Week 12

As you can probably tell from my long absence of posting anything that I've been progressing pretty well. I've been walking without any serious issues and now starting to run or light job a little bit. The foot is still swollen but has been exponentially better. Ive also been wearing crocs with a open heel so that I can walk without the swelling bothering me too much. The crocs also give me a lot of support so that I don't step into my ball of my foot too much. Before the crocs I was splitting time between flip flops and the post op shoe. The crocs were definitely a better option. I stopped the icing for about a couple weeks. I maybe ice it once a week when I push it too far. Last week, I tried it out hiking and walking through a rocky watering hole and it was not too bad. It was putting a lot of intense pressure on the ball of my foot and it hurt for a couple days but its definitely not too bad. I'm hoping to try to increase my running this week. Hopefully I can be close to 100% in another couple weeks. 

8.5 weeks

Been walking a lot more since the last post. I only use my post op shoe now and don't even have my boot, crutches or cane with me anymore. It looks like the swelling has actually been getting worse, but I think it's because I've been on my feet a lot more. Also, when it swells up you can see extra swelling or bump-"ness" where the hardware (screws and plates are).

Even so, I've been able to walk barefoot without too much discomfort and pain. However, it's still there and I can't fully push down and off with my big toe.

Yes I put my foot up at work :)

6.5 weeks

Nothing too interesting this week. My foot has been on the same pace of swelling and discomfort level. I've still been walking without crutches in the boot up until last Friday. Every time I tried walking barefoot there was some pain. On Friday, (coincidentally after seeing the doc for my final appointment) I've been feeling a lot better. I was able to walk a few steps barefoot with just a little pain. Dr Cade gave me a post op shoe that looks like a sandal with a hard inflexible sole that gives me a lot more movement. I can almost walk without a limp but can't do it for more than a few hours without it swelling. For instance, I was in a wedding where I had to stay on my feet for half a day and it didn't feel too bad, but I was definitely really sore the next day. I ended up going back to the boot for the wedding day. Another interesting thing is that my ankle seems to be very weak. When I step down the stairs, my ankle on the bad foot 

All in all I seem to be heading in the right direction.

Next goal is to be able to go barefoot.

Below is a recent pic of my foot.

5 weeks

So its been 5 weeks Post Op and I've been partially walking at 30% with a single crutch. I can walk up stairs with both feet as well. I weigh about 190 so that makes 30% about 63 lbs. I put my foot on a scale while my other foot and crutch was off the scale. However after going through this week and walking with a single crutch I realized I probably was probably putting about 70-75 lbs on the foot which is probably not a big deal. My foot has been better everyday (knock on wood).

There's still plenty of swelling but I don't feel the need to elevate it constantly. The incision has also been healing although there's still a couple parts where its still trying to scab up. I've been putting vitamin e, polysporin and aloe vera on it. I haven't soaked the foot in the tub yet but I've been pouring hot water over the foot to clean it up.

Starting either tomorrow or Friday I'm allowed to put up to 60%(126 lbs) on my foot. That probably just means I'll be getting a little more liberal and not really trying to measure my foot weightage.

28 days later!

Been waiting to use that title...

Saw Dr. Cade yesterday and everything looks good so far. He said I was good to go with taking the boot off when sleeping and sitting around. I still have to wear the boot if I walk/crutch anywhere. Another big set of news is that he said I can start partially walking (~30%). I tried a little bit yesterday but my toes are really stiff and I get a lot of stinging pain under my foot. So for now, I'm taking it slow and not try to force it. Partially walking with two crutches is a lot easier than single crutching it. Also, I'm very hesitant on putting any weight on it. I waited for Mary to come home so that she can peel off all the dead skin on my foot, cause she's into that kind of stuff. Gross pictures below if you're interested.  I still haven't washed it either because there still parts of the incision where it hasn't scabbed up yet. I might try either tonight or tomorrow. In regards to the morning pains in my foot, it's wearing off but still there. Hoping it gets better over the next few days.

Another odd thing is that there is a bump where the start of the incision is. I'm guessing that's the top of one of the screws. I can definitely feel the screws when I try to angle my foot up with my ankle. I guess I can get used to it, but I'm hoping I can get more mobility there. After looking at my foot a lot more without the boot on, it is definitely more swollen than I thought... but it's better.

I think that is it for now, pics below... (warning: they are gross!)

Ok here they come!

is it looking better?

Oh yeah!

This is only half of the dead skin!!

Day 20 1/2

Ok I just felt bored today and my foot has been feeling exceptionally well (knock on wood) so I thought I open up my cast!

Guess what I found...

For me the photos are self explanatory, but for someone who doesn't think about my foot 24/7, the swelling (or lack thereof) looks great! This is for not icing nor really elevating too much today. I'll do another progress/split screen shot another time, but it's definitely better. Still some bruising, but it's almost gone. Crossing my fingers that my doc gives me good news next week!

Day 20 (~3 weeks Post Op)

Nothing super significant to report since my last post. The itching has pretty much subsided after a few days of intense itch attacks. Still not sure if it was the aloe/cortizone/lotion I put on it or it just simply went away. By the last time I had an attack, which was about two days ago, I only put some aloe and cetaphil on it and it went away after a few minutes. Since then I've been good. 

The morning soreness has also been a little bit better. It still wakes me up every morning, but now I don't need to keep my foot elevated at night. It looks like the morning soreness might be because I keep the boot on and my feet can't move around too much and my toes aren't allowed to point down. So I've been loosening the boot up a little bit before bed and it helps. When I wake up, I move my foot around and ice it and I'm good. 

In terms of elevation and ice, I only do it half as much as I was doing it last week. So that should be a positive sign, hopefully. I'll see the doc at the 4 week mark which is next week. I'll probably post another update then. Til then, farewell!!