Pin

Here is a closeup of the pin and ball they took out of my toe. I couldn't believe it when they asked if I would like to have it.

It measured 3 1/2 inches long. A 1/4 in. in the ball. Another 1/4 inch space to my toe, and 3 inches inside of the toe.

Bob asked the Doctor how they got it inside of the toe. The Doctor said he drilled it in.

I will leave Bob in the waiting room next time if he is going to ask questions like that. Too much information.

Black Cast

Here it is. Finally got my pictures uploaded. Black suits my mood these days. There are 2 other reasons I chose black.

Number 1: It doesn't clash with my jammie colors.

Number 2: It doesn't show dirt. (Not that I do anything to get it dirty.)

Dr. Appointment

I had my Dr. appointment last Wednesday morning. They took the rod and the stitches out. The Doctor really didn't lie about it not being a big deal to remove the rod. I definitely had a sensation, kinda like it was really numbed . I could feel him wiggling it as he pulled it out, but no pain. I thought he would use that yellow ball to pull it out. Wrong. He used a sharp instrument to poke that black dot on the ball and it came right off the rod. Then he took a pliers and pulled the rod out.

The stitches, on the other hand, were another story! The first two almost sent me through the roof. Keep in mind that they had been in for four full weeks and the foot was still very swollen. You could barely see some of them and the nurse had to go looking for the rest. Four incisions. Thought she would never get done.

I took my camera to get a picture of my foot with the cast off before they put the next one on. Two batteries in my little camera bag. Both dead. It would have been an ugly picture and not one I would have posted !

I said no pain. But. I have been pretty much uncomfortable since then. I don't know if this cast is too tight or that pulling the rod caused everything to swell. Toes, foot, ankle and even the leg seem to throb and feel too tight in the cast at times. I keep the Tylenol close and take it often. I also spend a lot of time on the couch with the foot up.

In case you are wondering, this cast is black. Don't think Bob likes it as well as the red one.

Posting

Yes I am posting again. It was quite a challenge to figure out how to get to the basement without killing myself. I was too scared to go down on crutches. Just knew I was going to fall. I finally got to where I would go to the steps going upstairs, sit on the step and scoot on my butt down the steps, pushing my crutches ahead of me. By the time I got to the computer, I was too darn tired to blog. Then there was the trip back upstairs. It took me about three trips like this and I said ENOUGH. No way could I do this for 14 more weeks!

Bob and I went out the day after Christmas to Best Buy. They just happened to have a wheel chair and Bob pushed me around the store in that. He never did get the hang of driving it. Kept forgetting about my foot and even ran me into one of the counters. The foot rests were also broken on the darn thing so it was all I could do to keep my foot from falling under the wheel and watch where Bob was going too.

I got a lap top. An HP model. Nice little machine. No more scooting down the stairs. I just get comfy on the couch and turn it on. Colleen even talked me through getting Aim downloaded so I can see and talk to them. The boys can put on quite a show.

I figure with all the time I am going to have on my hands, I might even teach Bob how to get around on it. Just not right away. I will have to pray for patience first and hope my prayers are answered.

Have been thinking about a comment somebody made on an earlier post of mine. Just thinking. I have a smart come back, it just hasn't come to me yet.

Later Jerry.

Pictures

Picture Number 1: This is a close up of my toes taken right after surgery. That yellow thing sticking out of the second toe is the rod. For those of you who might ask me if that is a smiley face on the end of it, the answer is NO. I guess that is what they will grab a hold of when they yank it out. I suppose it is also to keep it from going all the way into my foot if I bump it.

Picture Number 2: This is a picture of my feet when I had the splint on. I think I told you Ginny measured it at 21 inches. No wonder I couldn't get anything around it. It was also very heavy.

Picture Number 3: This is a picture of my new cast. I chose red. Why? Two reasons. The first being, I thought it could be my Christmas stocking. The second, I thought, Go Big Red! Musta worked. The Huskers won their bowl game.

