Day 147 (Week 21): How have I been doing?!

It's been so long since I've posted anything!!! I have a lot to catch up on so here it goes...

• Boot/medical shoe/normal shoes: I upgraded from the big boot to a medical walking shoe around the beginning of October. I preferred wearing the boot because it felt more supportive and people actually could tell I was injured....with the medical shoe it looked like I was a weirdo with mismatched shoes all the time! For the first couple weeks I started wearing the medical shoe my ankle became very stiff, swollen, and painful. It felt as if I had sprained it, but it was really just because my ankle was not used to the increased usage while walking. Towards the end of October, I'd say a week before Halloween, my body started telling me it was time for an upgrade. I started wearing boots (cute fall/winter boots, not the medical boot) since they still offer support but are normal to walk around in. My foot protested a bit, but not too bad. On October 29th I went to the doctor for another checkup and he gave me the all clear to start wearing normal shoes!!! His only rule is that the shoe needs to have some support...his example was that if I was walking "out to a party or to the club" I shouldn't be walking in Uggs (wouldn't do that anyways). Since the appointment I've been wearing normal shoes! Boots, Converse, Toms, and flats have been my shoes of choice ever since. 

• Walking/pain/swelling: The last time I posted, I was still having a hard time walking more than a block without getting really uncomfortable and achy. Even when I was able to wear a medical shoe, I would use my big boot if I were walking more than a couple blocks. In the past week, however, things have been so so so much better! Walking is (dare I say) almost back to normal! I don't limp anymore, I can walk further distances without feeling uncomfortable, and I can stand longer without having the need to sit. My foot does not swell nearly as much as it used to, and when it does swell it's not significant. 

• Doctor's orders: At my appointment on October 29th, my doctor gave me a list of things I could start doing again. I now have the all clear to: go for walks, use the treadmill (only walking, no jogging or running yet), do squats with light weight, use the leg press and other machines as long as I'm not using the ball of my foot (calf raises are a no-no, same with lunges), dance (as long as there's not a lot of jumping and landing), and even go skiing. He said that for the next year or so I will be able to tell when it's going to rain since my foot will start to feel achy, and that the snow, ocean, and cold weather will bother me. I can't jog or run until late November or December. My next checkup with him is in mid-January, and by then he says I should be 100% back to normal! 

• Miscellaneous: If anyone reading has specific questions please please please ask! That's what this blog is here for. So some random things:
• I'm still using scar cream. My scar has gotten lighter, but it's still extremely noticeable. 
• My toe still sits much further down than the rest. I'm hoping that walking with normal shoes will help this...
• No high heels yet. I wore my Steve Madden boots with an inch heel on them to my doctor appointment and he just said to be careful, but nothing higher than that.
• The muscles in my foot have gotten so much stronger ever since wearing normal shoes. I can curl my toes SO much more than I could the past four months. Still not as well as my right foot but it's getting there! 
• I never have pain anymore. At all. The worst thing will be a sore feeling, but all I do is sit down and the feeling goes away.

Again, if anyone has questions feel free to ask. Thanks for reading and I hope my blog has helped anyone looking into the surgery!  :) 

Day 90: Feeling good!

Hello everyone!

It's been over three weeks since I got my pins out, and I have to say that things are going extremely well. I am in a boot, which I have to wear whenever I bear weight. The handicapped placard has come in handy, because the boot was pretty awkward to walk in for the first two weeks. I also get to drive to school (which is two blocks away from my apartment) and park in the metered spots on the street for free and for an unlimited amount of time. It's so nice! When I take showers I have my boot off (obviously) and I just stand with the majority of weight on my right foot. I probably should be using a shower chair still but it doesn't hurt me at all.

The swelling has gone down significantly since having the pins out! At my most recent checkup appointment a week and a half ago, the doctor said that swelling is normal and takes months, not weeks, to go away. With that said, I can go a whole day walking around and being on my foot and the swelling is minimal. Since this is now the case, my doctor says I'll soon be able to go from this huge boot to a medical shoe. He said that for the most part it's really up to me when I feel comfortable switching to the medical shoe, and that I'll know I'm ready when there's little to no swelling or discomfort. And I'm at that point already!!

