Tomorrow's the Big Day
So I thought it would be a good idea to start a blog specifically for following the progress of my upcoming surgery. I've had bunions my whole life and they have really affected me. Besides my family and the podiatrist, I have never shown anyone my feet. Even at the pool I almost a always have them covered. I bought shoes that either covered them up or if I did wear flip-flops, I was constantly obsessing about whether someone could see them or not. Ugh. So...here I am. 20 years old, and on the eve of having a double bunionectomy at 7:30am tomorrow.
I'm just went to the hospital for my pre-op physical. Everything went fine. I had some blood drawn and a basic physical. I have to be at the hospital at 6:00am and then I have the first appointment at 7:30. The surgery time is approximately 1 1/2 hours. I'll be home around lunch time according to the nurse. I'm also not going to be completely put under...I am going to be in a twilight-type sedation (like a nap) and I won't have any nausea when I wake up thankfully (I heard that's a major pain in the butt....feet + stomach hurting). When I come home my legs will still be numb and the doc said I probably won't even feel pain the first day. The worst days, and the most important ones in the scheme of my post-op recovery, are days 2-5. I have to be in bed the whole time except when I go to the bathroom. Even then, I'll have to crawl on all fours, walk on my heels, or be carried. I can't get my feet wet, therefore showering is going to be a big ordeal when I'm able to do that. I'm such a hygiene freak...the thought of not showering for a few days creeps me out.
I'm actually not nervous about the surgery...what I AM nervous about is the post-op pain and recovery time. It being summer...I want to be able to get back into the swing of things ASAP, but with this surgery coming up, the entire month of June is pretty much dedicated to that. The doc said after 2 weeks, give or take, I will be able to get them wet and start walking more. After 2 1/2-3 weeks, he said I will probably move out of the surgical shoe (I'm not getting a cast) and move into a closed-in sandal. From testimonials I've read, I think that the recovery time is on a complete individual basis. Some people have said that they've been in the surgical shoe for 3 months, others said 2 weeks. The advantages I have are me being 20 and excellent health and shape. So hopefully those cut down the healing process. Also, I'm going to keep it elevated and on ice ALL the time for at least the first week. I've heard that that cuts the recovery time drastically too.
Anyways, I'm going to take a quick nap. Tonight I'm going to see the DaVinci Code. I'll post pics of my feet later on as soon as I find the cable to connect it to my laptop.
Later,
Tootsies
I'm just went to the hospital for my pre-op physical. Everything went fine. I had some blood drawn and a basic physical. I have to be at the hospital at 6:00am and then I have the first appointment at 7:30. The surgery time is approximately 1 1/2 hours. I'll be home around lunch time according to the nurse. I'm also not going to be completely put under...I am going to be in a twilight-type sedation (like a nap) and I won't have any nausea when I wake up thankfully (I heard that's a major pain in the butt....feet + stomach hurting). When I come home my legs will still be numb and the doc said I probably won't even feel pain the first day. The worst days, and the most important ones in the scheme of my post-op recovery, are days 2-5. I have to be in bed the whole time except when I go to the bathroom. Even then, I'll have to crawl on all fours, walk on my heels, or be carried. I can't get my feet wet, therefore showering is going to be a big ordeal when I'm able to do that. I'm such a hygiene freak...the thought of not showering for a few days creeps me out.
I'm actually not nervous about the surgery...what I AM nervous about is the post-op pain and recovery time. It being summer...I want to be able to get back into the swing of things ASAP, but with this surgery coming up, the entire month of June is pretty much dedicated to that. The doc said after 2 weeks, give or take, I will be able to get them wet and start walking more. After 2 1/2-3 weeks, he said I will probably move out of the surgical shoe (I'm not getting a cast) and move into a closed-in sandal. From testimonials I've read, I think that the recovery time is on a complete individual basis. Some people have said that they've been in the surgical shoe for 3 months, others said 2 weeks. The advantages I have are me being 20 and excellent health and shape. So hopefully those cut down the healing process. Also, I'm going to keep it elevated and on ice ALL the time for at least the first week. I've heard that that cuts the recovery time drastically too.
Anyways, I'm going to take a quick nap. Tonight I'm going to see the DaVinci Code. I'll post pics of my feet later on as soon as I find the cable to connect it to my laptop.
Later,
Tootsies
posted by Trendi at 11:11 AM
7 Comments:
Very pretty design! Keep up the good work. Thanks.
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Very pretty design! Keep up the good work. Thanks.
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Thanks, very very helpful! did you ever consider doing your feet one at a time? I have a double bunionectomy scheduled for the end of next month.
I'm so glad you found the site helpful! And I'm even more glad that people are still reading it almost 3 years after my surgery! Good luck, you'll have fabulous feet soon :-)
Hi there! I found your blog through Google as I am considering having a bunionectomy on my right foot (well, on both eventually, but a double sounds scary!). I was wondering if you would be so kind as to answer a few questions about your surgery and your experience over the past five years.
First, what doctor did you use? Was it a pleasant experience? I live in Chicago don't really know who to go to, which is why I ask.
Second, are you still happy with the results after five years? Was it worth it?
Third, why did you do a double instead of staggering the surgeries? Did this keep you off your feet for longer than you had expected?
I'm not sure if you check this any more but I figured it's worth a try to get a little personal input. Thanks for any help,
Stephanie
Yespositively,
I'm glad you found my blog! When I was about to go through the surgery, I had no personal input from anyone, so I'm happy this is coming in handy for so many people (I still get comments 5 yrs later) :-)
My podiatrist was Dr. Myron Wolf, he is the head of podiatry at Alexian Brothers Medical Center in Elk Grove Village. If you are closer to the city/north suburbs, my mom had foot surgery through Rush Hospital as they have a very good podiatry department.
I am still very happy with my results, they look even better now than they did when I finished the blog as they were still slightly swollen at the time (I didn't realize it until later). They are still straight, no pain. It was very much worth it, I wear flip flops proudly now! haha
I did a double because I was 20 at the time and the doctor recommended it as I had no "real" responsibility lol....no job, just college, plus it was summer and I was home! My family was there to take care of me :-) My mom had bunion surgery too but her podiatrist recommended one at a time for her as she had 2 kids to take care of (my sister and I were young at the time) and a household. My dad worked all day so she was there by herself. I liked getting them at the same time, killed two birds with one stone. Same recovery time. From my blog you can see I was jogging at 6 weeks post-op. From what I remember from my mom's, she had the same recovery time for one foot, so I think it's better to just do both if you can.
Please let me know if you have any additional Qs. Good luck with your decisions!
Thanks for taking the time to blog your surgery results! I am interested to hear how your feet are doing after five years. I had my double bunionectomy yesterday and started a blog today. I am 49, so thought it would be helpful for some people who are a little older and considering having this done. Since I am new to blogging, I am using your posts as my tutorial on how, and how much, to write. Your posts are informative and entertaining. Thanks!
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