Time Drags

So I went to the doctor for a recheck of my stitches on the back of the heel. She was pleased (altho I've never seen her upset -- she's the most upbeat doctor I've ever met) and still thought that she'd be removing the stitches the following visit.

I had had a Thursday appointment but they rescheduled me to Friday morning which was okay as it was a hot day and getting all our running around done earlier rather than in the heat of the afternoon was good. My sister-in-law, Pat, was my driver and she, along with her granddaughter, Dallas, got me to the doctor and then went with me to get some groceries. It was wonderful to be out and about. As much as I hate grocery shopping, it was NICE to be somewhere other than the house or the car.

So my next appointment is Saturday. Sigh. Was hoping for Thursday as that is two days earlier for me to walk but then it would have to be late afternoon after Mike got off work. And the last time we had that slot, we didn't get out of there until after 6:15 pm. Not good. So the Saturday morning is better for Mike - kinda. And maybe better for me as the heel incision is still seeping a little bit every day and the foot is still way swollen -- especially the big toe. It can't swell any more without splitting the skin. I don't know why it's still so swollen. The doctor still didn't seem worried but I am. I want to WALK!!!

We'll see what Saturday brings.

I took these just this morning.

Looking a bit better than last week.

Still lots of swelling

Side view of the very swollen toe and joint.

The skin is peeling from being stretched and dry.

Boy I need a pedicure!

Lots of swelling in those little piggies.

Foot Surgery

Okay, so it's been four weeks since my surgery and things are going pretty well. Kinda.

Went to see the dr. yesterday afternoon. The xrays showed that the bones are healing nicely and I may be able to start walking on it after the next appointment in two weeks. That will be at the 6 week mark instead of the 8 she told me it would take! Yippee! That at least will make getting to the bathroom and getting my morning cup of coffee much easier!

On the downside, she had to re-stitch the incision on the back of my heel as it didn't stay closed when the stitches were originally removed two weeks ago. It's the sub-q stitching that gave and is gapping. Ouch. She is the master of understatement as she said 'a teeny bit of gapping' but Mike saw it and she took a pic so I could see it, and it was more than 3/8 inch of gapping, maybe up to 1/2 inch. It's kinda ugly since she had to cut away dead skin to find good stuff to knit together but hopefully this will fix that problem. It's pulling pretty bad back there today, but that should ease as the skin stretches and I should be able to resume my exercises by tomorrow or Sunday at the latest.

The tendon is practically a non-issue any more, other than being stiff and needing stretched but that's just something I'll have to work on here at home and in PT when that starts. Can't start that until I no longer have open wounds. Go back next Thursday for her to check the stitches and then in two weeks for more xrays, stitch removal and perhaps a release to WALK!!

She did move the big toe joints in the office, by hand, and they moved okay. She was pleased. Still have quite a bit of swelling in the top of the foot but she said that she banged it up pretty good in surgery and it was to be expected. I'm disappointed that it's still so swollen. I thought that by now it would be closer to looking like it was healing. Ah well.

You can see where it was seeping.

And this is the repaired area.

Note the swelling most noticable on the right side of the ankle.

A side-by-side comparison

Side view

Taken this morning with the steri-strips off.

 

Joel's Exam

He passed!!!!!!!!!!!

That's the email I got from Tara last night.

Joel is an actuary at a major insurance company. There are seven tests that actuaries take and when they pass these (hard) tests they can command more money and their value to the company increases. Joel's company requires that he pass all seven tests. He gets three chances to pass. He passed the first five tests the first time he took them.

The tests are given annually with a different one given in the spring session and fall session. He just got the results for his spring test that he had to take a second time and he passed! Whew. A big load off his mind (and a nice pay increase, too).

The fall test (October) he's failed twice now. The last time by just one point. (There are ten questions with multiple parts and he must get 6 of them right.) So he is now studying hard for his third and last try at passing this test. The good thing is that for the first time there is no new material added so he just has to review what he studied last time and he should pass this one, too.

He has to or he's got to find a new job.