I got to the appointment and they took me back to be X-rayed. The nurse took off my bandages and they were feeling a little wet. Great. Apparently having the ice cuff on is the cause of this. For me it means my foot looks crazy (aka really gross). As if that craziness wasn't enough, when I looked at my scars from my previous surgery, THEY WERE PURPLE. Yes, purple. I was pretty upset about this because before surgery they were a very nice light pink, almost white! What's happening?? The techs took my x-rays and wheeled me into my room to wait. I tried moving my foot around a bit, but it really hurt. It has no range of motion and moving it in certain directions causes a lot of heel pain.
Dr. Buchanan came in and took off the last dressing covering my incision. He was happy with the way the incision was healing, and said that although it looks like "a tiny incision for the simplest surgery ever" that's not the case. Obviously the screw was causing a lot of pain and it's going to take a little time to heal. He wants me to go back into wearing my walking boot for the next week to protect the incision while it continues to heal. He also wants me to work on walking. He says I'm not going to damage anything that they did. (Yes, but it hurts!) I asked what happens if I fall or something since I currently have a hole in my bone. He says my bone is "like Swiss cheese" but it will heal itself and it's very unlikely that it would break. Also I have to go back to physical therapy. What?? I didn't think I was going to need to do that again! Ugh! Mostly it's just annoying because I don't have time for it. Dr, Buchanan seemed unsure why my incisions were looking so purple, but said it could be from it being wrapped and swollen, plus the "orange paint" they put on them during surgery. Ah! I hope they go back to normal soon!! So overall Dr. Buchanan was happy, but I was pretty disappointed.
On the way home I called to get into PT with Dave since he has an office in Herndon too, which is closer to my office. I can't get in for two weeks. But as Dr. Buchanan - and my mom - tell me, I already know all the exercises. So I guess I'm starting it myself. We also stopped by DMV to get my handicap parking pass. I didn't think I'd need it this time so I hadn't gotten one, but since I can't currently walk without an assistive device, and it's unclear when I will be able to walk on my own for a bit, now I have one again. It is very convenient.
So for now I'm walking in either my post-op shoe or boot with either my walker or crutch. It hurts. It feels almost like it did first walking after the first surgery. THAT HURT SO BAD! It was like a broken bone was walking on the ground with no padding - and that's pretty much what was happening. This feels almost as bad. I accidentally tried to take a step without my crutch earlier and I fell over in pain and from weakness.
I am in pain. My foot hurts and now my shoulders and arms are hurting after all the work they've been doing. But I have been off my prescription painkillers for about 3 days now, which is good news. And I haven't taken any Advil today, which is my own fault. We have a rule in our house if you are in pain: you are not allowed to complain unless you've done something to try to fix it. It started with my mom and now we all do it - if you start complaining she will ask you, "Did you take something for it?" if your answer is no, she tells you, "Then I don't want to hear about it." So I'm off to take some Advil now. If I'm still in pain later, I'll let you know - because I'll be allowed to say something about it then.
 |
| It looks yucky enough from here - you should see the bottom. You can still see the "yes" and doctor's initials on my leg. Bleh! |
No comments:
Post a Comment