Week 13 & 14 — First Steps!

Howdy! I thought I'd start off with something funny. Check out my toes! The toes on my left foot try real hard, but I can't spread 'um. ;o)

Last 2 weeks have been a bit of a whirlwind for me personally, but things are progressing. (videos below)

Let me get right down to it. Normally your doctor will give you instruction as to how to start walking. Each person is different, it also depends on the method of correction. My doctor kept me on crutches and my boot for week No.13— partial weight bearing. For week No.14 I could try ditching the crutches only in the house.

But I really ended up not following doctor's orders and overdid it. I wish I could tell you how week 13 would be for you, but mine was really not normal. I made personal decisions that kept me on my foot waaaaay too often and let's just say it was more than partial weight. But those were "my" personal decisions I made to spend time with some family.

I do not recommend planning outings or entertaining during this time! So I don't know what it would feel like to ease into walking.


PAIN
So I went from having trickled down on the pain between wk 9-12 and now I'm back up again. The pain is different. It is very difficult to explain. You feel pressure in areas where you feel weakened. You feel like there is a bruise under your heel. Your foot aches and your ankle swells a bit too. And walking is short lived because of the discomfort— you'll prefer to sit. 

But I have just kept going. Living alone all this time makes me grateful that I can finally get up, get something, and carry it back in one of my hands (been using only one crutch, yay). I would love to be pain free after 12 weeks of great discomfort and trial, but I tell myself I've only been putting weight on it for two weeks.


I still can not sit upright with my leg up and be ok. My leg starts to hurt after about 30min. So I have to sit 'reclined' with my leg up. (I sound like a broken record with this! I wish walking-pain was all I had to deal with.)

But this is all passing. Just like the hard times during the 12 weeks passed, this will too! ;oD

Anywhooo let's get to the good stuff!!! 

Week 13—
This is what an bird's-eye-view photograph can not show you! ;o)

Week 14—
First Steps... Crutch Free!

Brachy Physical Therapy

I've been wanting to get this video out for a long time. This is my physical therapy for the Brachy toe after one-stage surgery.

I cut myself off at the end LOL. I'm no videographer! ;o) 

Here is another important thing to do:

I CAN BARELY RESIST!!!!!!!!

OY! In two days I will be in Dr. Yes' office WALKING! I can't stand it! I'm so tempted to just try it here at home.

But I know I can't take that chance. He will take xrays first. If all looks promising then I can probably take my very first steps (WITH CRUTCHES).

I'm not going to be running, or walking around at the track even, but its PROGRESS dog gone-it! ;o)

Some people reach this point only to have the doctor say, "you need another 2/4 weeks". That sure is disappointing, but I've heard them say, "Heck if I did 12 weeks I can do 2 more!" That's the best way to look at it I think.

I have a strange suspicion that Dr. Yes is simply going to follow Dr. West's automated instructions for this process. (He hasn't seen me during post op. We don't really have a choice. I have sent him pictures of my progress though.) Not that he'll let me walk if he sees something very odd. He is a conscientious doctor after all.

Having been homebound as much as I have I really feel like a different person. I feel very caged and am glad that I started working from home this week. It has served as a good distraction.

I don't know what I'll do once I'm decently mobile! I think I'll go everywhere! LOL. Oh yeah, I booked my vacation today. YAY FOR ME! I'M GOING ON A CRUISE! I so needed something to look forward to. In 7 months I'll be sailing... WITH flip flops!!!! 

I know for a fact that my foot will feel weird on the floor when weight is applied. It will feel as though something very hard has been placed where my 4th metatarsal is. I can feel that already when I'm laying down, feet on the bed, knees bent towards the ceiling.

I wonder if it will dissipate or if it will stay, and I'll just get use to it.

12th Wk — Post-Op Summary!!!!!!

Tadahhhh. I made it!

Take a good look as to where things use to be.
(double-click image for larger view)

This 12th week felt different for me. My leg and foot just felt better. (I wonder how much of that was due to the placebo affect ;o) In any case it felt wonderful to feel wonderful!!!!

