a little bit today barefoot, or wearing a flip-flop sandal. It is very slow, and not very comfortable, but it feels like something that my foot needs after being immobilized for two weeks. In my boot I can cook, do laundry, play with my kids, go into stores, etc. I do find that it helps to have an equal amount of rest for any period of activity - for instance, cook dinner for 30 minutes = right afterward, sit with foot up for 30 minutes. From where I stand today (literally, ha!) I can foresee that every day will continue to get a little bit better in terms of being able to walk pain-free.
I was thinking today, exactly 2 weeks after my surgery, of how much progress I have made in these two weeks. I went from excruciating pain the day after the operation to being able to move around my life fairly competently (in a surgical boot). It’s been quite a big course of improvement in a short amount of time. This gives me hope that two weeks from today, I will have even more ability to be living my life normally, and with less pain than I currently have when trying to stand on my right foot. Here’s hoping!
I had my second post operative appointment with my doctor. She removed my bandage and my stitches. The wound is completely closed, which is amazing considering how big it is and that it is only been two weeks since it was cut open. I received a thin compression sock (it looks and feels like super control strength nude pantyhose), which provides a nice barrier between my foot and the world, but is much more sleek than the bandage. I can now take a shower without any kind covering over my foot. She gave me permission to drive and exercise so long as I feel comfortable and confident doing so. Basically, I cannot easily mess up my incision site through either of these activities. It is all to be dictated by how comfortable I am. Next week I hope to get into the gym to use the recumbent bicycle or to take a short Pilates lesson focused on other parts of my body besides my legs. My ability to bear weight on my right foot (walk, push down, etc) is getting better every day, but still extremely limited and a work in progress.
I took my first drive today! My confidence isn’t there. I can drive using the side of my foot (incision is on the left side and I can awkwardly use the far right edge of my foot), or the middle section of my foot, but not the ball of my foot. As I continue to feel less pain bearing weight on my foot, I hope to feel more confident about driving. However, I can do it and it is kind of nice to have an added reason to be extra alert in the car. So often, I find my mind drifting while I drive and I have to stop and remind myself that I am piloting an enormous piece of metal at quite high speeds. I’m a cautious driver by nature, and this will make me more so for at least a month. By next week I hope I feel confident enough to get on the interstate, have my kids in the car with me, and drive at night. One of the annoyances of driving right now is that I have to remove my boot to do so. This means that I get into the car with my boot on, remove it, drive to my destination, then put my boot back on. This doesn’t sound like a big deal, except there’s not much room in the driver seat to bend down and put on a bulky boot with five Velcro straps. It involves a lot of contortion and it takes a while. Luckily, the last two weeks have taught me to get used to moving through life more slowly… Not a bad thing necessarily.
Speaking of my boot, I will be wearing it for another 2 to 3 weeks. At this juncture, it is hard to imagine not wearing the boot through my daily life. It offers nice protection, has a curved sole that is designed so as to keep me from bearing weight on my toes, and basically enables me to get around pain-free. That said, now that I have the bandage off my foot and I am only wearing a thin compression sock, I have walked around my house a little bit today barefoot, or wearing a flip-flop sandal. It is very slow, and not very comfortable, but it feels like something that my foot needs after being immobilized for two weeks. In my boot I can cook, do laundry, play with my kids, go into stores, etc. I do find that it helps to have an equal amount of rest for any period of activity - for instance, cook dinner for 30 minutes = right afterward, sit with foot up for 30 minutes. From where I stand today (literally, ha!) I can foresee that every day will continue to get a little bit better in terms of being able to walk pain-free.
I was thinking today, exactly 2 weeks after my surgery, of how much progress I have made in these two weeks. I went from excruciating pain the day after the operation to being able to move around my life fairly competently (in a surgical boot). It’s been quite a big course of improvement in a short amount of time. This gives me hope that two weeks from today, I will have even more ability to be living my life normally, and with less pain than I currently have when trying to stand on my right foot. Here’s hoping!
(Not like this, but...)
I’m driving again!!
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