Short Update

Howdy,

So on the treadmill, these are the happenings...

1. My pinky toe seems to still be experiencing some issues. It seems to get stuck in position in my sneaks. I should be going to the gym continually to let you know the consistency of this but I'm not. Shame on me.

Water blister.




2. Good News!
Remember this post about the Tendon situation?

Well after that post I went on a few challenging hikes. 6 miles, rugged terrain. and the tendon issue went away. YAY!

ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY! - Post-Op

First, I want to thank God for being with me, cuz I sure did need to know he was around those first few months when I was shut in.

As I look back, I'm reminded of so many things! My melancholy, the pain, and the small hurdles I overcame along the way. =o) 

A FEW HAPPY THINGS

• I use to have a corn on my third toe and now it's gone. ;o) 

• I also use to have thick calluses in the bottom front of my feet. They are gone too. I hope it stays that way.

• Another little thing is that before the surgery I was a size 9 to 9 1/2 shoe size; and now I'm a size 8 1/2 to 9. This is due to my Bunionectomies. Yay. 

• In case you're wondering, I do not feel the hardware in my foot.

OUTSTANDING PAIN ISSUES

(the red areas are further past muscle, closer to the bone if you will.) This Sciatic Pain pain keeps me from taking long walks or doing anything on my feet for hours. It's an annoying and sometimes miserable kind of pain. It's daily, and if I keep going I end up limping. I'm hoping it will diminish completely with time.

UPDATE The issue in this box WAS part of my outline when I started putting this entry together 4 few weeks ago. BUT something amazing happened. I won't go into the details, but I received complete healing in this area. This pain lasted 11 months and 2 weeks. I've been completely pain free for the past 2 weeks! So there are no outstanding pain issues!

TENDONS

Remember I spoke about this back in the "Didn't know" page? Back in the 11th post-op week? Anyway, when I wake up in the morning it feels as though my tendons have been in a ballerina position (pointed foot) for an ice age. 

So every morning I have to recline myself forward to make the tendons feel "released". It's weird.

NUMBNESS

RED are numb areas. YELLOW are areas of a tingling sensation when touched.

PINKIE TOE
As I mentioned in a previous post, I suspected my 5th toe might develop a bump or callus because it's now rubbing up against the inside of my shoes.

It never did that before because it lived under my 4th toe. (I placed it out from underneath my 4th toe for the B/W photo.)

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
Well, the past year has been a sedentary one. If you remember, I tried walking at the track back at the 6.5 post-op-month mark. It didn't go well. This post explains the complication with the fourth toe.

At the 8th month mark I tried the treadmill for 2 weeks, but my whole leg was in pain. I had to stop.  

So now the question remains, "Will I forever have to wear a band-aid on my toe when doing intense physical activity to avoid a blister?"  I think I've avoided the gym because I don't want to test this. I don't want a painful blister under my toe! But at this annual point, I really have to. I'll be sure to post the results.



SCARS

The two in the center are from the Brachy surgery.

VIDEO

As promised, I made a video to summarize this past year's journey in case you've just joined the Blog. ;o)

INSOLES

In the past few months I've had to invest in this stuff.

It helped with the pain, but moving forward I will make this part of my shoe-drobe because I want better foot health.

I wore this lovely little number a few days ago for a 40th BD party.

Again, the higher the heel, the shorter my new fourth toe looks. ;o)








The "High Heel" insole is just a must for me now. They feel so good. I think this will help keep those calluses under the front part of my foot at bay. 

And these things even have arch support! Awesome.

FLEXING

This is how things look when I flex my toes upward.

RESULTS

My right foot looks gigantic! LOL

Obviously my left 4th toe isn't as long as my normal right one. 

This is more likely with the one-stage method vs the external fixator. I knew that going in. 

With all I've been through— I'm ok with it.

I'm more bothered by the results of my bunionectomies. Specifically, the first-metatarsal on my left foot. Seriously, I thought it would be better than that. But it's been a year of recovery and it's time to just move on.

HELP

As I had shared in this post, I'm looking for flip-flops that say "Puerto Rico" on the straps. Preferably in leather. If anyone knows where I can find them, please leave me a comment. ;o) Thanks.

QUESTIONS

Is there anything you'd like to know that I haven't covered?



Thanks for following!

10 MONTHS! —Range of Motion Update!

Howdy. I took these 'before' shots 10 months ago waiting for this day to come. ;o) So here we go.

Not much to say with these because the pictures say it all. I will tell you that I'm flexing and tightening my grip like crazy in my after shots, just like in the before shots.