This was my first week back to working from home too. It was tiring, but nice to have something to do to help pass the time. I do miss my coworkers greatly and will enjoy when I'm back in the office gain. (Hopefully sporting some great flip-flops ;o)

I saw Dr. Yes. He took xrays. All looked well and as instructed by Dr. West, I took my first steps! My first steps were with my boot on, and my crutches.

This next week (wk 13) I am transitioning out of NW (non-weight bearing) to PW, (partial-weight bearing). I will walk with my boot on, and crutches.

Then on wk 14, if I feel well, I can just use the boot without crutches— BUT just in my apartment. When I go out, I will still have to use both the boot, and crutches. Doctor's orders.

12 WEEK COMPARISON

(double-click image for larger view)

LENGTHENING

My measurements tell me I received 10 millimeters of lengthening!

Before My First Walk....

So I've been on crutches for 12 weeks. This is a milestone. ;o) Many of us looking into one-stage correction hear about the 12 week mark. I'm ecstatic, but under no illusion of actually walking normally at this stage. BUT STILL it's great to be at this point! ;o)

So I've been wondering some things....

Will it hurt when I start to put weight on it?

If so, will that pain go away within a reasonable amount of time?

Or will it be pain my surgeon will tell me I have to live with?

Will weight on my foot help this congestion issue I have?

This is when I try to bring my toes forward.
The 4th and 5th stay where they are.

My second and third toe have been trained most of their lives to go to the left to compensate for my 4th Brachy toe. Will they ever stop wanting to do that?

It is an absolute blessing that my new 4th toe can grip the ground a bit! Will walking help it stop having such a low profile?


And will my third toe ever stop domination my 4th?

NW - Non-weight bearing

WARNING - Don't Believe It!

This is simply not true. Not just from my experience, but from others who have had the one-stage method done. This doctor states several things that are not accurate. One of them being that the one-stage lengthening takes 6 weeks!

That's a flat out falsehood! People go into surgery believing that, then are very disappointing at the real length of time it takes. I would imagine this discrepancy would affect your working plans, your vacation plans, etc. 

Make sure you get the truth about the post-op length of time and exactly what physical capabilities you will and will not have. Be cautious of any doctor who whizes by these types of questions.

If this doctor "meant something else" when making that statement about process, and you've chosen him as your surgeon, ask him to define what he is saying. Get clear so you're not disappointed or disillusioned. 

(Let's be clear, this is an advertising video. This video is not from a real News broadcast. There is no network logo on it. It was created with a nightly-news format, to appear as such— but it isn't. Also, this practice has always had a certain name, just recently they changed it to a name that states their expertise in Brachy, but at the time of this posting they have not done hundreds. They also spent some money to make sure they come up first in google.)

Even the way the video stops and goes back to the announcer, "Now lets see about treatments". Weird— is all I'm saying. Be careful. 

And furthermore, the external fixator is not an 8 wk process as he states either. Claudia had an external fixator and she wore her first 2" chunky heels 15 weeks after surgery. And she only stood in them for a few hours. And it was a shoe without a back, the slide-in kind.

Anita had her fixator on for over 3 months! Approximately 5 months after surgery she was finally able to not use her surgical boot. Every case has the opportunity to be different.

So when a doctor says 6 or 8 weeks, be advised that he may be talking about some medical things happening in your foot. Certainly not how it registers in your brain, "Oh great I'll be completely my old self and be able to do things after 8 weeks." That's just not the case for the average person. 

You will heal. It will be wonderful. But it takes time. ;o)

11th Week — Post-Op Summary

I start work next week from home. My boss was a sweetheart and got me a laptop so I can work in a reclined position with my leg propped up. It will be nice to be busy again— I think.

So, one more week and I take my first steps. Wow. It feels like forever. The last time I put weight on this foot was Feb 18th!

Let's get to the summary... 

THERAPY

When I'm doing my toe exercises, it's uncomfortable because in this area of my toe.. it feels bony.

The bone here doesn't seem to have the meat around it that my other toes do. So when I push the toe forward with my finger it's uncomfortable.

