Last Friday I had surgery on my left foot to fix a bone spur. I’ve had the problem for a few years, and took a chance that it wouldn’t be so bad that I couldn’t make it through school. I ended up having to leave Baking Class a few times because I just could not stand on it. Got worse throughout my internship, so I went to a podiatrist and got some meds for it. They worked fine until August – I had to stop taking the pain killers during a different surgical procedure, but when I started taking the pills again, this time they didn’t work anymore. Well, the doc warned me that it might happen. So I went back, got referred to a podiatrist in Nashua, and 3 weeks later got the surgery. Simple procedure from what he explained, and a lot different from 15 years ago when I had the right one fixed. That one, they numbed my foot, cut a hole in the base of my heel, and literally scraped the plantar tendon off of the spur. I was on crutches for a while, then it’s been fine. Since then, further research has shown that removing the spur itself doesn’t help in the long run, as it eventually grows back. The tendon, on the other hand (foot?) does NOT grow back – I was under the impression that it would reattach itself, but it apparently doesn’t. It’s just flopping around in there. So this time, they just cut a small hole in either side of my heel, stick a camera in one and a tiny hook in the other, and slice away the tendon that’s being aggravated by the spur. Also, I was asleep for the entire procedure, so by the time I was aware of anything, I was in recovery. In and out in about 4 hours.
So now I am home, and all I am able to do is sit around with my foot propped up on a pillow. Other than the occasional stretch to keep the blood flowing, I am not supposed to be doing a lot of walking around. I am using one crutch just to steady myself, as the doctor wants me to walk around on it normally – no balancing on the toes or the side of my foot, but normal steps. That hurts from the surgery, but in a few days it should be okay. The doctor told me that he just did a similar procedure on a guy, and three days later ran into the patient at Home Depot. Way too soon for the guy to be walking around, but the guy insisted he felt fine. So, I won’t be going to Home Depot. 🙂 I might try going food shopping later on though, they have those neat little go-karts so I can run over small children. 😀 Paula has been making dinner – yes, she can cook! Kinda hard to eat while reclining, but I am managing.