I was wearing my very old canvas shoes the other day (first time in a year), and I noticed something. There is a dark area right where my Brachy toe use to be, on the left. 

Hmmm, funny how we all know that it's raised up in there rubbing against the top of our shoes, but I'd really never seen the evidence of it on the outside like that. (I think it may be because I was always looking at the bulge my bunions were making instead. lol)

So that's the update. I feel fine. The sciatic pain is improving month by month, so I'm happy about that. Very happy! ;o)

I do hope if you are considering surgery you can find answers to some of your questions among these posts.

Tootles!

9mo Post-Op —My Cruise

I'm back! My vacation was great. Was good to really get a change of scenery after so many months. I packed my prescription pain killers that I hadn't used in quite some time just in case. 

I had sciatic pain once I got onto the cruise (I suppose it was the travel)... But I discovered I hadn't packed them after all. 

I don't know why I had this pain nearly the entire trip, but I pretty much popped Aleve like it was candy. Perhaps it was the fact that I was constantly walking around taking pictures. (got a new lens) But I don't believe my sciatic pain is induced by walking. The pain goes up beside my hamstring and into my buttock. I just think I'm getting over some aggravation to it during surgery.

My feet did swell each night, Aleve helps with inflammation.

What kept me going was the photography! There were many christian entertainers on this cruise, so they became my subjects.

Oh, my Pedicure! My first evening on the cruise, I went up to the spa and booked an AM pedicure appointment for the following morning— my birthday, yay! It was a great experience! 

Preeeetty. ;o)

My quick recap is that I get better each month. And that I'm working on the range of movement of my big toe on my Brachy foot.

**I didn't realize this, but because I had Brachy on the same foot, my bunionectomy DID NOT get the post-op attention it needed to regain my mobility there. With Brachy you don't do anything with your foot for at least 3 months... this actually harmed the mobility in the joint of my big toe. Normally you'd be working on it about 3 weeks post-op. ;o/

So my left big toe is much stiffer than my right. But what's done is done and I just work at it as best I can now. ;o)

Not in heels yet. Not sure if I will ever go back to really high heels actually. It's been a warm Autumn, so I still do flip-flops! ;o)

Tootles!

Pictures Don't Lie!

I've been waiting for this moment for a long time. ;o)       (8mo/32 wks)

(If there is a larger image available, you can view it by clicking it.)

12.5 mm gain in length

Amazing shift in bone structure

MORE LENGTH!

On a whim I decided to do some comparing today. Glad I did! I hope this gives you hope with your own surgery!

At 13 weeks I accepted that I received 10mm in length. However, today shows that I now have 12.5mm in length, yay.

I mean I was fine with it before, but this is certainly nice too. ;o) I'm also noting in this photo that my forth toe isn't resting behind my 5th toe as much. That's good too!


Stay positive!

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!

8th Week — Post-Op Summary

A bit of a breakthrough this week. YES!

The first bit of good news is I finished my taxes! ;o) At a turtles pace, but they are done! Yay!

That soon was coupled with an unseasonably warm day this week. I got to open my windows and let some fresh warm air flow through the apartment. (I can't walk Missy yet so she does all her business on her wee pads— the venting was needed. ;o)

PAIN

Heel pain I had last week diminished. Looking at my scars I decided it was time to bathe without a plastic bag on my foot. (I had not wanted to do this until the skin had really bonded together well— I didn't want incisions to reopen.)

Running water on my foot...OMG, this was amazing!!!!! I hadn't done that in 52 days!!! It was awesome. I gently scrubbed my foot with soap and water. (Had only periodically washed with a damp washcloth.) It was dreeeeamy!

MORE GOOD NEWS

I actually could put on a regular sock without it bothering me now. Wooohoo! (tried shoes... not happening yet.)



STRANGE (congestion)

I have to talk to my doc about this. Whenever my leg is down it changes color. (and becomes painful) I presume it's blood. The feeling of this several weeks ago was painful. Now the feeling is just uncomfortable. But the color thing is a little un-nerving. Gonna ask about it. Looks purple-ee. (what this is: see: "PURPLE-EE (CONGESTION)")

SCARS
Apposed to last week, this week I decided to go back to the ace bandage. I feel my scars still need the "pressure" for the scars.

Also, at the end of this week I decided one morning to massage my scars. (Doing it in the morning ensures any pain from it will subside by nightfall.) I thought it would be good for the scar tissue, to hopefully help heal with more flexibility.