Remember, this toe is stiff like a rod. I'm pushing against a toe that gives back resistance.

Also, when I asked my surgeon what exercises I should be doing, (to see if they were any different then my post-op doctor), he said: "You can start gently bending the fourth toe up. But holding it as far to the base of the toe as possible."

CONGESTION

I have less atrophy in my left leg than someone who would normally have had a cast on this whole time. But I still have some. 

The leg also appears darker due to congestion when the leg is not raised up (resting). With this blood flow issue comes discomfort, and it turns to pain the more time the leg is lowered.

I'm praying this will go away soon.

FLEXIBILITY

Pointing my toes looks like this when comparing both feet. It's difficult to allow the weight of my left leg to rest on the heel. It hurts. But I did it for this shot, it's not raised off the floor at all.

The heel surgery greatly affects your ankle and tendons.

Flexing my feet forward all the way looks like this.

and this. It will take some time for my left foot to catch back up to my right.

Note how the 4th toes does not move forward like the first three toes.

That's pretty much for this week. I have a sort of pain that goes through my hamstring, up into my buttock muscle. I hate it and wish it would go away. I put an inquiry into my surgeon about this (Dr. West). 

So far his reply is that perhaps I should stretch my leg out every 3 hours or so to get the blood flowing. (not much help)

PROGRESS 
I'm pretty happy with the improvement in appearance.(left)

Well, the fear of my 4th toe never being able to grip has been settled I think.

You can see that here. As I grip my toes into the carpet, the tip of that toe is able to grip a bit, turning the tip of it yellow like the other toes. Pretty cool. ;o)

GLOOMY DISPOSITION

I was just talking to my cousin about some things. "Where did I go to?", "What has happened to me?" I said. I explained how my thoughts where way out of alignment, how I had become negative— so much so, that I was nauseating myself.

While I am fully aware that I did have an influence in my childhood that taught me how to be negative and pessimistic, I'm of age now. And knowing what I know about what 'outlook' can do— I should not be feeling like I have been. Where is my MOJO? ;o)

Well, I finally got to the bottom of it. It was frustrating me. I realized that it's this Blog. Isn't that crazy?!  I set out to make sure to post the realities of this surgery. I really minded finding very few journals online and most of them, at the time, were just birds-eye-view, before and after pics. Just one or two stories that didn't tell anything about the process, or actual flexibility of the toe after surgery.

I really want those looking into this surgery to know how it might be for them. While I am achieving that goal, it comes at a price. Having to give weekly accounts of all of the realities each week makes me mostly focus on the difficulties and challenges. THAT is affecting my thoughts greatly. And those has lead me to a gloomy disposition. Additionally, I don't have a daily network of persons to dialogue with in a positive way.

I will continue to post the realities and challenges. But now I know I also have to, in my personal life, combat that with the old positive me. A 'better' positive me even!

I know it will be challenging because I'm stuck inside, but that won't be for too much longer I think. (It's been 11 weeks of not being able to get out on my own.) I have two more weeks to go before taking my first steps. My hopes are that I will be able to walk freely before either of my doctors think I will.

And even though my ankle may swell tonight, I just may go drive to a park bench and get some sun rays. (I've been avoiding this also because I feel guilty that I would go out and Missy can not. If I took her just out to the stoop, she's so outdoor deprived that she will only want to walk. She won't understand why we aren't going.) But perhaps I'll just do it anyway and see how it goes! ;o)

This all proves what I had anticipated when building this blog initially: You have to stay joyful while you're recuperating. That's why I put some positive tools on the right side of this Blog. USE THEM!

Surround yourself with family and friends who will speak to you daily about the positive side of your recovery.

Tootles!

--Guess What?!---

I walked Missy on my crutches for a small bit. And I was so excited that I was gonna drive to get some lunch when lo and behold... the car won't start. Battery dead, go figure.

Cheering Up

I've decided I need something to look forward to. I'm going to try and book a Caribbean cruise for OCT. All I need now is a cabin mate. ;o)