I go back to the doctor Jan. 7th and they will probably take the stitches and the rod out. Then I will have to chose a color for my next cast. Some of the choices are pink, purple, blue black orange and some others I can't remember. Any suggestions?

Up Close And Personal

I am all finished with my bath and back to post. Shannon called me a few days ago and as we were talking, she asked how I was getting along in the shower. I said, "I am not using it." I can't figure out how to get in and out without falling. I told her I planned to sit in the bathroom on a kitchen stool and wash up there.

She thought that was the grossest thing she had ever heard. No shower until you get out of the cast ??????? Told her it worked like this. You fill the sink with hot water and start with the face and work to the waist. Stop there.

Then you start at the toes and work up to the waist. Wa Laaaaaaaaaa! Parts are all clean. Then I put on clean clothes, tame my hair and I am done. She still says that is the grossest thing she has ever heard of.

Then I had to re-tell her the story of how I spent the first 18 years of my life without a tub or shower (stool for that matter) in the house. The facilities were out the kitchen door, down the sidewalk and across the driveway. The "tub" was located out side in the wash house. In the early days it was a round one. Then we graduated to a long metal one. I think I preferred the round one. It didn't take as much water to get the job done and it was easier to empty and carry the water outside.

You might wonder why we didn't just dump it in the kitchen sink, since that is the room we took our baths in. That was a BIG no no. Everything that went down the kitchen sink went into a septic tank buried under ground near our drive way. It had a heavy iron cover on it so nothing would fall into it. Every so often some VERY unlucky person would have to empty it. This job always went to one of the guys. First they would take the lid off. Then they got a 5 gallon pail with a long rope attached to it. In case you haven't guessed by now, they had to empty the nasty thing by hand. You would have to stand straddling the hole,drop the bucket down and pull the full pail up and dump it. Drop the bucket back in and repeat the process until it was empty. It was a dirty and back breaking job!! As I said, nothing went down the kitchen sink that didn't have to

Contrary to what Shannon thinks, I know I can survive until I am able to get in the shower without being afraid of falling !!

Surgery

We got to the surgery center early. I knew I was going to be put out for it but wondered how I would feel when I woke up. Not to worry. After they started the IV, they had me roll on my tummy. The anesthesiologist said he would give me a little something to relax me and he was going to put a block in the back of my leg. My next memory was waking up on my back with my leg very numb. Cool. They told me it could last 12 to 36 hours. It lasted 28 hours. I had 2 different pain pills to take. One very strong and one not so strong. I thought I could only take one or the other. Wrong !!! I was supposed to take them both, just get on a schedule to not take them together. I had 4 VERY bad hours until they kicked in. Otherwise, it has not been bad at all for pain.

On day 3 I started vomiting and had to cut the dosage of one of them. Not a good day at all !They also made me itch something terrible, but no way was I going to quit them altogether until I knew the pain was under control !!!

Prior to surgery I bought 3 pair of men's size large lounging jammie bottoms. I knew I was going to start out with a splint for 2 weeks and then go to a cast for 4 weeks. I had never had either of those two, but I knew I would not be able to get my jeans on. Jammies would be the answer. WRONG !! When I was ready to go home, I couldn't even get them to my ankle. The nurse had to cut them to my knee. Thank God for Ginny. She came over and measured around the splint. Can you believe? It measured 21 inches. No way was I going to get anything I owned over that monstrosity!! She took all 3 pairs home, slit the right leg to the knee and hemmed them for me. I just use a couple of pins to close them and they work great !!! When the right foot is done, she will sew that side closed and repeat the process on the left side for foot number 2.

Christmas Eve. morning I had my first doctors appointment. Of course, I wore my best jammies !! They cut the splint off and I got my first look my foot. Ugly !!! I have 3 incisions. There are also 2 screws in the side of my foot that will stay with me forever. I also have a rod sticking out of the end of the toe next to my big toe. That will probably be pulled out on my next visit along with the stitches. The very thought of taking that rod out does bad things to my stomach !

I survived.