Update on the foot...

So, since my last blog post I've made a little progress.  My last check up was two weeks ago and the doctor asked me to wean myself out of the boot (YAY!!) and into a shoe.  He did not like my soft, awesome, zero drop running shoes, however.  I bought some low-top hikers which will be useful after recovery when I get to start hiking again.  For now, I'm wearing them all day, and for workouts.

 Although I prefer ankle support on "real" trails, these will be okay for beginner stuff, which is where I will have to start when I'm released to start doing "stuff". 

I go for my 8 week follow up today. I'll be curious to hear what he has to say about the healing process.  I really had different expectations, i.e., thought I'd be further along, but apparently I was just delusional.  Still have lots of swelling, particularly if I'm on my feet a lot.  I kind of think I've been overdoing it.  I'm making an effort to spend time with my foot elevated.  I'm learning all kinds of patience.  Literally one minute to the next, I get frustrated and have to talk myself down and just remain patient, think long-term healing and focus on the now. 

Here's today's ugly foot pic.  The incision is almost completely healed, meaning the scab is mostly gone.  Still plenty of discoloration, etc.  But trending toward normal looking.  I still don't like the way the big toe leans over toward the second toe, but perhaps when all the inflammation is gone, that will correct.  I'll ask today what I should reasonably expect. 

If you're considering this surgery (several women I know have the same issue and have asked about it) be sure you have a good caretaker, a lot of patience and a lot of time to recover.

For now, I'm trying to hit CrossFit three days a week, and might bump it up to 5 next week.  I'm modifying the hell out of everything.  Still rowing on one leg, etc., but I'm doing something which makes me feel good mentally and physically. 

Surgery, misery, boredom and recovery.

So, WOW - it's been a very long time since I've blogged.  Or really since I've had anything to blog about, really.

Just wanted to chronicle my recent bunion surgery. (I wish they could come up with a more glamorous name for it, but alas, it sounds disgusting.)

I had put this procedure off for many, many years.  It is considered elective surgery and I wasn't going to die without it so, I put it off to the point where I couldn't ignore it anymore. One HUGE reason was I hated the thought of 6 weeks out of the gym. 

What is a bunion?  Well, a bunion is a bony bump that forms on the joint at the base of your big toe. Bunions can develop as a result of an inherited structural defect, stress on your foot or a medical condition, such as arthritis. Mine was the result of 35 years of wearing gorgeous stilettos.  I love my high heels!

So, the result of this comes out making everything shift around push other bones out of place in my foot, and was painful especially after long hikes or runs.  Here is one of the initial x-rays showing what a mess it was in there!  Next to it, the outward appearance of my foot.

So the recommended procedure was a Lapidus Bunionectomy.  Basically what that involved was removing a portion of the first metatarsal, realigning it, and then fusing the first metatarsal and medial cuneiform bones.

Here is the "after" x-ray taken 5 days post-op, which shows the plates and screws used for the fusion. 

I had read everything I could about the recovery, pain, success rates, etc., but nothing prepares you for the real thing.  Some of it was worse, some of it was better. 

The pain afterward was minimal.  Honestly I was surprised.  I took the pain meds for 20 hours and stopped.  They are awful and I seriously for the life of me cannot understand how people get hooked on that shit.  Anyway, Tylenol was my go-to.  I also had 800mg Ibuprofen for inflammation, which also helps with pain, in my opinion.

Starting on night two I had some really awful nerve pain which felt like hot razor blades and needles poking into my foot all over.  Yeah.  But I still just took Tylenol.  They offered a pill to help with that but it is an anti-depressant which I wanted nothing to do with.  So, I just suffered through it and learned to cope.  That nerve pain seemed to hit only at night (you know, when your body is in repair mode) and lasted about a week and a half.

The procedure was on Friday, October 6.  By Monday morning I was bored and filled with regret - "what have I done?" kept going through my mind.  I wanted to work out. I kept having visions of laying on the couch getting fat and lazy.

