On my way to see the surgeon now. Getting my cast cut off and stitches removed. Nervous about anyone touching my foot at all. When they put this cast on it hurt just to have the air touch it! Oh well its not like I can stay in this thing forever,
Good luck with everything! Not that you are really going to need a reminder but be extra careful with your foot after you get the cast off. I haven't had a cast on my ankle since I was a kid but I remember very well how tender my entire foot was when the cast came off.
The Following User Says Thank You to Grumpstress For This Useful Post: prico54 (09-24-2012)
Good luck Paula! Hope it went well. I've still got 18 days to go (but who's counting). I had two osteotomies, a tendon transfer and Achilles lengthening. Let us know how it went and how the boot feels!
All set. He took out 31 stitches and I must say ouch!,, I must be turning into a big baby in my old age because it hurt so very badly especially the inner ankle (pttd transfer) The outer ankle hurt a bit but it was tolerable. It also seemed to take a long time. He was going slow so he wouldnt hurt me but it took so long. He asked if I wanted to take brakes and I said just get it over with. The boot! I hate it. It is huge and also heavy. It weighs 3x the weight of my cast. I am glad I didnt have to go through the summer in this thing. You wear a bulky warm white sock underneath and then it gets pumped with air so that its nice and tight. I am "vain" according to my daughter because I hate the way this looks. The good part is that I may remove it to shower or bathe. I have mega scars on both sides and two small ones on the top but it doesnt look anyway near as bad as I thought it would. Minimal swelling . I can start rubbing medora on the scars ina week. We will see just how good this stuff works now. Two more weeks non weight bearing and then final check up and I will be cut loose. Everything has gone super sugically he is vety pleased with my healing. My calf didnt hardly shrivel up, I still have my tan andI actually lost almost 10 pounds. I stopped at a yarn store and did some shopping on the way home. If you want attention go shopping with your knee walker. What a conversation piece! Everyone wants to know about it. Sleepy now as I took some pain meds a while ago. Oh he also said no physical therapy for at leadt another month.
Best wishes to you! The knee walkers are most definitely conversation pieces. I have one that I have been using and people always stop to make comments. They are life savers when you want to do something that you need your hands. I totally agree with you that the boot is so much heavier. The assistant in the doctors office didn't believe me when I told her that the day I got my cast off. They're a lot heavier. It is nice though to be able to take it off to get a shower and to shave. I couldnt believe in the amount of leg hair I was able to grow. I was so embarrassed! lol I couldn't wait to get home and get my foot and ankle cleaned up and shaved. Congrats on your progress! I had two fusions and achilles lengthening back in April but have had some setbacks and am back in my boot again NWB. Take care!
The Following User Says Thank You to LadyKanner For This Useful Post: prico54 (09-24-2012)
It is nice though to be able to take it off to get a shower and to shave. I couldnt believe in the amount of leg hair I was able to grow. I was so embarrassed! lol I couldn't wait to get home and get my foot and ankle cleaned up and shaved.
those are the things I'm most excited for as well! haha. I get my cast off on Tuesday, and all my stitches out. I'm not really excited for it. I'm worried about the pain of getting them out. It's been about a month since my surgery, so I'm worried about it. How did it feel, people of the message board?
Hi ADK! Don't be too worried! It stings a bit but it is nothing like what you've been going through. You can definitely handle it. Best way I can describe it is some sharp stinging pains. They dont last too long. One of my incisions wasn't quite ready so they butterflied it but no concerns there. It is REALLy strange having your cast off after it being on for so long. Very scary at first cause you don't know what it is going to feel like. I had the nurse wipe my foot off before putting it back in the cast. Got some of that betadine off and removed some of the itchy feeling. I would recommend not watching them take them out. Just lay back, look at the ceiling and take some slow deep breaths. YOU CAN DO IT!!
The Following User Says Thank You to LadyKanner For This Useful Post: AdkLizard46 (09-23-2012)
Thanks Lady Kanner, and prico, and really, everyone on all these boards. You all rock.
The cast on is my 4th (or maybe 5th) cast. Second fiberglass cast. I'm hoping to be moved along into a boot or something similar. Tomorrow will be the 56th day since my injury (can't believe it's been that long) with no real end in sight. I've been NWB the whole time, with good reason. I've heard 12 weeks is a conservative estimate for starting to bear weight again.
