Thankful....for Physical Therapy

I have recently started physical therapy for my left foot that had the bunionectomy. The main target of the surgery was my big toe or medically speaking the Great Toe. The bone was cut in two places. The toe doesn't bend. I was not able to wiggle my toes for two months.

In the past week I have been able to move the Great Toe a little bit. I hate having people touching my feet so that presented a challenge to my physical therapist. He encouraged me to touch the toe and showed me how to manipulate it at home. By doing some simple moves to the toe at home, I am able to relax enough for him to do what he needs to do during my therapy sessions.

Something that has been made very clear to me is how connected every single piece of the human body is. In the foot there are tendons and there is one main tendon that controls all five toes. Because my foot was wrapped and in a boot for eight weeks the tendon became tight and unable to move the toes. I also noticed that my ankle was extremely tight and my calf muscles were so tight my left leg felt like a wooden leg first thing in the morning. So part of my therapy is ham string exercises to relax the muscles.

I am thankful that we have excellent health insurance and that physical therapy is available to me. It can be uncomfortable and painful and at times, but I appreciate everything I am learning and thrilled to see my Great Toe wiggle a little bit.

What are you thankful for these days?

Lessons Learned: Surgery/Tests/Procedures

When I was a kid I never had a broken bone or any type of surgery. I still have my tonsils and my appendix. I got married when I was about 24 years old and BAM! It started with needing my wisdom teeth out and then we were off and rolling.

The past couple of years has been particularly challenging with health issues. I broke my ankle in June 2015. In the summer of 2016 I had a sprained lisfranc ligament in the same foot I broke. Recurring pain in my right wrist became too much to bear and I had a slightly torn ligament that required surgery in February 2016. Pain in the right wrist continued off and on throughout the year and eventually I convinced the doctor that my pisiform bone needed to come out. I had the same bone removed from my left wrist in 2013. That surgery was scheduled for October 2016. Just prior to the second wrist surgery I was still having pain in my left foot. I went back to my foot doctor and he said, "Oh yeah. That's a bunion." "How do you fix a bunion?" I asked incredulously. I had an idea of what the answer was going to be. "Surgery," was the response.

That was a bit much for me to handle at the time. I told him I would come back after the wrist surgery when I was ready to deal with it. A few weeks after surgery I returned and had him examine my foot again. This time I was ready to hear what he had to say. I agreed to bunion surgery - a bunionectomy - for January 2017.

This photo was taken Feb 5. Just chillin' with one shoe on.

Three surgeries in 11 months. I am ready to be done with crutches, braces, walking boots, shower chair. I have learned a few things over the years and I thought I would share those with you. Perhaps this could be helpful for yourself or someone you care about who may be facing a health challenge this year.

1. Wear comfy clothes to and from the hospital.
2. Leave valuables at home - jewelry, phone, cash.
3. Give your ID, insurance card, credit card to the person who will be driving you home.
4. Follow pre-op/procedure directions. If you’re not allowed to drink or eat anything the day of - DON’T DO IT! Coffee is a beverage. You can skip one cup.

Questions to ask

• What exactly will you be doing?
• What is the desired/expected outcome?
• Is this a fix, a temporary fix or you’re not sure?
• What is expected recovery time?
• What can I expect in strength of pain afterwards?
• What are my limitations if any?
• When can I expect to get back to normal routine?
• What will my follow up schedule with you be?
• Are there any side effects? If so, what are they?

Do you have any tips or questions to share? I would love to hear them.

Resting...it's work

I'm four days post bunion surgery. I knew it would be challenging to not put any weight on my foot, but it is a bit more difficult than I thought. You don't realize how much you need your feet until you can't use both of them. Previous surgeries I had were on my my wrists. I could walk, but I couldn't use my hands. Now I can't walk, but can use my hands.

I rented a knee walker to get around. Of course right now getting around entails the 6 feet between the pull out sofa bed and the bathroom, but it is a start. Resting is a bit more challenging than I thought it would be.

