Under The Knife

So it was August 11 2008, we got to the hospital early. I had heard about the type of surgery many times but honestly was trying to block out the detail. Basically I had a midfoot fusion. Since I still have feeling in my feet they used donor bone and left no metal parts inside. When I awoke there was an external fixator on my foot, yes I knew it would be there but it was still a shock. I had 2 pins from the front of my foot going in towards the back of it. I had 2 wires going left to right through the foot which connected to a halo then 2 bolts in my leg with bars running down to the halo that kept the whole thing in place.

They gave me a morphine pump. It turned out I am allergic to morphine so we went to laudanum. I am allergic to that as well. So it was back to Percoset. Turns out that only gave me motion sickness so it only affected me when in the car and sometimes in the wheelchair. So before I knew it 3 days had passed and was home stuck in bed except for doctors appointments every 2 weeks and an occasional trip to Walmart to try and help keep me sane. After about 3 weeks I started working from home a few hours a day. Then was able to get out to the livingroom in the wheelchair and sit in the recliner. Still wasn't allowed to put any weight on the right foot. At the 3 month mark all looked healed and again I was given a choice, take the halo off in surgery and have to go through all the pre-surgery physicals or just have them numb me up in the office and take it out there in 2 weeks. I picked the 2 weeks. So with an audience my doctor numbed my foot with Novocaine and he and his intern using wrenches and bolt cutter that had been sterilized, (No I am not kidding!) cut, yanked, unscrewed and pulled everything off of my foot.

I was put in a light cast and still told to stay off the foot for 2 weeks. Then 2 weeks in a heavier cast and could actually start putting weight on it. Then back into the cam walker as I waited for my shoes and inserts to be ready. That brings us to about December 2008. Next part will be about my recovery which I am still going through.