Well, the surgery date, or procedure date as I prefer to call it, came and went. Here I am 5 days into post-surgery. The past few days have been great! My daughter, husband and children came over to help me get some much needed yard work done. Wonderful to get to spend some time with my grandchildren and daughter, and have a wonderful son-n law help me out, giving me inspiration to get back in the groove.
Now granted, I’m still dealing with a healing broken shoulder and dealing with the procedure done on my leg. The procedure, by the way, was a bit more than I expected. Originally, I thought it would be something like 3 inches by 1 1/2 inches. It appears to have ended up being between 6-7 inches long. I’m not more exact on measurements because I took the time long enough to measure for bandages only, but couldn’t quite yet handle looking more.
Now, just sayin’, inspiration on my yardwork, because day before yesterday, I found myself on my mower cutting the grass in my back yard. Know that cutting grass is one of my favorite “jobs” around here to do and it really did feel great to be doing it again. I had to be careful with my arm, but my leg had no problem, just had to get on and off carefully and go at it easy. And I was comfortable, for if something went wrong, I had my daughter and son’n law here to help me.
I got my shower afterwards that evening with no problem, too. The nurse told me that I had a waterproof bandage on it, just don’t let the water hit it directly. So, I followed her directions and all went well. I did change my bandages afterwards and that’s when I found out the length of the incision. So, needless to say, the bandages I had were not large enough, so I had to bandage without waterproofing. After that, I went online to find bandages large enough to cover, but oh my gosh, they cost a small fortune. So I examined the tape the hospital used and searched for the same, and was happy to finally find a waterproof tape. Along the way, I discovered it was more than likely a retention tape, so had to zero it in more. For a while, all I could find was a much thicker tape and colored, not clear. Then oddly enough, I finally found it under the use for tattoo artists. Upon further investigation, I found it to be of medical grade and precisely what I was looking for. I’m expecting that shipment to arrive in 2 days. Fingers crossed. 🙂 And I already have a decent supply of surgical padding that will work wonderfully. Why do I have a supply of that, you may ask. Well, I may have mentioned, and in case you’ve forgotten or are new to following me, that some years back, I enrolled in EMT training and my girls and son’n law joined me. And upon graduation, I put together nice medical bags for celebration. So, my medical bag has that nice supply. 🙂 But I did not have the specialized retention tape. But hopefully, I’ve now taken care of that! 🙂
So, fast forward to today, I slept badly last night with my leg hurting. And I woke this morning with my left foot totally numb. My left foot, I’ve mentioned before, is my “bad” foot, however, this felt way different. The numbness is much stronger and the swelling has come back, yet again, and the color is reddish-purple again. It flared up after this last fall for a while, but calmed down… until the surgery. I will be calling my doctor on Monday. But I’m expecting the swelling to go down and the color back to normal. That’s what things usually do when you’re gonna see a doctor, right? lol
I am also expecting a call from the surgeon on Monday afternoon, to tell me the results of what she did. Faith and prayers that she got it all and I’m in the clear. Granted I’ve been sayin’ my prayers.
Well, it’s Monday and as I awaited the time for the phone meeting with my surgeon, I did some more praying, which calmed my nerves. Made me cry, but still, calmed me.
She called me right on time and asked me how I am doing. I told her ‘ok’, but I’m hoping she can make me better than ok. She proceeded to tell me that all reports came back that all surrounding tissue was clear and they got it all, that I won’t be needing to see her anymore. I was so happy for that news! She said she is referring me to a dermatologist to keep an eye on my skin all over since I now have a “history” that I should visit once every one to two years and she will pass that info along to my regular doctor.
So, rejoicing, I said a prayer of thanks. Then I pulled off my bandage to let it “air out” and felt more comfortable looking at it. And while doing so, I realized it’s a solid 4 inches long, not 6 or 7. There seems to have been a crease at the bottom of the incision and blood had drained down into it, making it appear longer. Four inches, I’m a lot happier about that. Now, more relaxed, I called my husband at work to tell him, and then my girls. Then I had a package arrive and it was the retention tape, along with a kit to make whirligigs that I had ordered (I’ll probably speak of them another time. lol) I anxiously dug in and pulled out the tape and re-bandaged my leg right away. The surgeon told me I can feel free to leave it unbandaged when I want to, which I will when I am home. But I will be going out this afternoon with long pants, I feel much more comfortable with it covered and not rubbing against my pants leg. And this tape is perfect! Exactly what I wanted. Ah, and then I came here to give YOU an update! 🙂
Oh, as far as my foot, it’s still a swollen, but the color not too bad. I realized last night that since my fall I have neglected all of my exercises with all that was going on, including my foot exercises. Those, I was doing daily and I’ve been without them for months. So I will get back to them. I always knew those exercises helped me, but I maybe didn’t realize just HOW much. But I WILL keep an eye on my foot, just in case. Besides, I’m still seeing doctors regularly right now, so no doubt, I will be alerting and updating them on it.
And to you… please, be safe, be alert, And remember, do your exercises/workouts!! And be happy!! And never forget… have faith. It may be hard sometimes, but really, try to find the positive and have faith. Never, ever give up. 🙂
