Flat Foot Surgery recovery - what it looked like & how things felt

 After coming home from my hospitalization for pulmonary embolisms, I quickly became adept at using my knee scooter. It was way easier on my lungs/chest than trying to hobble around on the walker, and I discovered I could do more tasks independently or efficiently (like washing my hands and face) when I could park and brake the scooter. Using the bathroom was also more efficient because I can park the scooter in front of the toilet and prop my leg up on the seat of the scooter, rather than using a different stool to prop my foot. Most foot doctors prescribe a knee scooter for this type of surgery, from what I understand, but I highly recommend it. I rented mine from a local medical-supply store instead of purchasing one and being stuck with it.

When I first talked to my doctor about surgery in June, here's what he laid out to me:

- 12 week recovery

- 8 weeks of cast on my foot

- 4 weeks of boot and physical therapy immediately following cast removal

I didn't realize that the 8 weeks of the cast on my foot meant that it would be switched out every two weeks - I just assumed it would be there the whole time. It turns out that every two weeks, I had to go in for a follow up appointment, where my foot doctor took X-rays and checked my incisions. This means that each time I go to the office, the nurses remove my cast and then my leg has about fifteen minutes to breathe before they put a new one on. 

The most pain I felt at the beginning was in my heel, where the screws are - I think psychologically knowing they were there didn't help, and also since my foot was mostly resting on my heel, it made things very uncomfortable and painful. Throughout the rest of the recovery, most of my pain has- interestingly - been in my toes. They tingle, they burn, they have phantom movements. My foot doctor reassured me that's not unusual, but it has been very weird.

My first cast was purple. When I went in for my second follow up, the cast removal process was a little more nerve-wracking for me because I was now on a blood thinner (Eliquis) because of the PEs. I trusted the nurse with her little saw to cut my cast off, but it still made me anxious! The X-ray process was way easier the second time than it was the first time, although the swelling still made it uncomfortable fairly quickly. My doctor removed the sutures for my incisions at that visit, which I could NOT watch because it made me queasy.

 My daughter requested that I get a pink cast for my second round, which I complied with to make her happy (even though pink isn't my thing, really). She LOVED my pink cast, which made it worth it. However, the wrapping on the pink cast was much bulkier and heavier, which took a lot of getting used to and I found very uncomfortable. Also, by that point my leg was itching like crazy because of all of the dry skin (and hair growth) underneath. 

I was beyond thankful when I went to my next appointment and got that giant pink thing hacked off my leg. I also managed to get some pictures of my foot without the cast on. You can see it's still a little bruised and swollen, but my foot doctor was very pleased with the healing taking place. 

I know, the dry skin and leg hair on top of the suture and everything is super cute.😜

I also got a quick picture of my X-rays:

Clearly you can see my foot is raised a bit in the "now" X-ray because the padding is still on the bottom of my foot and I didn't lay it completely flat on the X-ray platform. But you can see the screws and wedge, and you can also tell that my bone structure has shifted to create the new arch in my foot. 

At my third follow up, I got a blue cast. I was happy because my toes got more breathing room and the cast didn't go as close to my knee. However, it was wrapped by my foot doctor and a new assistant who hadn't had much experience... not the nurses who have typically done all of the casts. On my way out of the office, the nurse saw my cast and said to call if I needed it redone. I tried to tough it out, but after about five days I had to call and ask for them to re-wrap the cast, because the batting was fraying and the plaster on the back was cutting into my calf. 

When I went in to get it rewrapped, they cut the poorly formed cast off and the doctor checked my incisions again. He said they were completely healed (this was at 5 weeks post-surgery). Then they put a new cast on. HOWEVER, when I tried to stand up and leave on the scooter, I couldn't bend my leg at 90 degrees because they had wrapped the cast too high in the back! So I had to sit back down while they removed that cast, and tried again... luckily the third time was a charm and my third blue cast fit nicely and comfortably against the top of my calf. 

Blue cast, pink compression sock. : )

Because of the way scheduling panned out, my foot doctor decided that this blue cast could stay on until week 8 instead of applying another one for just a week. So now I have only 8 days left until my cast comes off for good! I am excited, but also know that this journey isn't over yet, because my muscle has wasted away so much that I will have to start physical therapy immediately in order to be able to walk with my boot once they take the cast off. Mostly I'm relieved that it's healed so well, and my goal for the next 8 days is to be as careful as possible to keep my foot safe and sound in its cast!