Day 43

Hello to whoever is reading!

I don't have another checkup appointment until sometime next week, but I just thought I'd write a few updates on how I've been doing. I stopped turning my device for good on Friday, so today marks day four of no turning! Towards the end it was getting extremely difficult to turn the device; it didn't hurt me, but it was uncomfortable because the knob was so hard to turn that the whole device shifted when I moved it. I'm assuming it's because there's been so much tension building up on my toe and hadn't had enough time to stretch out at the rate I was turning.

I'm now starting to put more and more weight on my foot, but very slowly. After the little incident the other week when I tripped and harshly landed on my foot, it had been really sore and painful putting any weight or pressure on it. That held back the progress, but for the past couple days I've started to increase the amount of weight and pressure I put on my foot. It's not painful, it's just really uncomfortable a) because my body isn't used to it AT ALL, and b) because the device is still in my foot, so I can't fully step down with even pressure on my foot.

What's really annoying about the whole process is that every time I have my foot down (in what's called the 'dependent' position) my foot turns a really weird reddish-purple color. Obviously something is out of whack with the circulation to/from my foot, but I've noticed that the more I get my foot used to being down on the ground and gently walking, the weird color goes away. By the end of the day my foot is pretty swollen from all the increased walking and usage, but I listen to my body so I know when I've had enough usage for the day.

Now for some miscellaneous bits of info!
--I've been really busy with my two online summer classes, so the emotional impact of being stuck in my house all summer hasn't been too bad.
--Everyday I take a vitamin D 5000 IU (which says it's 1,250% of daily intake), two gummy vitamins (I'm a kid at heart, and they're so tasty!), and a Tums tablet for calcium. On top of this, I do not drink soda and I eat pretty healthy foods. I am convinced that these steps I take have been the reason why my bone regenerate looks so good on x-rays.
--I still elevate my foot, but now I think it's more by instinct than because I need to. My foot always just finds its way up on top of the table when I sit and resting on pillows when I lay down. I still occasionally ice my foot, but only when my foot is really swollen and/or uncomfortably hot and sore.
--I am starting to stretch my ankle, toes, and foot whenever I can. I have noticed that my foot and toes are starting to get a bit stiff from not being used, and it's always a good idea to keep my ankle moving.

I think that's all! Sorry for the long post, hehe. Like I've said before, if anyone is actually reading my blog and has questions, please ask! I wish I had asked brachy bloggers my insane questions before I had gone through the surgery, because once you've actually gone through with surgery and are healing, those insane questions don't seem so crazy anymore.

Day 36: Checkup appointment

Nothing but good news from my doctor today! I was worried about my foot because a few days ago I tripped coming down the stairs and landed all my weight on my brachy foot. I felt a shooting pain and one of the areas around the pin started to bleed a bit. It is still very tender to walk on but the doctor looked at the x-rays and said everything looked great!

My doctor pulled up the x-rays on the computer and showed me the growth since I saw him last. He says my metatarsal has grown about 13 mm in total! It didn't seem like much in the x-rays until he pulled up an x-ray from before the surgery; it was a huge difference! However, I have a hypoplastic toe which means the toe is physically smaller than normal. This can't be fixed with the surgery, so I'm going to have to live with a shorter than normal toe...I'm just happy my metatarsal is the correct size! Less pain = happy me. Doctor also noticed my bone regenerate, and says it looks really good and has already filled in the gap!

He took another x-ray after talking with me, and this time we looked for the parabola of my metatarsals to  see if I needed to turn anymore. We ended up agreeing that I could benefit from a few days of extra turning, so I will be turning for four more days, until Friday. This week also marks the arbitrary "week 1" of the consolidation phase! He said that by rule of thumb, however long it takes the person to turn the device, that's how long the device will need to stay on to consolidate the bone. Since I turned for about 4 weeks, I should now wait with the device on my foot for 4 weeks. Technically I'm still turning, but he said we can consider this week one of consolidation since everything is going so well and we see apparent bone growth. If all continues to go well, I could have this device off my foot in mid-August!!

Day 28: Checkup appointment

Hello! Today was another checkup appointment with my doctor. It was a quick in-out appointment, thankfully. Doctor came in and the first thing he said was "It's looking good!" He said he notices my toe growing, which is a relief to hear from someone who doesn't see it everyday. He mentioned again (as he does every time) about how my skin is stretching as my bone lengthens, and that is why I feel the  tight feeling on my skin.

