4 Weeks Post Surgery

It has almost been four weeks since my surgery and everything is going well! I am wearing two shoes now, but I can only wear tennis shoes for three months. I am not very happy about this, but I'll have to deal with it! I started to bike a little earlier than the doctor said I could. I was feeling really good so I biked five miles on Saturday and I wasn't supposed to until Monday. I have been increasing the amount everyday. On Sunday, I biked seven, then eight, and today nine! I have four stitches left to come out. I think it will be a lot more comfortable walking when they are all gone! Only four more weeks until I can run and I can't wait!

Post-op Appointment

After what seemed like 10 weeks, I finally had my post-op appointment with my surgeon. It was a really good visit and we received all good news! First, I am four weeks ahead of schedule. Instead of running in 12 weeks, I can now run in 8 weeks which is really exciting! They put me in a new shoe that I can walk in. Now, I am only walking with one crutch because I lost a lot of muscle in my leg and ankle. In one week I am allowed to wear both my tennis shoes. I can also start biking and doing the elliptical when I wear my shoes. I still have some stitches in, but my foot feels really good. I can finally stand in the shower again! It's a lot easier than trying to shower and not get my foot wet. If you are having problems with your sesamoid, I highly recommend this surgery. The recovery process isn't too bad and it is worth it to be pain free!

2 Weeks Post Surgery

So it's been two weeks and everything is going really well. I can definitely tell that the pain from my bone has gone away, but I can still feel my incision. At this point, it is itchy and I want to touch it so badly! I am still very happy with our decision to take out the bone. My big toe and second toe are a little bit numb which makes them a little uncomfortable. There are only five days until my post op appointment and I am hoping to be able to walk, drive, or at least put pressure on my foot.

1 Week Post-Surgery

This is my first week back to school and so far it is going really well! My teachers are being really helpful with getting me caught up. I left school early on Monday because it is my my easier day and I thought a half day would be best to ease me back in! Still, sometimes when I stand up, I that feel pressure in my toes, although it is not that bad. I cleaned my foot on my own today and it was a little black and blue. I have been taking pictures everyday so I am going to put together a slideshow or something to watch the healing process! When I massage my big toe and second toe the feeling is kind of hard to describe. I can feel my fingers touching them, but it feels like my toes are stuffed or something. It's like my fingers have to go through a thin piece of paper before reaching my toes. Using my crutches all day at school is kinda tough, but I am getting used to it at this point. I bent my toes a tiny bit today which is good! Only 12 days until I go back to Baltimore and hopefully get off of the crutches! I think I am healing really quickly so I am hoping the doctor will clear me sooner than I am expected!

Day Three and Four Post-Surgery

Day Three:
I had a really busy day yesterday, but it all went well. My foot is now starting to turn black and blue and I am still massaging it three times a day. I stopped taking my pain killers and I take an occasional Tylenol. Sometimes when I stand up, it is really uncomfortable. All of the blood rushes to my toes and it feels like there is a lot of pressure there. My toes also have a tingly feeling sometimes which is also kind of uncomfortable. However, I am lucky that I am able to walk around and not have to sit all day long. I will be at school tomorrow and it's going to be a little rough maneuvering around considering my arms and hands are sore from yesterday's activities. I will never understand why people tell me that they want crutches. They are really no fun at all and they hurt.... a lot.

Day Four:
I still have that tingly feeling when I stand, but otherwise I am feeling really well! I haven't taken any Tylenol or pain meds today. It's actually extremely remarkable that I am doing so well. After doing lots of research on sesamoidectimies, everyone felt horrible on their fourth day and a few days after. I also stopped taking my pain meds a lot sooner than most people. I wonder if it's because of my age and how quickly the younger body heals, or if I am just generally a quick healer. Another interesting thing is that some doctors have the patients walking after a few days, but I can't walk for at least three weeks! My foot twitches occasionally and there are times when it's funny and times when it's painful. When I am awake and just sitting around, I can see my foot twitching. These are small twitches like the kind you can feel in your eyes when you're tired. The bad ones always happen at the same time. It's when I am trying to fall asleep and all of a sudden my whole big toe tries to jerk back stretching my entire incision. That's pretty much all I have for today! Now it's time to enjoy the Redskins having a home field advantage for the first time since 1999.

Two Days Post-Surgery

I am feeling really good today after a horrible day yesterday. I am far from 100 percent but it's a big improvement. The only hard part is standing up to move around because all the blood rushes to my toes and it feels really weird. I don't like the feeling at all so I try to get up as little as possible. I can feel my incision, but I try to ignore it. Last night, I took two pain medications at 10 and didn't take one until 8 this morning! I had a really good sleep last night which was just what I needed. All day yesterday I was tired, dizzy, and miserable. I am trying to start taking less medication because I don't want my body to rely on them. My family and friends have been really helpful and I am so grateful for them. I am going to try to go to the basketball game tonight, but we'll see how the rest of the day goes! I am also going to try to take a bath/shower which could be interesting! 

Into Detail and the Day After

Since I am feeling more awake today, I can go into more detail about the surgical procedure. Dr. Myerson made an incision along the bottom of my foot, through the tissue to a tendon that surrounds the sesamoid bone. He had to cut through the tendon to extract the bone. After that, he stitched the tendon, the tissue, then the skin back with several layers of stitches that dissolve. Before I left the operating room, they put a nerve block in my foot so that I would be pain free the first day.

Last night, the nerve block wore off and because it became painful, I started taking two pain killers every four hours. That being said, I didn't sleep well at all last night and couldn't sleep most of the day. My mom took the bandages and dressing off and cleaned the incision. Then she massaged my foot to prevent nerve atrophy. We have to do this three times per day. She also has to wrap tape a certain way to make sure my toes don't move. This is so everything heals correctly. I am sleepy all the time and not very hungry due to the medicine. Now I am taking one pill every four hours. I will try to go into school tomorrow for a little to pick up the things I missed.

Post Surgery

When I woke up, I was really dizzy. It took me some time to fully restore consciousness. I got some yummy ginger ale and saltine crackers. They gave me a little surgical boot to protect my foot. The nurse wheeled me to the car after about 45 minutes and I went home. The car ride was a little rough because I was still a little drowsy. My brother made me chicken noodle soup and I ate it when I got home. I took a little nap and a few of my friends came over to visit. (: I still can't feel anything in my foot because they gave me a numbing shot. I also took some pain killers so hopefully I won't feel my foot for a little while. I am keeping hydrated and slowly moving around with my crutches little by little to get to the bathroom. Now I feel really good and I am getting my appetite back! 

Pre-Surgery

My mom, dad, and I got in the car at 4:30 and arrived at the hospital around 5:30. They didn't take me back to the room until 6:30. I was pretty hungry and thirsty because I hadn't had anything since around 7 the night before. We did all the pre-surgery questions multiple times to make sure everything was correct. The nurse tried to put the IV in my hand, but it did not work and was really painful. Then the anesthesiologist tried to do it in my right arm, but that also didn't work. So instead of putting me through more pain, they redid it after giving me some gas.

Tomorrow's the Day!

After much anticipation, tomorrow is finally the day! I have to be at the hospital at 5:30 AM. Since it is in Baltimore, we have to leave an hour in advance. So tonight, while most of you are setting your alarms for 6, I will be setting mine for 4:15. It's not so bad though considering I will get to sleep for most of the day!