The first few days I was home, I very much needed the prescription pain medicine on a regular basis so I slept quite a bit. Today is the first day I have not taken any prescription pain medicine. I just took two regular Tylenol. I am using my Chromebook for the first time and I continue to decorate and write in my new 2017 Passion Planner. Only took one nap today too.

My hubby and daughter went out to separate places this afternoon for a couple of hours. I was feeling a little tired so I took a nap. As I was getting comfy, I had a realization. Bones in my foot are healing. That takes time. And it is work. And it is exhausting. I am using my right leg for balance and strengthening my core to hold myself upright when I get out of bed. Hubby helped me take a shower and get dressed today and that was tiring. It's okay. Tomorrow, I plan on going to my parents' house for dinner.

I think this coming week I will start to feel a little cabin fever, but I have to remember my bones are healing. So resting with no weight bearing for at least another week is on the calendar.

Preparation

This week's focus is preparation. Next week I am having an outpatient surgery on my left foot. I am having bunion surgery. I had heard of bunions but never knew what they were. I always thought it was some sort of growth on the foot. Nope. One of the bones in my big toe is pushed out and it can be quite painful. Thank goodness for the bunion gel pads I found in the drug store.

Anyway, next week is the procedure and the doctor told me I have to stay off my foot for at least two weeks. I am a stay at home mom and do the majority of the housework and shopping. My hubby will be taking time off from work to stay home with me and help me. So this week I will do the grocery shopping and stock up on some favorite, easy meals for us.

This will be the third surgery I've had in a year. I had two wrist surgeries in 2016. Preparing for surgery is old hat to me by now and I have a standard check list of things to do the best I can before the procedure.

First, clear my calendar for the recovery time. Let hubby know our daughter's schedule so he can drive her to and from her activities. I also clear my calendar of any commitments I have. If it is a doctor's appointment then I reschedule or if it is a meeting or event, then I recuse myself from it.

Next, I go through my recipe list, which I have on www.pepperplate.com, and pick four or five recipes that I can prepare ahead of time. I only do 4 or 5 because we eat leftovers and there will be at least one fast food trip and we tend to have Sunday dinner with my folks every week. I pick recipes that can be frozen easily.

Then, I go over the instructions for prep given to me by my doctor. I usually need to stop taking ibuprofen and vitamin and supplements five to seven days before surgery. I make a note in my calendar to remind me every day to not take those. If I am having pain, Tylenol is usually okay to take.

I also start gathering items or supplies I may need after surgery. For my last wrist surgery I needed to have alcohol wipes to use three times a day over my stitches. I made sure I had gauze pads to place over my stitches when I wore my wrist brace after the wrapping came off. This time around I bought a foot sleeve to protect it in the shower. I made phone calls today and got information on renting a Roller Scooter to help me get around the first few weeks.

Finally, I make sure laundry is done and put away. I go through my closet and find clothes that will be comfortable and appropriate to wear the day of the surgery and the next few days. Since the target area is my foot I figure my sweatpants and boot leg cut pants will be needed. Dresses would work too. I have discovered LuLaRoe clothing and I fell in love with their Carly dresses. I figure they will work in the clothes rotation.

Lessons learned each time make the next time easier. The one thing I definitely need to tell the doctor next week is I need pain medicine that works. The one I had for my last wrist surgery did absolutely nothing for me the first twenty four hours. I do not want to go through that again.

As annoying as it is to have another procedure, I am hopeful that this will be the last one for quite some time and peaceful that I am doing everything I can to prepare ahead of time.

If you have a surgery or procedure coming up this year, feel free to use my tips to help yourself or a loved one. Let me know what are some things you do to prepare for a surgery.

I'm having a bad day...what should I do?

One week ago I had my second surgery on my right wrist. I have been dealing with a constant pain and swelling in the wrist for 7 months. Today, 8 days later, I am able to type this post. The only discomfort I have is from my stitches and the wound itself. It feels so good to write again.

The first prompt of the BlogHer challenge for November is When you're having a bad day with your mental health, what do you do to help yourself?

