FrankenFoot!

I had my 2 week follow-up appointment at TOSH today.  They removed my splint, and took some x-rays to see how my foot is healing.  When the nurse peeled back the splint, I got my very first glimpse of my tootsie since going under the knife.  It looked like...FrankenFoot!!  It was not pretty.  I also have a pretty serious case of the furs, since I haven't shaved in almost a month.

First, the x-ray.  I ended up with only one plate (at one point the doctor thought he would need to do 2) and a myriad of pins and screws.  My navicular was the worst injury, and therefore has the most metal.  

And now, I present Frankenfoot, in all it's glory (not for the squeamish):

 I am going to have the most wicked scars.

It felt pretty liberating to have the splint off.  As a fun side trip, I also had my left ankle x-rayed at the doctor's office today.  When I had my accident, I sprained my left ankle.  I was so preoccupied with my right foot and it's injury that I never thought of getting the left foot looked at.  Almost a month later, I still have pain in my left ankle.  The Doctor examined it, and the x-ray was negative so no fractures.  Phew.  I had horrid worst-case scenario nightmares of needing my left foot operated on as well.  He thinks it's probably just a sprain taking it's time to heal.  I got a spiffy lace up brace for my left foot.

Now for the most important question of the day:  what color will my cast be?  Hot Pink, of course!

I'd never gotten a cast before, so the experience was educational.  The nurse came in with a basket of wraps and padding, two buckets of water, and some torture looking device on wheels.  She had me sit on the edge of the table and place my foot flat on the bar of the torture device.  Turns out it was just a way to help align my foot into a "neutral" position.  She got it aligned, and although uncomfortable, it wasn't too bad, she started to wrap my foot, and I started feeling kind of dizzy.  I have been getting dizzy spells ever since the surgery when I am in a vertical position for any extended period of time.  I also hadn't eaten.  I tried to continue on, but was on the verge of passing out, so I told her I needed to lay down.  She immediately returned with an assortment of juices and granola bars which I shoved into my mouth.  I laid there, pretty embarrassed, and she said not to worry - the body has ways of dealing with trauma and sometimes this happens.  I rested for about 15 minutes, then she came back and we started again.  This time, it went smoothly.  After the padding layer, she took the first layer of the cast and dunked the wrapping in water, then wrapped that around my leg.  By some sort of magical science, this caused the material to harden into a very sturdy cast.  She did the same with the hot pink layer - dunked it in water and then wrapped it over my leg.  I guess the chemical reaction causes some heat, because my leg was pretty darn toasty inside.  And that was it!  Good to go.

I am sure glad I got that pedicure right before Spartan, otherwise my toes might be just as scary as my FrankenFoot is!  I made another follow-up appointment in 4 weeks.  At that time, the cast will come off, we will take another set of x-rays and see how healing is progressing.  If all is good, we will start working on some range of motion exercises and graduate into a boot.

I still feel pretty bummed.  The doctor plainly told me today that "my days of running and high-impact exercising are over."  I'm not sure if he is just playing it very conservatively at this point, or if it really is true.  Maybe I can still run, just not long distances?  I'm trying to focus on all of the other things I can do, like hiking, biking, and swimming, but it is easier said than done.  I'm determined to make the best out of my physical therapy and stay positive.  I'm only 2 weeks down, there is plenty of healing left to do.