monday, Monday, MONDAY!!!!! This cast comes off on Monday!
I absolutely positively cannot wait to get this cast off my leg!! I know that I will be going directly into a walking boot and will still use crutches but just the thought of being free from this cast is enough to put a perm-a-grin on my face.
Ok..of all the gross stuff...but if anyone reading this is about to have the same procedure done, this will happen to you as well.
Last night I was doing a dry skin check on my toes. Typically to keep them looking presentable and not causing any offending odor, I will take a well wringed out washcloth and clean as much of my toes as I can. I learned that any lotion on this skin will actually make the skin look more dry and flakey. Yuck... A wet washcloth will provide just enough scrubbing action to remove most of the dry skin that can accumulate overnight.
Well...last night I was checking out my toes and as I lifted my toes up I could see the former calluses on the ball of my foot. Of course I had to pick at one of them. The layers are deep and I recommend anyone doing this to keep a vacuum close by. Peeling the skin is rather addicting but on the downside, any fragments of old dry callus that happen to stick to the lining of the cast will come back to haunt you later on. I discovered this while at work. It feels like any sharp object jabbing into the foot. Ouch!
I will update on Monday or Tuesday. I am debating on whether or not to take a picture of my hairy leg as my cast is removed. I suppose I should but I just know it will be rather hideous to look at. The surgeon did joke about my leg hair status at my last appointment. I have yet to decide on this.
Till next time!
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Day 42 post op
Today was my first day back to work. Ok...there are people there that will totally drive me insane on a daily basis but today was just another one of those moments where they make me laugh.
I crutch down the aisle to my cubicle and the really noisy girl and her noisy neighbor stand up to see me. The comment that came out of one of their mouths was, "Oh my gosh, you're still on crutches, should you really be at work yet?" To which I couldn't help to reply with, "I am capable of working, I just can't walk. Last time I checked, I didn't need my feet to process insurance claims." Of course they thought I was being funny but in reality I was trying hard to hold back some word vomit. I had more to say but figured it was best left alone with the comment I made.
So...work went well. I was rather rusty as six weeks of not doing my work tends to make one forget things. I forgot how to look up pricing schedules for vision claims, I forgot how to read my home health care charts, I was a mess. Two more days and I should be fine but today I was just tired. I had fallen into a habit of taking a little nap before my boys would come home from a half day at daycare. Well today I wasn't trying to break that cycle. I made it though. Barely.
My foot held up fine. It's getting colder outside and I decided to cut a sock up so my toes could have some coverage. While this is a great idea and all...I can't stand the feel of a baggy sock on my toes....I had to keep tucking it into my cast so that it felt normal to me. I swear my little peeves are just stupid. Anyway I did get some swelling action going, I could feel my ankle filling up my cast by the afternoon. Sure I can elevate it to hip level, but that only does so much.
I did start taking ibuprofen for work just to stay on top of what any swelling in there will do. Oh..and today I started getting the oddest sensation on the back of my leg. Throughout today I was getting this icy cold sensation in my Achilles region. I know that nothing spilled, dropped or crawled in there but where the cast is formed a little tighter around my ankle, I kept feeling like that one area was cold and wet. How odd is that???
Other than all that, my crutches are driving me insane and making my sides rather raw where they rub. I was supposed to have a knee walker by the time I returned to work but there seems to be a huge lack of money in the household. School supplies, groceries, bills and a super short paycheck that I have been contributing just aren't enough for trivial things like knee walkers. Oh well. 19 more days till the cast is off. I still can't find my walking boot and I was out at storage yesterday helping with my jeep hard top installation for fall/winter. I never saw the boot out there and have a feeling that it was just never returned from the kid that borrowed it. Most likely it was returned and my husband just didn't take it out of his vehicle until he needed more space and tossed it in the trash. I wouldn't put it past him to do that....it wouldn't have been the first time either. Lovely huh???
Alright it's 9:30 and I normally never turn in this early but I did fall my prep stuff for the morning and I am just plain worn out. It would have been nice to return to half days of work to transition into my normal schedule but it is what it is and I'm beat for the day. I will be getting up nice and early to do my leg raises and donkey kicks and get to work by 6 am.
Toodles!
I crutch down the aisle to my cubicle and the really noisy girl and her noisy neighbor stand up to see me. The comment that came out of one of their mouths was, "Oh my gosh, you're still on crutches, should you really be at work yet?" To which I couldn't help to reply with, "I am capable of working, I just can't walk. Last time I checked, I didn't need my feet to process insurance claims." Of course they thought I was being funny but in reality I was trying hard to hold back some word vomit. I had more to say but figured it was best left alone with the comment I made.
