Just dropping in to give y'all an update on ol' hop-along out here in Gilmer! I went back to the doctor for my surgery follow-up today, and he says that things are going well. He said that my foot is able to "go neutral" meaning that it can go flat in a normal position. That is good news! Yay! That is what they were going for with this surgery.
They took off my bandages and I saw my incision for the first time. Turns out, it wasn't an endoscopic procedure like I thought it would be. I have a lovely 3-inch long incision, covered now by tape to protect and hold things together.
He told me that he did subcutaneous (under the skin) stitches that will dissolve on their own, so I don't have to worry about getting those taken out. I still have to wear the boot another 5 weeks, but at least now I can take it off to shower. First thing I do when I get home today is take this boot and wash the fabric part that has been wrapped around my (unsocked) foot for the last 17 days straight. I've been wanting to do that for about 12 days now. lol
After I got the boot off in the doctor's office, I decided to get up and stand on it and take a couple steps with the boot off. It felt so weird! You know the feeling when you have been jumping on the trampoline for a while and then you get back on solid ground? It was a little bit like that. With the boot on, my heel is the first thing to hit the ground and I don't really get any pressure on the ball of my foot. Well, when I was out of the boot, I put some pressure on the whole foot rather than just the heel, and it was the weirdest feeling ever!
He said that after I go back in 5 weeks, we'll start on some stretching and strengthening exercises to keep the mobility in my foot and also to strengthen the muscles that haven't had to do much work due to the surgery and the boot. He said that I would walk with a little bit of a limp for a while after getting the boot completely off, but that it would be due to weakness and the exercises would help. Maybe I can get my wonderful sister-in-law to show me a couple things that I can do right now to help it out. She is progressing wonderfully through the Physical Therapy Assistant program out here and she loves to help people with the things she has learned.
So anyway, I am pleased to say that things are going well out here, other than it being almost unbearably hot. Heat index is at 110 today. Eww. Love to all from The Sosas and I hope everyone is doing okay. I'll keep everyone updated as things go along, but for now I am just excited to be able to shower normally again! :)
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