As you'll all see in the pictures below, my toe is laying down wayyy further than the rest of my toes. This is because my doctor overcorrected the toe when he first did the surgery to make sure it didn't rise up like it was originally. I'm grateful that it's laying down and bearing weight, but it's annoying!! It lays so much lower than the rest of the toes that my other toes barely touch the ground themselves anymore. I think it's going to take some time to get back to normal again. The muscles in all my toes, especially my 4th toe, are really weak and so I'm thinking that's part of the reason why I'm experiencing this. I guess it's a good thing for now though, because the extra weight on my fourth toe will hopefully beef it up a little bit! It's so skinny compared to the rest of my toes right now (hehe).

For some random updates, I started using Mederma scar gel about five days ago. I have been using it once a day every day, so I'm hoping to see some progress within the coming month(s). Patience is key for this! Also, I went home to visit my family last weekend and my mom took me to get a PEDICURE!!! It was my first pedicure since I was TEN YEARS OLD. So basically my first real pedicure in a decade. I can't even explain how excited I was/still am!!! The lady went extremely gentle on my left foot, so there was absolutely no discomfort at all. My left foot is SOO much more sensitive than my right foot, so when she scrubbed my left foot I nearly fell off the chair it tickled so much :p

 The boot! 

 It's the same length! So pretty!

 It likes to hide behind the third toe...and there's the scar! Not too bad.

Perspective of just how low it sits compared to the rest. Ridiculous!

Day 67: Pins Come Out!!!

Disregard the fact that I'm writing day 67 a couple days late...I felt exhausted the day of surgery and yesterday I moved back to college so I couldn't really find a good time to blog! So anyways....

My pins are out!!! WOOHOO! My mother and I left our home at 5 am to arrive at the Kaiser hospital at 5:40 am. I signed in and we waited to be called back into pre-op. About fifteen minutes later we were called back, and I got undressed and changed into my hospital gown. The nurse helping me was really nice and asked a few pre-surgery questions while another nurse put an IV in my hand (which is still a little sore might I add!). The main nurse also gave me an anti-nausea pill to take, and later gave me an anti-nausea patch behind my ear because they knew I felt very nauseous and threw up a few times after my first surgery. By the time the nurses were all done asking their questions and prepping me, it was only 6:30...I had to wait until 8 to go to surgery! My mom and I just relaxed until then. Finally, one of the residents who would be watching (and maybe assisting) my surgery and also the anesthesiologist came over to answer any questions I had. After this, a nurse wheeled me on my bed to the OR.

Once in the OR, my doctor/surgeon briefly answered my questions and then I transferred beds and was given oxygen. That's the last thing I remember before waking up in recovery! By the way, the surgery was ridiculously short...I remember looking at the clock in the OR and it being somewhere around 8 am, and when I woke up in recovery it was only 8:30!

Even the recovery period was relatively short. A man came in and took x-rays of my foot (which I barely remember cause I had just woken up), and another nurse sat near me asking how I was feeling and mainly just monitoring my vital signs. I guess my vitals were all really good, because the nurse called someone and described how "abnormally well" I was doing, and so they moved me into a different recovery room. The entire time I was in recovery, I felt absolutely no pain. I didn't need any pain killers until I was home, and even then I took a pain pill more for precaution rather than because it was really starting to hurt. I stayed in recovery from about 8:30-10:00 am. My mom came back and got to see me, and that's basically my second surgery experience!

So how am I feeling now that surgery is over? For starters, my foot is bandaged up again so I can't see the pin holes, and I was given a large black boot to wear at all times until my next checkup appointment in a week and a half. When I walk I occasionally get a dull shooting pain in my toe where the pins were. I've only taken three pain pills since the surgery, which is about one per day so far! The day that I came back from surgery, I rested all day and had my foot propped up with ice packs. The day after surgery was move in day so I didn't really get to rest...but not that I needed to! After moving a few things up and down stairs to my apartment (my friends moved most the stuff since I am not technically supposed to carry anything) I still felt no pain! The fact that I was able to move all my stuff in and organize the day after surgery is pretty amazing to me.

Sadly, I did throw up last night....I'm guessing it was because I had taken a pain pill, and they make me nauseous if I don't eat right around the time I take the pill. I feel fine now though! Another yucky thing is that I'm back to taking showers with my shower chair and a trash bag duct taped around my leg. I can't take this bandage off and it can't get wet, so my showers are gonna be a pain for awhile again.

All in all, I am so happy with my results and the timeline of everything! I never thought it would only take 67 days from start to finish. Of course there is still the healing of the pin sites and me having to slowly get my strength back, but I am just glad my ex fix was removed before school/work started again. I would totally recommend anyone thinking about this surgery to go for it! Even though my foot still looks gruesome (for now at least), I have so much more confidence than I did before this whole experience.

