Since my foot surgery ten days ago,
I have had a lot of time to reflect on all the events over the past year that
have led up to this surgery. It definitely has not been an easy year. I've had
a lot of challenges, not only physically but mentally and emotionally as well.
It's been a hard year to come to terms with everything and accept God's will
and plan for my life. I've experienced things I never thought I would and hope
that I will never experience them again. But I have also had some pretty
amazing experiences as well and I wouldn't give those up for anything.
Waiting for the framing specialist
to finish his fellowship and start working at the University of Utah Hospital
was definitely the right decision for me. I have so much respect and admiration
for both him and my other orthopedic surgeon. They truly are the best and I
know without a doubt that I was led to them because they were the ones who
needed to fix my foot. They were both so kind to me in the operating room as
the anesthesiologist was trying so hard to place my IV. They didn't mind the
delay and were very patient. I couldn't ask for better doctors. My admiration
for my original orthopedic surgeon grew that day in the operating room and my
admiration for the specialist grew when I was in recovery coming out of
anesthesia. He talked to me and explained what happened during surgery
(although I was still pretty out of it so I didn't comprehend it all) and then
suited up to help with the x-rays that would to be used to help come up with a
prescription for my foot. He also came to check on me before heading home for
the day and then came again the next morning, which I thought showed a lot of
dedication since it was a Saturday.
Once I was complety under general
anesthesia my surgeons were able to assess what my foot would do without my
brain telling the muscles to contract. Just like I had suspected beforehand, my
foot didn't relax. I had figured that since the Botox injections didn't work my
foot wouldn't relax under general anesthesia. During the surgery some of the
tendons in my leg were lengthened and my high arch was cut to lower it. Those
two things alone helped relax my foot and it automatically started to
straighten out. Then my foot was put into an external fixator called a Taylor
Spatial Frame (TSF). My frame comes halfway up my leg and there are three pins
that go into a bone in my leg that are holding it in place. I then have four
wires that go through the different bones in my foot and then a pin in each of
my toes. The pins in the toes are to keep them straight so they don't curl
under as my foot is brought up. Attached to this big metal frame are six struts
that have to be turned every day.
From the x-rays that were taken both
after surgery and during my follow-up appointment a plan was made with a
precise prescription just for my foot. This prescription tells us what number
each strut needs to be turned to each day. By turning these six struts everyday
they will straighten my foot and bring it up so it will be in the correct
position. I only have about 25-30 degrees more to go before it is to the
position the doctors want.
I have been lucky so far and really
haven't had a lot of pain with this frame. I lost most of the feeling in my leg
and foot about two years ago, most likely because of the stroke. If I had
feeling I believe that I would be in more pain. I can feel the deep muscle and
tendon pain though and that hasn't been very fun. My surgeon believes that I'm
already starting to feel the straightening because they had to do so much
stretching and straightening during surgery. He also believes that once the
turning of the struts start I will be in more pain. I have to be careful with
what kind of pain medicine I take since I am on a 325 mg dose of aspirin every
day and we don't want my blood to get too thin. I only take over-the-counter pain
medicines because I refuse to take stronger pain meds for several reasons. So
far I have been able to manage with just Tylenol or nothing most days. I've
only had to take a naproxen once when I just couldn't stand the pain and
Tylenol wasn’t cutting it. I start turning the struts this week so I may have
to adjust the pain meds so I can handle the increased pain.
This frame is HUGE and really is a
pain. I bump it into everything! Getting in and out of the house and car is a
pain, so I try not to leave the house if possible. I have had to make several
adjustments to my life because of this frame. I've had to rely on my parents a
lot more and am learning that there are many things that I just can't do by
myself. It's kind of been a humbling experience for me because I've always been
one who is very independent. I've always had a hard time asking for and
accepting help but now it seems like I'm asking for help all the time. It's
frustrating but good for me.
I'm not
exactly sure when I will be out of this frame. I have my guesses but it also
probably depends on how my foot responds. I still have a goal to be walking by
Christmas and I really hope that it will happen.