Over a dozen years ago I was diagnosed with depression. Therapy helped a lot in the beginning then a few years later it became apparent I needed medication. I still taking my medicine faithfully every time and attend therapy a couple of times a month. There are quite a few things I do when I feel myself getting into a funk. First, I make sure I got enough sleep the night before. If I need to take a nap and literally reboot myself, I do that and sometimes that is all I need to get back on track again.

On days when a nap isn't enough, I allow myself to feel whatever is I am feeling. Then, I write. Sometimes it is just making a list of things I would like to do or things that need to get done for a specific event, like Thanksgiving. I leave the house. Even if it is just to the grocery store to pick up a few things, I make sure I get out of the house. A year ago I started karate with my daughter and I really enjoy those sessions. Karate requires a lot of concentration so it is a great way to get out of my own head and focus on something else for an hour.

Another way I cope is eating. It's not the best way and I have to limit myself, but I do enjoy a frosted doughnut with sprinkles from the local grocery store. That with a glass of milk...mmmmm good. I used to go shopping when I felt bad, but I found myself buying things that felt good in the moment and sometimes by the time I got home, realized I didn't need or really want that item at all.

One last thing I do which may seem odd to some, but brings me great joy, writing in my planner. I love planners and calendars! I carry a planner with me at all times and when I am feeling low I look at the upcoming week and start listing things that need to be done. And then I break out the stickers and decorate the pages. It is so pretty and it is very relaxing to me. My planner is my life line so any stickers I use can be pretty, but they must be functional as well.

I would love to hear what you do when you are not feeling all that spunky.

That Scar

I have quite a few scars. Unfortunately I develop keloid scars. That means the surface of the scar tends to be raised and in my case stays purply color.  There is a gel patch I ask for when I have surgery to put over the incision site to reduce the raising and the color.  They work!  It is a beautiful thing.

The scar I will write about is the one on my left wrist.

When I was in high school I was in the Marching Band. I was in the Bandfront; I twirled flags - Large Silks. I loved it. I was able to start with the band in 8^th grade and did it through 12^th grade. I even continued with it for two years in college. I decided at the end of the football season my second year in college to put down my flag and retire. My wrists were constantly aching and at one point I could not even move my wrists. Once I stopped twirling, the pain went away.

Over the years my wrists would ache occasionally but would dissipate quickly. Then I started noticing that my left wrist would ache when it rained. A few years ago we had continuous days of rain/thunderstorms, humidity and my wrist was throbbing. I was beginning to think there might be a bigger issue. Then one day I put my left arm on the window of my car while driving and I got a shooting pain in my arm.  It was time to call a doctor.

Eventually I found my way to Dr. Peter Hutchinson. We did occupational therapy, steroid shots, and a brace over about a year's time. It eventually got to the point I was in my wrist brace 24/7, only taking it off for showering. There were times it was painful showering and getting dressed. I was at my wit's end. I didn't mind easing up on chores or resting it throughout the day, but I was drawing the line at having difficulty taking care of myself. I went to see Dr. Peter in August 2013 at the end of my rope. He was completely perplexed. An MRI had showed that I had 2 slight tears in tendons on the top of my wrist but that wasn't where I was experiencing pain. The pain seemed to be under my wrist. When he would examine my hand there weren't any "hot spots" when he touched them, but afterwards my wrist would throb for hours. At this august appointment he took my hand again, flipped it over and started pressing.  He pressed down on the right side of my wrist where a bone is. I yelled. We finally found the spot. He had me go across the hall to get an x-ray. Within minutes he could see the problem.  My pima form bone was worn away from arthritis. He said he could remove the bone, it would not affect the use of my hand at all. He would also "clean up" the tendons on the other side of my hand. Sign me up Doc. When can we do this?

He asked me if I was okay with being operated on Friday the 13^th - September 13^th. I said yes, let's do this. A month later I had my surgery and two weeks after that my stitches came out and I started occupational therapy. The pain in my wrist was gone. Sure I had pain, but that was strictly from the surgery and just my hand healing. We had bouts of rain during this time and there was no pain. Finally after about 3 years of doctor visits, injections, therapy, and wrist brace my pain was gone, I was healed.

So yes I do have a scar on the underside of my wrist, but I love that scar. It is proof of healing.