Genius that I am, I did it too hard! The tendon underneath my Brachy scar swelled up. (made me panic a bit) and the opposite side of the heal-scar swelled up too! OY. I put the ace bandage on tight, checked it now and then. By the following morning things were fine.

A friend of mine went to physical therapy for a scar on her finger. She did confirm my thoughts about massaging the scar tissue. So I will continue, but gentler.

SLEEPING
Horrible. I have to do something about this...

LANDMARK

I'M 3/4 of the way through the 1st phase! YAY! 4 more weeks and I should be able to take my first steps! WooooHooo! 

TOE
This week I've been moving my toe as Dr. Yes recommended. Not remembering 3 times a day though. I do see immediate difference as to where the toe lays, but after a while it seems to revert back. I think I have to really do it 3 times a day and understand that it's a slow process. Let's see what happens.


Have a great week!

Surgery is About 2 Weeks Away

Howdy! Ok so in approximately 2 weeks I'll be having surgeries on my left foot. My time is spent trying to prep everything I'll need when I return home. (and shoveling tons of SNOW!) 

I'm stocking up on things and cleaning. I'd love to get my taxes done too! ;o) Let's see how things turn out.

I'll have photos and info when I get back for sure. ;o) 

Thanks for your prayers!

UNEXPECTED Post-Op Option— Disability

I've learned some things.

I had been trying to set myself up to work remotely from home during the 12-week post op. It's how I assumed all along, for years, was the only way I could even consider this surgery. (I don't think it the best thing to work right after surgery, but if that's my only option, so be it.)

However, after speaking with my HR person I was informed of the following. I qualify to apply for short-term disability. Eight weeks of 100% salary coverage, and an additional four weeks at 60% salary coverage. THIS POSSIBILITY NEVER ENTERED MY MIND IN THE PAST 10 YEARS. What an amazing blessing!

Anyway, the main thing to consider is the 'applying'. It is not guaranteed.

This is what I've gathered so far:

• I have to apply for it, by phone, AFTER my surgery.

• The insurance carrier then calls Dr. West and then calls my employer. (The insurance claimant's job with this is to get me working as soon as possible) Based on information they gather, they decide to either accept or reject my claim— and for how long.

I emailed Dr. West letting him know that this was a blessing I never knew about and wanted to know his thoughts about the likelihood of it being approved for the 12-weeks. I let him know that I understood the discussion did not come from him but still wouldn't mind hearing his thoughts about it.

I shared with him my rigorous work commute into Manhattan. Somehow all the stairs and trains I take are not conducive to having one leg with non-bearing weight and crutches.

While Dr. West has responded to my emails in the past, he has not answered this email in particular.

So there you have it. If you're trying to figure out how you'll manage your post-op time, perhaps you may want to investigate this option for yourself.

I hope you are all well. I am great! I'm excited about my surgery and am looking forward to wearing flip flops this coming summer.

God bless!

My Surgery is Scheduled!

I have so much to tell you all, but can't right now. I've learned many new things and will share with you all soon. For now I will tell you that my surgery is scheduled for the beginning of next year— February.


Stay blessed!


Be sure to visit the "Keep Your Spirits Up..." on the right column!


Tootles!

Insurance PreAPPROVAL!!!!

This is a bitter sweet entry.

Today, 6 weeks after Eddie submitted the paperwork for Pre-approval, I decided to leave him a message to check in. Afterwards I sent one email to both Dr. West and Dr. Yes (CCing Barbara). (If you want to know who's who among these names just click on the green "Cast of Characters" link in the right column.)

I was just FYI-ing both doctors about the pre-approval so they would know why things weren't moving forward. (I expressed my disappointment.) Having never met Dr. Yes, I wanted to stay on his radar. The email of course would serve both doctors to now have each others' contact info so they can begin to communicate about the procedures and post-op care as they need.

Coincidentally, only 5 hours after sending that email, Eddie called me to tell me the insurance had just faxed over the approval. Amazing! lol.

So here's the conversation:

Eddie: "So your insurance will cover this surgery."

Me: "Well wait, there is more than one surgery? It's four surgeries right?

Eddie: "Yes, Brachy, Bunion, Heel and Bunionette. But they approved only the Brachy and Bunion. The other two don't need pre-approval. So do you want to schedule this then?"

Me: "Thank you. Eddie I think you know by now that I'm a 10 question sort of person. (giggling) So I really need to get things clear before going ahead and doing this. I have a lot of things to organize and arrange. The flight, the care for my dog, my job, etc. So my insurance will only cover 90% correct?"