So...work went well. I was rather rusty as six weeks of not doing my work tends to make one forget things. I forgot how to look up pricing schedules for vision claims, I forgot how to read my home health care charts, I was a mess. Two more days and I should be fine but today I was just tired. I had fallen into a habit of taking a little nap before my boys would come home from a half day at daycare. Well today I wasn't trying to break that cycle. I made it though. Barely.
My foot held up fine. It's getting colder outside and I decided to cut a sock up so my toes could have some coverage. While this is a great idea and all...I can't stand the feel of a baggy sock on my toes....I had to keep tucking it into my cast so that it felt normal to me. I swear my little peeves are just stupid. Anyway I did get some swelling action going, I could feel my ankle filling up my cast by the afternoon. Sure I can elevate it to hip level, but that only does so much.
I did start taking ibuprofen for work just to stay on top of what any swelling in there will do. Oh..and today I started getting the oddest sensation on the back of my leg. Throughout today I was getting this icy cold sensation in my Achilles region. I know that nothing spilled, dropped or crawled in there but where the cast is formed a little tighter around my ankle, I kept feeling like that one area was cold and wet. How odd is that???
Other than all that, my crutches are driving me insane and making my sides rather raw where they rub. I was supposed to have a knee walker by the time I returned to work but there seems to be a huge lack of money in the household. School supplies, groceries, bills and a super short paycheck that I have been contributing just aren't enough for trivial things like knee walkers. Oh well. 19 more days till the cast is off. I still can't find my walking boot and I was out at storage yesterday helping with my jeep hard top installation for fall/winter. I never saw the boot out there and have a feeling that it was just never returned from the kid that borrowed it. Most likely it was returned and my husband just didn't take it out of his vehicle until he needed more space and tossed it in the trash. I wouldn't put it past him to do that....it wouldn't have been the first time either. Lovely huh???
Alright it's 9:30 and I normally never turn in this early but I did fall my prep stuff for the morning and I am just plain worn out. It would have been nice to return to half days of work to transition into my normal schedule but it is what it is and I'm beat for the day. I will be getting up nice and early to do my leg raises and donkey kicks and get to work by 6 am.
Toodles!
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Day 38 post op
It's Labor Day weekend and I will be returning to work on Wednesday. I still have swelling in my foot/ankle when I stay upright for longer periods of time but it does ease up inside the cast when I can elevate to hip level.
I have been off Ibuprofen for two weeks now and my pain levels have been extremely low. I have noticed with periods of elevation when my cast is its loosest that I will get an aching in my heel. At times it can be a rather stabbing pain but overall it is only there when I can move fluid out of the joint. I also have some pain just above the lateral malleolus that is located right on the tendons that have been joined together. This is exactly why I went off ibuprofen...I wanted to give my kidneys a rest but more importantly I wanted to be able to have an accurate mapping of my pain. Had it been more painful, I never would have stopped taking it. Most likely I will resume when I return to work to ease up any inflammation.
I still cannot move my pinkie toe laterally. I am a bit bummed over that. My little toe will only curl at this point and I realize I should be happy that I can still feel touch to my toe. At this point I am counting down the days to when this cast is removed. I cannot wait scratch (and shave) this leg.
I am doing my little floor workouts regularly and straight leg raises are not helping to maintain my quads...my left thigh is feeling a bit weak and mushy when compared to the right. I hope I can build it all back up again.
OK...I will report back when I return to work. Yay! Adult interaction has been missed.
I have been off Ibuprofen for two weeks now and my pain levels have been extremely low. I have noticed with periods of elevation when my cast is its loosest that I will get an aching in my heel. At times it can be a rather stabbing pain but overall it is only there when I can move fluid out of the joint. I also have some pain just above the lateral malleolus that is located right on the tendons that have been joined together. This is exactly why I went off ibuprofen...I wanted to give my kidneys a rest but more importantly I wanted to be able to have an accurate mapping of my pain. Had it been more painful, I never would have stopped taking it. Most likely I will resume when I return to work to ease up any inflammation.
I still cannot move my pinkie toe laterally. I am a bit bummed over that. My little toe will only curl at this point and I realize I should be happy that I can still feel touch to my toe. At this point I am counting down the days to when this cast is removed. I cannot wait scratch (and shave) this leg.
I am doing my little floor workouts regularly and straight leg raises are not helping to maintain my quads...my left thigh is feeling a bit weak and mushy when compared to the right. I hope I can build it all back up again.
OK...I will report back when I return to work. Yay! Adult interaction has been missed.
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