This is what my foot looked like a few days after removing the pins. I had to push the toe up because it was laying so low in this picture!

Day 66: Quick Update

This is a quick update of how I've been since day 53, which was my last appointment with the doctor. I'm writing this partly because some things have changed, but also because I get my pins taken out TOMORROW!

Since my last post, I've made a lot of progress. For about the past week, I have been completely off my crutches. I went grocery shopping by myself a couple days ago without crutches, and I've been packing and moving all my stuff to go back to college without crutches. I do walk with a limp because the pins holding down my toe are keeping me from moving my foot the whole range of motion. My foot gets swollen a lot faster now since I'm walking a lot, but it doesn't bother me too much. I don't have any pain, it's more of an uncomfortable feeling. With this huge increase in walking, the circulation in my foot is back to normal! I mentioned in one of my previous blog posts that my foot would turn a weird purple-ish color when I had my foot down on the ground, but this problem has vanished.

I've also noticed that since I've been off crutches, my toe has been sitting down lower and lower (as you can see from the previous three pictures on Day 53). I'm hoping that this problem disappears once the ex fix is off, because my other toes are having a hard time touching the ground now! It's like the complete opposite of my problem before I had the surgery. The other toes are getting a little stiff since they aren't doing their job of supporting my weight when walking, so I have to move them back and forth in my hand to make sure they don't get more stiff.

My surgery is tomorrow at 5:40 in the morning!!! This means I have to leave my house at about 5 am. I'll be my surgeon's first patient of the day, and the procedure should take less than an hour. I'll be asleep for the procedure, which I'm not that fond of...but oh well, not a big deal to me. I just want these pins out of my foot already! I'm extremely excited.

I'll make another post tomorrow afternoon/evening about how the surgery went. Wish me luck/pray for me! :)))

Day 53: Checkup Appointment

I'm posting this blog a couple days after the actual appointment, sorry about the delay!

Anyways, this appointment went AMAZING. As usual, I got X-rays taken first, and then I waited for the doctor to see me. He pulled my X-ray up on the computer and I cannot believe what I saw....a perfect parabola of my metatarsals! My brachy bone looks completely normal now!!! My toe is still short though since it's a 'hypoplastic toe,' but it looks much more normal than before! I wish I had gotten a print-out of my X-ray to put on the blog, but I'll ask for one at the next appointment.

Speaking of next appointment, the purpose of it is to take out my pins!!! The majority of the conversation between my doctor and I at today's appointment was about how well I healed. He said that out of all the patients he's done this procedure on, I by far was the best in terms of taking this procedure without complications. He called me a "textbook procedure" because it went that perfectly. Best news ever! Since my bone regenerate looks awesome and I've been in consolidation phase, my doctor says that I could get the pins out in one to two weeks, all depending on when we can schedule a trip to the OR. I did kind of want to get the pins out in his office without having to go back to the OR, but he feels safer and more confident with it that way. I'm not complaining though, I'm just so excited that this whole process went by without delays or complications!! I don't know how I got so lucky.

On another note, I have been doing really well with walking on my foot. I can now walk without my crutches for little things like going to the bathroom, getting something out of the fridge, etc. I no longer use my shower chair, as I am starting to stand up on my own in the shower (which gets uncomfortable by the end because my foot gets really red and swollen from standing so long, but it's manageable). Even when I'm out of the house running errands or something, I make sure that I'm putting weight on my foot when I walk as opposed to letting the crutches do all the work. It gets uncomfortable, but I have to push myself and make sure that my foot is getting used to walking again.

As you can see in these photos, my toe is starting to sit way below all the other toes. When I walk I feel that toe touch the ground more than any other toe, and I think the more I walk on it the lower it sits. I'm hoping that when I get my pins out (which is tomorrow! I'm writing this on 8/15) my toe will sit in line normally with the rest. 

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.

Day 4

Hello! This experience so far has not been what I expected. I thought that I would be in a lot of pain and would need to rely on pain killers 24/7; however, this isn't the case! The only time I feel pain is when I move my foot a certain way and strain the area around my 4th metatarsal. I take about 3-4 painkillers in an entire 24-hour period and I'm completely fine.