So, four days post-op (Tuesday) I decided  to get up and actually work out.  Now, this wasn't CrossFit by any means.  Lots of stretching, knee push ups, sit-ups, leg raises, hip exercises, seated dumbbell presses, etc.

Week two I made it upstairs (which was hilarious - lots of crawling and scooting) so I could use the rower.  All in all I've managed to only miss about 4 days of working out  to date.  Week three I got to go back to the gym, and started going every other day.  The off days I still did my home workouts.

I've lost weight.  I've also lost muscle, so, win/lose there.  But I'm okay with it.

I had a few pity party days, where I just felt like this was never going to end.  I just want to DRIVE my car.  I want to be able to go somewhere when I get the urge.  I do not like being dependent on someone to bring me water, food, etc.  But thank God I have Allan who did all that and more.

Recovery:
My first visit post-op was 5 days.  At that visit I got permission to start putting slight pressure on my foot, in the boot, with crutches.  About 1/4 of my body weight.   Same advice at the second follow up - 11 days in.  At the next visit which was 3.5 weeks post-op, he instructed me to start putting more weight on my foot, working up to full weight walking without crutches.  All still in the boot.

As of yesterday I'm there!  It's a bit achy sometimes but no big deal.  Part of the process.  My six week post-op is in two days and I'm hoping to be released to take off this boot and put on a shoe and walk, and drive, etc.  The surgeon has told me no running, jumping, hiking or heavy weight lifting for at least 12 weeks, and expect "full recovery" to take 9 to 12 months.  That seems like forever.

Anyway, if you're grossed out by feet or scabs or bruises, you can tap out now.  Here are some progress pictures taken over the weeks:

day 6 post op

bruising was horrible (day 13)

day 16 - soaking in hot water bath

day 20, incision progress is slow

 

1-month post op

 

38 days post-op, incision healing more

So, that's it for now.  Hoping for a good post-op visit this week and moving on with my life!  I'll be modifying every CFJ workout for a while, but I'll just be glad to BE THERE! 

PR day

Long time no blog.  I've been busy not being busy.  Ha!  Housewifing takes up a lot of time.  Not sure how I ever managed a career with all the stuff that goes on around here.  We are all super-women when we have jobs outside the house I suppose.

Anyway, since I last  blogged, I hit my 25lb weight loss goal and then went on a two week sailing trip and gained 5 back.  It'll come right back off.  I'm back on track and working hard at it.

Today, I managed to set 2 PR's at the gym.  The first was on hang power snatch.  Actually I set 2 PR's on that alone - 95# and 100#.

Then we had a choice of Isabelle or Randy and I chose Randy.  75 power snatches for time at 55#.  I took 1:46 off my old PR with a time of 5:54.  So, it's a PR day! 

Housewife

Yep.  That's me these days.  Actually, I'm unemployed, so I'm being a housewife until I find a new job.  Not digging the whole house cleaning thing, but I realized the people I've been paying to clean my house were slackers.  So much was just being done half-assed.  I'm fixing all that.  I will probably just continue to do it myself even after I find a job.  Like the old saying goes, "If you want something done right, do it yourself."

We had our usual winter escape to the caribbean - this year to the island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas.  Very enjoyable and relaxing trip.  And I got my annual cold on the return.  So, I'm almost over that, and in the meantime I've been scaling everything at the gym.  Still maintaining my meal-planning and weight loss.

“The MLK Muscle-Up Mile ” by DB
For Time:
-805meter Row
Then
-10-8-6-4-2-1 Muscle-Ups (ring) MRX Burpee C2B
-20-18-16-14-12-10 WallBalls 20/14lbs 10/9′ MRX 20/10/9′
(i.e. 10 MUs & 20 WBs, 8 MUs & 18 WBs, 6 MUs & 16 WBs……10WBs & 1 MU.)
Then
-804meter Row

My Time:  21:53, modified

I scaled the burpee/pull ups to 5-4-3-2-1-1 double-burpee/single pull ups due to a bicep tendon issue.  Always an issue...always.  :)

Core development:

2 x 10 sec L-sit
30 Hip Extensions
25 abmat sit ups
25 GHD sit ups