Eddie: "Yes that's right. The approval isn't a guarantee of coverage either, as this isn't a claim being submitted."

Me: "So do you all bill your clients for portions not covered by insurance?

Eddie: "Yes"

Me: "So when is that arranged? I don't really want surprises later and I want to be responsible. I don't have credit cards. I want to be able to pay in installments. Can I do that?"

Eddie: "Yes"

Me: "Do you charge interest?"

Eddie: "No."

Me: "OK. Because I do not want to take out a loan for the balance. My credit score is very very good though. I like paying me bills before they are due."

Eddie: "Well I could give you a close figure, but not exact."

So we agreed he would get me a close figure by end of week.  
Here is the BAD NEWS!

He told me that we would have to schedule in FEBRUARY of 2011!!!!!! I nearly fell off my chair! That's 3 months away! (It's already been 4 months with all this xray and going back and forth stuff) I told him I was very surprised and disappointed. He explained something about the holidays being on particular days and therefore they really lose almost half of December.

When our conversation was done I realized I had just sent an email to my doctors informing them of the insurance hold-up. So now I had to send them the news of more hold-up and why. (of course you realize that I'm emailing Dr. West who will know all these happenings from Eddie and Barb. But just in case the communication gets lost in the shuffle at their office, I'm informing him as if he didn't know) Again I expressed my disappointment in the email.

More than not wanting to pay for a Holiday-priced plane ticket, I wanted to get the left foot onto the 2010 papers. This way I would have no problem with the right foot on the 2011 papers. (Both in the same year.... I'm thinking I may reach some sort of cap or something?) (this concern turned out not to be a concern. It turned out to be more profitable for me to have both done in the same year.)

Anyway, so that's that.

One last thing. Dr. Yes answered my email right away. Just a reply to me though, not a "reply all". He shared his availability schedule with me because I had asked him to. So I know what month not to book the surgery. He also shared an interesting little thing with me:

"Incidentally, 30-60 days seems awfully long to get a pre-cert. Usually here in the East it takes 7-10 days at the longest, with most insurances within 72 hours."  ...hmmmmm.

Next steps:

I will discuss the estimated balance with Eddie by end of week. Then I'll have to shuffle things on my end to align my time off, dog care, see about flights, blah blah... then call Eddie back. Hopefully by then the two dates he gave me for February aren't taken. I'll schedule the surgery, THEN book the flights. ;0)

Let's see what happens... would be nice if after receiving my email Dr. West would find a date this year. But truthfully, everything has its time so I'm ok with February. There may be unforeseen blessings in having it then. ;o)


Tootles... 


pst...CHRISTMAS IS COMING!  ;o)

===============================================

WAIT! WAIT! WAIT!

I thought I was done— sorry! I logged off and sat to read my snail-mail. I just received a letter from my insurance carrier. The postmark on the envelope is Nov 3rd. The letter inside says, Oct 29th. (So does this mean that Eddie would have contacted me today regardless of my call into him and my email to Dr. West? I think this shows that it is a possibility.)

The envelope has my address on it, but the letter is written to Dr. West. My insurer sent me a copy. It says (verbatim):

Dear [Dr. West]:

We received a request for a voluntary predetermination of coverage for [patient's name] for the following service/procedure(s):

• Surgical Procedure Foot-Toe Brachymetatarsia Correction 28899-LT

After reviewing the information submitted we have determined the service/procedure(s) to be medically necessary and a covered benefit under the member's plan.

This voluntary predetermination of coverage decision is not a treatment decision, a medical consultation, or claim approval. In providing this predetermination information [X-Y-Z insurance] does not guarantee the service/procedure(s) will be covered. Claims submitted will be paid in accordance with the member's eligibility status and all benefit plan provisions in effect at the time the service/procedure(s) is actually rendered. All rights and obligations under the benefit plan are reserved.

If you have any questions.. blah blah.

I just wanted to share that with you. There are those of you who have always wondered about these dealings with insurance companies. Well this is one example of how it's being handled by one of the top insurers in the US. Bottom line? It's a risk no matter how much you try to plan, or figure you deserve the coverage for paying your insurance for years without a claim. Even after surgery you can be denied. That makes my heart sink.  ;o( Gulp.

But at this point, I'm willing to take the risk. VIVA LA VIDA! ;o)

(wooooo whoooo.. did you catch that by the way? "Medically Necessary"! I have to cry at this. It's like someone saying, 'Yes I understand your pain'.  ;o)

OK. I'm really going this time.