As to my previous blog post and how I was concerned about the length, he definitely reassured me! He had originally told me (on the day of surgery) that it would take approximately 20 days of turning the device, but after day 20 my toe still looked super short so I was nervous and disappointed...today, however, he told me--quite confidently--that I should be turning for about a month to get the 10 mm of length I need for my metatarsal to be the correct size. I think he is taking a more conservative approach to the amount of length I turn each day, as to make sure my skin, ligaments, and nerves have time to catch up. He was going to wait until next Tuesday's appointment to take X-rays, but he decided might as well take some today! He personally took the X-rays and explained what he saw as he went along. He pointed to the "bone regenerate" which he was pleased with, and seems happy so far with how things are looking.

After I left, he called me and said he had just measured the X-rays and figured I need approximately 3 more mm of length in my metatarsal, so I should continue turning two clicks a day until Saturday (6 more days) and then we will check the progress on Tuesday! How exciting :)

Here are a couple pictures of how my foot looks as of today:

My toe is finally longer than my pinky toe! Even by just a littleeee

What the pins and incision site looks like. The two middle pins have that yellow-red film around them because they are the ones moving/sliding across the skin to lengthen my bone. Completely normal!

Day 22

Nothing too drastic has occurred since my last post. I did suspect that I was starting to get a pin tract infection around my two middle pins, because the area was much more swollen than the rest of the pins; it was also red and had been oozing some sort of liquid that ranged from clear to bright yellow to reddish. I emailed my doctor about this and he sent a prescription for antibiotics, which I have now been on for about four days now. The area around the pins looks much better than it did before, although it is still a bit more swollen and wound-looking than the rest of the pins because (obviously) the pins are sliding across my skin as the device stretches my bone...I'm not complaining about that, because it's doing it's job! Yay!

Two days ago I was at a family party and was standing, sitting, and crutching around, all the while in 100 degree weather (we've been having a heat wave here in Cali). Because of this, I was unable to rest, elevate, or ice my foot the entire day...by evening when I unwrapped my ace bandage, my foot looked like a balloon! I've never seen it so swollen. It was so swollen that the little strips of tape that had been holding the incision together had raised up and off my foot. I think the shock of this was worse than the actual pain and throbbing, but I took a pain pill to be safe. What a scare!

In terms of my emotional health, I have been a lot more emotional and sensitive than I normally am. I think the combination of pain killers, the pin tract infection scare, staying on house arrest all day everyday, my inability to swim in my own backyard or go to the beach, inability to go to parties with friends (summer parties are the best parties), not having a job all summer (I'm a college student...no job and still having to pay for rent and things? IMPOSSIBLE), or even something as simple as WALKING has taken a toll on me. I try to stay positive but lately it has gotten the best of me. I was feeling really depressed yesterday, but three of my best friends came over and hung out with me all day which snapped me out of it instantly. Anyone wanting to go through this surgery needs to be prepared for this...I told myself for YEARS that I'd be prepared for the emotional aspect of surgery and its implications, but I really had no clue what the reality of it would be like. I'm lucky to have my family and great friends around me to cheer me up and keep me occupied, which I have been very grateful for!

I go back to see my doctor next Monday, July 8th to check my progress. He had told me that I would be turning my device for about 20 days, but it has already been day 15 of turning and I am NOT near my goal length. I'm assuming that he will either ask me to turn three times a day instead of two, or that we will just have to keep turning longer than expected. I'm okay with turning longer, I'm just worried that I'll be going back to school with the device still on my foot, which was the last thing I wanted to have happen. Imagine crutching to class from my apartment off campus to get to my classes that are on the farthest corner of the school...not enjoyable at all. I'm just continuing to pray and think positive thoughts about it!

I'll add a picture(s) next Monday at my appointment, since nothing looks that different from the last set of pictures.

Day 14: 2nd post-op appointment

Things are going really well! The assistant doctor removed the blood-stained gauze from my incision site, which took awhile since it was stuck to my skin. He was careful though, and I didn't feel any pain--just a slight pulling feeling, almost like getting my eyebrows waxed but without the sting. The assistant doctor then removed my stitches, which stung a TINY bit but was more of a pulling feeling, and didn't bother me at all.

