Short Term Pain – Week One 

It’s now a week since I had my operation on my right foot and I thought I’d jot down how I’m feeling and how T and D are coping.

As I’ll be also having the left foot remedied – hopefully – January 2018, it will also prompt me that initial painful days and nights will pass.

The pain has been the one big factor this time around, it’s far more intense than my operation last October and has naturally taken its toll on sleep and being comfortable. Whereas there were two places where they operated on each foot last time, this time around there’s five affected areas so pain and healing is going to be more intense (purple represents – I think – the areas):

I’m normally a “yep, it will pass” gal with regards to pain and try to avoid pain killers but most certainly can’t ATM, unfortunately the ones I’ve been taking have meant that my brain has been too wired to relax, so I have had a couple of very snappy days, which I don’t like at all! 

Last time around I was given a week’s worth of Zoplicone which really helped with sleep, a phone call to my doctor proved a bit of a waste of time with her saying that I should get pain relief sorted before sleep, this was after probably four nights of averaging two hours worth a night…hey ho! 

There’s a very strange pressure-like feeling in my foot if I’m upright for too long, it’s a bit like a balloon feeling in that if I do too much – hobble to the washing line for example – it feels like my foot will burst – a bit like that one crafty puff into a balloon you know will go “pop” if you carry on. 

The advice at this stage is gentle mobilisation to prevent clots and encourage healing so I’m hobbling to the kitchen/upstairs/door/washing up etc every so often and then elevating when that pressure kicks in.  Ankle twiddling is also good to keep things active but not too much, because it hurts! 
Putting washing on the line takes ages because I get whoozy from being upright for so long, I get a “Mrs Wobble” moment and it’s a bit like being a weeble, wobbling but thankfully not falling down! 

What else? I’ve managed two stick-a-carrier-bag-around-my-foot-and-stick-it-on-the-bath-rim baths, getting in and out are challenges and a great upper body workout!

Concentration, whilst my brain recovers from the general anaesthetic, has been a challenge.  I usually love to read and have a pile of books by my bed to read this time around, but couldn’t settle into any.  I was replying to a FB friend the other day and could not think of the word I needed to use, so ended up rambling around it, really weird!

As far as any crochet goes, it’s meant trying to relax with a very simple pattern (much like last time) and this is Post Op Blanket 2017:

A snuggly chunky one for our apple day bed, once I can get off and on it safely, at the moment I can’t (too many wheeble challenges).

I’m not sure about Post Op 2018’s crochet challenge yet, I’m hoping that there won’t be a 2019 etc!

What I am looking forward to is next Tuesday when I have a follow-up appointment in which the sutures will be trimmed and I’ll have an X-ray.  I’m presuming there’ll be a dressing change and hoping that I can see the X-ray and see a difference in the foot already.   I’ve been googling suture trimming after foot surgery  images so, whilst they are grim – and I know it won’t be very pretty – I’m prepared and really want to see!! 

I hate just been inactive and constantly asking others to do things so, to make it more fun (if that’s the right word), I’ll say to D “okay, it’s – for example – 11.26am, if you do this now, I promise I won’t ask again until 1.06pm”, whilst makes her smile because she is an absolute stickler for checking the time and will resolutely refuse if it’s one minute left, but loves it if it’s 2 or 3 minutes after! She’s extremely cuddly too and we have “cuddle corner” on the sofa for on-tap hugs.

T is very matter-of-fact about it all, preferring to stick his headphones on and keep to his routine.  He just wants to know it’s been successful I think.

And Hubbie, he’s been worried about the pain, about my lack of sleep, wondering if it has worked too.  Couldn’t get through this without him. 

Fingers crossed for next week and that X-ray and that this intense short term pain is leading to long term gain. 

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