The injury was at the ball of my right foot, so I was referred to a podiatrist. During the exam, he said he could easily fix that joint by shaving down that part of bone that had grown over when my injury healed years ago.
But I was also told that the main bone in my foot, leading to that joint, was too high and needed to be lowered.
It involved cutting the bone, lowering it, inserting synthetic bone as a bone graft, and finally placing a small plate with screws to hold it all together.
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| My initial X-ray taken "BEFORE" the first surgery last fall. |
I was told I would be "good as new" in three to four months.
The recovery was a bit tough...I had to miss two weeks of work and I was in a boot cast for quite a while. We had to pay our babysitter to stay with our kids until Michael got home from school, since I was unable to lift Ella for those first couple weeks after the surgery.
After I was done wearing the boot, I was still in quite a bit of pain.
In mid-winter the podiatrist decided I needed custom orthotics to wear with gym shoes to give my arches added support.
That helped a little.
But I was starting to have pain on the top of my foot where the plate and screws were placed and in my ankle, and a hard bump was forming around where the plate was. Large enough that I had to buy several new pairs of shoes, as my foot would not fit into the ones I currently had.
So in the spring, the podiatrist said that the plate and screws were causing irritation to the main tendon that runs along the top of my foot, and since the bones had all healed from the surgery, I could have another "minor" surgery to have the plate and screws removed.
I decided to wait until school was out, so that I would not have to miss any more work.
When that surgery was performed in June, the podiatrist found that there was a lot of bone growth around the plate and screws (hence the hard bump that had formed), which all had to be scraped away. So the recovery was a bit longer and more intense than we had planned.
In July I went in for my final follow-up appointment with the podiatrist and he said that everything looks great and I can now resume full activity, wear any kind of shoes I'd like (with or without the orthotics), etc.
But I was still in pain.
He told me it would continue to get better in time.
But it didn't.
It was bothering me enough that I was walking with my weight on the outside of my foot since it hurt to put pressure in the middle of my foot. Walking like this was starting to cause knee and back pain, and it was becoming painful to lift and carry Ella.
This was unacceptable.
After talking with several people (including medical professionals), Michael and I decided that I should go see an orthopedic surgeon for a second opinion.
I was able to get in to see one who specializes in feet and ankles, as well as sports medicine.
After I explained to the orthopedic surgeon ALL that had happened in the past year and once he had looked at my (many) X-rays, he told me that this was a very interesting case.
He told me that my foot is now worse off than it was before the initial surgery last fall.
Super.
The part of the surgery that was done on the long bone of my foot (involving the cutting, bone graft and plates/screws) has lengthened that bone and caused a joint to be eliminated, which is causing tremendous (and painful) stress on the joint next to it. The joints in my other four bones are trying to bend in one place, while the joint in my first bone is trying to bend in another.
Below are three "After" x-rays, taken in July 2016, following the plate and screws removal.
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| The first "AFTER" x-ray taken in July 2016 |
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| The second "AFTER" x-ray taken in July 2016 |
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| The third "AFTER" x-ray taken in July 2016 |
Ouch.
So I'm now back in the boot.
And I have to have surgery #3 (which has been confirmed by several other medical professionals).
The orthopedic surgeon will be cutting out a piece of the bone where the joint was eliminated, shortening that bone to its original length (my right foot grew a size and a half since the first surgery...now I know why!), moving the remaining bone closer in to close the gap, fusing it to the bone it meets, and finally inserting a permanent plate with screws (on the side of the bone so that it does not irritate the tendon). There may also be additional screws needed to assist with the bone fusion.
It will be the most complex of the three surgeries. It will be outpatient at Edward Hospital (rather than a surgical center like the other two) and I will be having general anesthesia (I only had twilight for the others).
The recovery will also be longer and more difficult.
I will be in a half-cast splint lying down with my foot elevated for the first week after the surgery. He told me I will be in quite a bit of pain and will require some high-powered pain meds.
Then I will have the cast taken off and I will be back in the boot cast for 4 weeks using crutches. I can put some weight on the heel of my foot during this time.
After that, I will be able to walk with the boot cast, but will need to wear it for an additional 6 weeks.
So...
I will not be able to carry Ella (or walk the kids to and from school, walk the dog, etc.) for at least FIVE WEEKS after the surgery. This is where it get's tough.
Michael will have to leave later for work in the morning, so that he can get Ella up, dressed, take her to the bathroom and bring her downstairs (he's usually long gone before the kids wake up).
After school is a different story as our kids are done at 2:30 pm and Michael's students aren't dismissed until 3:00 pm (in Elmhurst). Plus Michael tutors a couple days per week and doesn't get home until much later those days.
Ella also has therapies on Thursdays and Fridays after school that are 30-45 minutes away. Since it is my right foot, I will be unable to drive.
My parents are amazing and will be helping out when they can. But they also have things going on in their own lives that will prevent them from helping at certain times.
We are looking into using some emergency nursing hours through our nursing agency to help fill in some gaps, but the nurses need to be on duty for a minimum of 4 hours per shift (realistically we would only need a couple hours at a time), so those extra nursing hours will be used up very quickly.
While this surgery is not an emergency, the orthopedic surgeon said that it should be done sooner rather than later.
I have a busy month at work (church) in October, starting a new curriculum for a program beginning October 20th, that I am now overseeing. I don't think we've mentioned on the blog that we made the difficult decision this past summer for me to resign from assistant teaching at the Ann Reid Early Childhood Center, so that I'm only working part-time at our church. Shortly after the school year started, I was asked to increase my responsibilities at our church from only leading Sunday School and Vacation Bible School, to overseeing all youth programs from preschool through 5th grade (which I accepted and am LOVING!).
So we decided that the surgery needs to happen soon, so that I am at least able to be up and on crutches leading up to the new program I am overseeing at church in October.
The surgery is scheduled for Tuesday, September 27th. Ten days from now.
Yikes.
Michael and I have our work cut out for us coming up with a schedule and routine to help the kids (mainly Ella) in the weeks following the surgery.
But I feel bad for Michael having to go through this process for the THIRD time in less than a year...working full time while taking care of the kids, house, dog, etc. while I'm basically sitting around doing nothing (for those of you who know me well, you know that I THRIVE on being busy and do not sit still very well).
So it will be a challenge. We're upset and frustrated that this has worked out the way it has with my foot.
But we'll get through it (we always do), and hopefully when all is said and done, my foot will be (just about) as good as new!!