The doctor examined the pins and said everything looks really good and there's no sign of infection. He mentioned that my foot isn't as swollen as he thought it'd be, but that's funny because I think it looks super puffy! I also got x-rays taken today to check the progress, and the doctor said he is pleased with the growth and glad that my bone didn't fuse together. He said that in two days on Wednesday, I can start getting it wet in the shower!!! I'm nervous to get it wet but he said it should be fine, and to just make sure that I dry it off all the way when I'm out of the shower.

All in all, my second post-op appointment was nothing but good news! I am still elevating my foot and icing it every chance I get because the swollen feeling feels very uncomfortable. I am also taking my pain pills but only once when I wake up, once midday, and once right around bedtime. Like I've said before, the pain is NOTHING like I thought it'd be. I feel really bad for those who have said the pain is horrible and that they can't sleep through the night without pain pills. I'm the complete opposite. I just take the pain pills as a proactive step, not as a reactive step.

P.S. If people are actually reading this and have any questions, feel free to comment!! I feel like this is just my little journal right now :p

This is a 'before' picture-all that bloody gauze and the stitches are off my foot now!

Day 10

This post is just an update on how I've been feeling since Monday's appointment. I've been turning two clicks a day, for a total of 2 mm now. Turning the device doesn't hurt, but I do feel just a slight pressure feeling. The thought of turning the device freaks me out more than actually turning it.

I have been trying to put weight on my foot little at a time, but it hurts too much to put all my weight on it like I normally would. I think it hurts so much partially because it feels like the underside of my foot is bruised from the surgery. I have visible bruising on the side of my foot near my ankle, so I think I may be internally bruised on the bottom. No big deal though, I was expecting that before the surgery.

Yesterday I think I overdid the whole bearing weight thing, because by evening time I was in PAIN. My whole foot was swollen and was radiating heat. My incision site felt really hot and itchy, like it was burning. I had to elevate it the entire evening, and in the rare moment that I got up to crutch somewhere (bathroom, kitchen, wherever) the pain hit me pretty bad. It felt like all my blood went rushing to my foot...ugh, so uncomfortable. Today has been much much better. I limited my weight bearing and have been elevating my foot for almost the entire day.

My two online classes have been keeping me REALLY busy, surprising as that seems. I've been in the process of writing a one-page forum for one of the classes, but I am having a hard time motivating myself to get it done. It keeps my mind busy though, so no complaints!

 My bruising on my foot

 My super stylish shoe...not

My little toe peeking out! Hopefully we'll see noticeable progress soon

Day 7: First post-op appointment

This appointment was on Monday, but I didn't get around to writing a post on it. Oops! My sister drove me to the doctor's office for my appointment, since I am still uncomfortable driving on my pain pills (which I am still taking a few times throughout the day). It's not that the pain is really bad, I am just a baby when it comes to pain and I'd rather take the pills than tough it out all day.

When I was called in, the nurse slowly cut my cast and tore the cotton underneath, exposing my foot and leg (she waited for the doctor to take it all off). Immediately after the nurse left, my foot surgeon came in and greeted me and my sister. He took off the cast completely and removed all the blood-stained gauze around my ex fix. It was all stuck on so he took his time to carefully remove the gauze, and I didn't have any pain from it thank goodness. He then added new, clean gauze around the ex fix and a few times around my foot, and then gave me a removable shoe to wear. No more huge cast!

He also showed me how to turn the external fixator; I did NOT think he would have me start turning until next Monday, which would be two weeks after surgery. My ex fix device is different from pictures I've seen in other blogs; I don't need that little wrench (or whatever it's called) to turn my device. Mine is SUPER easy to turn! There's a knob on the end of the device closest to me, and I just turn it counterclockwise until it "clicks." The doctor turned it three clicks in the office, but instructed me to do two turns on it everyday. Each click is .23 mm, so everyday I turn it close to half a millimeter. Since I'm writing this four days after the appointment, I already have over 2 mm of progress. Doesn't seem like much, but I'm being patient.

My doctor also told me that I could start bearing weight on my foot. I was excited to hear this until I tried it; I cannot believe it, but within the short week that I was completely off my foot, my calf seemed to have atrophied! I feel like I lost all strength in my calf, but I also think my mind is doing it on purpose so I don't overdo it. All day Monday I just worked on flexing my foot and moving my ankle to get some sort of movement.