It's less than one week until my surgery! I've just been trying to keep myself distracted and hoping that the time passes quickly. I've already done my pre-registration and pre-admissions prep & paperwork, so all I need to do is show up on the 13th with an empty tummy and a urine sample. Because again, I need to prove that I am not pregnant!
I do have an appointment on the 12th, which will be my final check up. I am actually 13 weeks post-op, and the plan was to have this surgery at 12 weeks, but my doctor was out of town last week. He will take some x-rays and validate that enough healing has occurred to remove the two pins going across the 4th and 5th metatarsals, which are holding the cuboid and cuneiform bones in alignment. I will still have the screws over my 1st and 2nd metatarsals and in the plate on my navicular. I will need another surgery in about a month to remove those, unless something changes on Monday at my appointment.
I'm so ready for this surgery. Words can't explain how done I am with the NWB and scooter life. The past 3 months are about to be behind me for good!
These days, I feel like everything hurts BUT my foot. Mainly on my left side. I still have pain in my left ankle that I sprained in the fall, but it's not nearly as bad as it was. It feels like it might be getting better, but the progress has been really slow. I've also got this really annoying pain in my left hip. It's sore all of the time now, and it feels a lot like my IT band at times and radiates around my pelvis and glutes. I no doubt have been putting a lot of strain on my left side and it has had to overcompensate. I am balancing all of my weight on my left side a lot, like when I stand still on my scooter, or when I am hopping around unassisted. I hope that is what has been causing that pain, and I hope that when I start to walk normally it will work itself out once the muscles are being used as they are intended to. I'm just trying not to worry about that right now, and just get myself healed from the next surgery.
I'm not entirely sure what to expect from a hardware removal surgery. I've read other blogs and talked to others who have had it, and it seems like everyone is different in the healing process. I know that it won't be nearly as painful as my initial surgery, but I'm still being put under anesthesia, going under the knife and getting stitches. It will take about 10 days before I am healed enough to have the stitches removed, and be allowed to bear weight. I'm curious how my body will respond to this 2nd surgery. I know the 1st surgery was much more traumatic, but it was pain like I have never experienced in my life! Once the pain subsided, I got horrible dizzy spells for a couple of weeks after, and standing upright for any length of time resulted in waves of nausea and feeling faint. I'm hoping that doesn't happen again. I also ran out of energy really quickly. Simple tasks of showering or going to the bathroom felt like massive feats. So, I guess I'll wait and see this time around. Luckily, I have some banked sick time at work!
The Utes are getting ESPN College Game Day this weekend for their game vs. Cal, and I have every intention of tailgating and going into the stadium again! This could very well be my last game as a gimp. There is a game next weekend, but I have no idea how my body will be reacting after surgery and if I'll feel well enough to go. If I'm still taking pain meds and/or getting my dizzy spells, I am making the smart choice and parking my ass on the couch! Also wait and see. If not, we have another home game on Halloween and I'll be for sure ready to go by then! I've even got my Halloween costume picked out, and hopefully I'm able to walk by myself, even if it is in a walking boot.
Nate's been lecturing me about not trying to push it too much while I am on the home stretch. I was working on my pull ups the other day; I've pretty much lost all of my gains there. I was telling him about it and explaining how I had to kip up to get any leverage. I got a nice "talking to" about not kipping and how our marriage might just be in jeopardy if I managed to injure or break anything else just weeks away from being healed. I did listen to him (a little).
Surgery is so close, I can almost taste it! I wonder what surgery tastes like? Probably like copper.
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