Recently, I sent a few photos of my beautiful grand-daughter to friends who had asked (and a few who hadn’t. LOL!) This is what the wife of a high school friend did with the pictures of our soon-to-be 21 month old “Imp”. Can you see the mischief gleaming in those eyes?
Yesterday, I took a look at my calendar to see what this week held in store for me. Hmm, busy! An appointment with my Rheumatologist on Monday morning, another (the “re-do”) with the orthotics & prosthetics people on Tuesday, plus all sorts of errands which had been stacking up because I’ve been out of action for an entire month! I also have a deadline looming on a promise I’d made to a fellow miniaturist, but my tools and supplies have remained frustratingly out of reach, upstairs! (When I was preparing for surgery, I packed a box full of projects I could do in bed on a lap tray. Then I considered our three affectionate & very curious cats, took another look at the projects. . . .and unpacked the box!)
DH has been making frequent trips to the market for necessities since Oct. 30th, but we haven’t done a full food shopping since????? The pantry and refrigerator were looking quite bare, and DS will be here tomorrow for Thanksgiving dinner; it was definitely time to go to the market with a long list! My poor, much-loved Camaro hasn’t moved out of the driveway in nearly a month, so I asked DH if I could try driving to the store. . . .we needed its carrying capacity, and I could easily pull over and let him take the wheel if it hurt too much. I had an absolute blast! I’m not wearing shoes yet (that has to wait on additional healing plus the prosthetics), but I have my comfy/colorful socks and the protective post-op shoes/boots are comfortable. My feet are still tender, but accelerating and braking were just uncomfortable, not painful, and the feeling of regained freedom was exquisite. I used an electric cart to chase DH around the store, grinning like a fool the entire time. (Confession time - I bumped two stacked displays while trying to make the tight turns to transition from one aisle to the next - but only knocked one box off. I also ran right into DH’s butt once! LOL!)
Generally, I’m pretty tough; I was awake for the surgery and didn’t freak out when I heard the bone saw (probably fitted with a grinding disc, actually) start up, after all! Still, I know my limits. While monitoring the healing process (and trying to get adjusted to my “goose feet”), I’ve noticed a few facts about the stitches which were due to be removed today. Most obvious was the sheer number of them…..removal was going to take awhile. Also, they were very, very tight…someone (as it turned out, it was a nurse whom I like very much) was going to have to pull up rather firmly on each of them before they could cut them. The visible portion of many of the stitches was only barely-visible, being embedded in scabbing along the incision line…….hmm, that wasn’t going to feel good, either! OK - Tough, yes. . . .stupid, no - - -since DH was doing the driving and I’m still using the wheelchair when away from Casa Blackburn, I arrived at the doctor’s office fortified with pain medication, a muscle relaxant and a tranquilizer! It was still a thoroughly nasty procedure!
When I had my post-op checkup, the surgeon told me to go see the orthotics/prosthetics group and have them fabricate toe fillers & carbon fiber shanks for me. Uh oh! The toe fillers (prosthetic toes) will prevent the front part of whatever shoes I wear from curling up like Persian slippers in short order. O.K. - preventing curling is a good thing, but the alarm bells went off.
I have been visiting the wonderful, caring staff at HK Orthotics & Prosthetics for several years now. They are a terrific bunch, and I like them immensely. However, I delayed for two days before calling for an appointment because I knew what they would have to do! When I whined about it at home. . . .”They’re going to have to take molds of my feet. They’re going to press down on the stitches (and the rest of my feet) to get a clear mold in semi-rigid foam!”, I was met with ‘comforting disbelief’ by family members. “Maybe not.”, “You don’t know that.”, “I don’t think so; this is different.”, etc.
The surgical bandages have been on my feet since October 30th. I got a very brief peek at the surgeon’s work late that afternoon, when both incisions sprung a leak and the PA had to redo the dressings, but it hasn’t helped me to answer the standard questions which have popped up over the past two weeks; questions like. . . .”Why does it hurt way up there?”, “Is that a staple poking at me?”, “Are they healing well?” and “What do they Look Like!?”
Today was “answer day” (and my first time out of the house since Nov. 1st!) - time for the big reveal and answers to the questions. In short: 1) It hurts there because the incisions are longer than I envisioned (about 23 stitches in one foot & 22 stitches in the other). 2) Despite the fact the surgeon said “staples” while briefing DH after surgery, no staples were used. 3) Despite the surgeon’s conviction that I was a very bad candidate for proper healing (because of the Enbrel therapy), I am healing very well, thank-you-very-much! He was surprised, and I sort of had to rub it in a bit 
O.K., it’s ’shuffling along, carefully’, not ‘dancing’. . . . . .but then, I never have been able to dance well I’m taking it slow and easy, relying on post op boots and my spiffy red Rollator for support. It doesn’t hurt as much as I thought it would, but it is exhausting! Right now, I’m limiting myself to three trips per day (bedroom to family room) before I request wheelchair help. I’ll have to work hard to get my strength back, once the surgeon approves me for more exertion!
Sorry I haven’t posted anything here since my surgery; I made a small tactical error when I assumed I would only be off-line while I was hospitalized. Each day, looking at my computer keyboard has been enough to make me want to take (another) nap. I’ve got zero energy!