Adk, tomorrow is your appt right? Godd luck you will be fine. It sounds like you havve had your stitches as long as I did. It does sting alot but you will be fine. I wiuldnt have been so upset but there were so many stitches on the outside and inside. It took a long time to get yhem all out. Funny thing was the assistant took out the ones on the outside and then started to talk about aftercare and asked me what size shoe I wore for the boot size and I was wondering when he would get around to the other stitches. My daughter was looking confused and I was thinking that they were going to leave the outside ones in longer. Then I asked him and hes like oh no I didnt see those! Anyway its fine now. I am getting used to the boot and Oct 9th I have my final appt .
Todays good news! I have apparently either sprained or broken my baby toe on my good foot. I think when I was walking on the crutches yesterday I must have done something to injure it because during the night I was trying to stretch my foot and it felt like it was asleep. When I woke up this am I looked and it is swollen twice its size. I am not goibg to bother going to get it checked because theres nothing they do for toes except buddy tape it. I cant even tape it right now it hurts too bad. Some luck hey? Oh well its not like I was scheduled to run a marathon soon anyway just more time off my feet (foot) today then yesterday!
The following 2 users give hugs of support to: prico54 ginger62 (09-26-2012), SunniDay (09-28-2012)
It will be ok. I cant even move it now but it isnt the worst thing that could happen. My next appt is oct 9 I am sure it will heal just fine. Thanks guys you are the best!
The following user gives a hug of support to prico54: Ditsy1 (09-26-2012)
So my toe feels better today. I dont think it is as bad as I initially thought. It is still swollen and sore but I can move it. I guess I will survive. I found some awesome yarn when I went shopping last week and I am going to order it and make a nice sweater. That will keep me occupied for awhile! Have a great day everyone!
Holy cow, Paula! I can't believe that everything with your foot, you've hurt your "good" foot, too! I'm glad it's feeling better, and hope it heals completely and quickly.
I'm SO hoping that I don't have to go through the forest/harvesting experience. Since my last chemo (end of June) I've been growing back hair in most places, but so far not on my legs. I hope it stays that way until after this whole splint/cast/boot thing. Although I'm past the danger of high risk of infection from chemo, I still worry about it. I guess I always will. So maybe I'll just have the ugly shriveled skin but no hair. I could live with that.
Do any of you do exercises before you PT starts? Something to strengthen the leg connected to your surgical foot? This is only my 10th day since surgery, but I've been doing what I can since day 1. Although I'm still supposed to be keeping it elevated higher than my heart, my aftercare instructions say that I can have it not elevated for 10 minutes at a time, for bathroom and stuff like that. So whenever I get into my wheelchair to use the bathroom or refill my drink, I do leg lifts with that leg. I'm telling you, that splint/bandage is HEAVY! Feels like it weighs about 15 pounds. So I just let my leg hang down, and lift it parallel to the ground, and repeat. The first day I could barely do 10. Today I started doing 60 at a time without a break. I do it slowly, so I'm not just kicking the leg up. It doesn't take long, so I can still be back in my recliner with my foot elevated within 10 minutes. It just feels good to be doing something. Believe me, when I'm done, I'm really ready to get it back up on those pillows. My foot has felt swollen a couple of times, but that's all. A while after doing the leg lifts, it actually feels like there's a little extra room in my splint. It's obvious that I've lost a little weight since surgery. I'm eating a bran muffin for breakfast (to combat the effects of the Vicodin), greek yogurt for lunch (extra protein to help with healing), and whatever my son (fabulous cook) fixes for dinner. My jeans have gotten a little loose and the top of the splint is roomy, where it was tight the first few days after surgery.
I have a couple of questions. ADK ~ was your surgery on your left foot? I should know that, but I don't remember. I'm wondering because you mentioned that you were given clearance to drive. I can't believe how much I miss driving!
Paula ~ I'm so surprised to hear that you'll get out of the cast and into a boot after only 2 weeks! I hope SO much that I get that news as well when I get my cast next week. I understand that the boot is really heavy, but to be in something that can be removed occasionally sounds like heaven! Every night when my husband asks if I need anything else before I go to sleep, I ask him to take the splint off
Obviously we all are having various procedures and our outcomes and prognosis varies from one person to the next. But I'm reading so many things today that are very encouraging. I'm so thankful for this community and all who take time to contribute. It has made this experience much easier. My surgeon and his assistant are really awesome, but they only have so much time for each patient. It's so cool to be able to come to a place where we can discuss different experiences and talk about the reality of the procedures, rather than our doctors' textbook talks.
Thanks everyone, for everything you contribute. You make a difference in my experience with recovery, with my comfort level, in my every day. I'm thankful for all of you
Denise (if some of this doesn't quite make total sense, I'm rather heavily drugged)