I have my foot propped up for the majority of the day and night, and I ice it every 1-2 hours for 20-30 minutes each time. I think this has significantly helped the pain and swelling. When I'm on crutches I notice the swollen, uncomfortable feeling start to descend on my foot so I try to stay away from walking and standing as much as I can.

The numbness in my toes has also gone away for the most part as well! The first two days I was really nervous that this might be a long-term numbness that I would have to learn to deal with, but by today all my toes have most, if not all, their feeling back! Yay :)

I'd say the worst part of this experience is being confined to the bed or couch ALL DAY LONG. It gets so boring. Fortunately, I'm taking two online classes for school this summer and they start in a few days, so that should keep me occupied for awhile.

Day 2

Today is my first day after surgery and I'm feeling a little better. As soon as I woke up I took a pain pill, and then my sister helped me to the bathroom and down the stairs. Stairs by the way are hard; I have to carefully sit down and scoot up and down the stairs on my bottom while my sister walks behind me with my crutches. I had some breakfast and juice which made my stomach feel better. The pain pills kicked in, and they make me REALLY dizzy. So as soon as I was done eating, my sister helped me get back upstairs (which is twice as hard when I'm dizzy). I took a nausea pill and have been resting in bed with my leg propped up on three pillows. My instructions for resting my foot is "toes above the nose!"

I'm not sure what to think about this, but all my toes are completely numb still. When I wiggle my big toe it feels all tingly. I really hope this numbness wears off soon!

All day has been laying in bed and watching TV. Some of my friends came over to visit which was nice. I can already determine that this summer is going to be quite boring :/

Day 1: Surgery

Yesterday, June 10th, was my surgery! Let me tell you, it was a LONG day. I had to arrive at the surgery center at noon to sign in. My mom came with me, since you're supposed to have a responsible adult come with you to drive you home and take care of you. The RN took me back to prep soon after I arrived, and had me change into the awful hospital gown. He had me lay down on the hospital bed, and then another nurse came and took my blood pressure and vitals. My heart was beating super fast! (I hate getting surgery). She also put the IV in my arm which wasn't bad. After the male RN asked me all the mandatory questions (do you have any allergies? heart conditions? etc.) my mom was allowed to come back. We waited for an hour before my surgeon and anesthesiologist came over and answered our questions.

My surgeon went over the details, some which I was happily surprised about: I can bear weight on my foot after surgery! I don't have to wait until the external fixator is removed (Of course, I'm staying on crutches with no weight on my foot for the first week just to be safe). I only need about 10 mm of lengthening, which is less than I had expected. After I reach my desired length and stop turning, the external fixator only needs to stay on for less than a month, because he feels that leaving it on for 4-6 weeks like other people do is "overkill." The surgeon and I both agreed that this could all change based on my individual healing, but I'm staying positive!

After questions were answered, I was rolled into the OR at 2 pm. The anesthesiologist gave me some kind of relaxant since my heart rate was over 100 bpm. Then he put an oxygen mask on me and told me to take deep breaths, and that's the last thing I remember. The surgery took three hours, longer than they had anticipated, I guess because they kept taking x-rays to make sure the pins were correctly placed. When I woke up I was super drowsy and nauseous. The nurse told me not to hold it in if I was feeling nauseous, and I listened to her ;) I had some crackers and a little juice, and after making sure I was stable for about half an hour, I was wheeled out to the car! I threw up again in the car with the little bag the nurse gave me.

When I got home around 6:30 pm, my family had me lay in bed and they gave me ice for my foot and more crackers. I still felt really drowsy and nauseous, so I took a nausea pill and a pain pill. I was in less pain than I thought I would be! It just felt like a very dull ache in my foot. I stayed in bed for the rest of the night.

Background

Hello! I am 20 years old and live in California. I have dealt with brachymetatarsia for over a decade, since I was about ten years old. I have wanted to get surgery for my little toe since I was 13 years old, but never was able to because of financial reasons and the fact that no doctor seemed to want to operate on it. Like everyone with brachymetatarsia mentions, I've had a lot of psychological issues having to deal with this. Hiding my toe from the world became a top priority, and it consumed my life. Within the past few years, I've also started to have more and more pain in my foot since my other toes have to make up for my fourth toe not bearing weight. Long story short, I really really really wanted surgery!! This year, LUCKILY, I found an orthopedic surgeon who would do this procedure for me. So the rest of this blog is going to be my experience through the surgery and post-op healing. I hope this helps anyone who is in my position and wants to get their little toe fixed!!