bunions

4 days ago I had bunion surgery.

I have known I needed this surgery for years.  But I put it off because I knew it would hurt and quite frankly, it wasn’t worth the pain.

However, 10 weeks ago I was walking and overflexed my foot.  I stretched a ligament in the metatarsal area and it wouldn’t stop hurting.

A quick visit to an orthopedic surgeon revealed that my foot would likely not get better and surgery was necessary to provide more structure to my foot.

The surgery was for four things:

1. Fusion of foot bones

2. correction of hallux valgus

3. removal of bone for graft

4. revision of calf tendon

Apparently all of this is necessary because of the severity of my deformed foot. A bunion (hallux valgus) is apparently measured in degrees of deformity.  45 to 50 degrees is considered serious.  My right foot measured in at 50 degrees before surgery.

The fusion of the bones allows the bone to heal together, the bone graft apparently enhances bone healing in severe cases like mine, and the calf revision elongates the calf muscle because apparently tight calves cause bunions.  Revising the calf muscle helps to prevent bunions from forming again.

The surgery was about 2 hours and done in an outpatient surgery center.  I arrived at 7am, was asleep by 8:30, and home by noon.

The first day was pain free because I was given a nerve block before surgery.  

Day two, however, was a different story. The evening of day two found me crumbling in tears as I felt like someone was repeatedly stabbing my foot with dull scissors.  This night I relied on my husband to set his alarm and keep me on as many pain meds as possible. I slept in a recliner with my “toes above my nose”, packed in ice, and drugged with anything I could.

Day 3 I woke up a bit groggy and hobbled to the bathroom with my scooter.  Grogginess and dizziness combined threw me off a bit and I took a tumble to the floor with the scooter on top of me.  I managed to keep my foot off the floor and took the hit in my hip and rear.

Day 4.  Unfortunately my doctors office didn’t return my husbands FMLA paperwork and he doesn’t have any vacation time.  So, he had to go back to work and I’m left on my own.  The pain is a bit better but we live in a tri-level. So in order to get ice, water, food, I have to figure out how to navigate the stairs and drag the scooter with me.