Home Safely ...

Thanks for praying on Thursday afternoon and night as we traveled to Chicago. It was a snowy night, but we made it safely and arrived around 9:30pm. My suregon called about fifteen minutes after arrival and wanted to make sure we were okay ... she is so caring. Chicago got more snow than expected and had a strong 9-10 inches. All the schools & many businesses were closed on Friday.

On Friday morning, she removed the stitches one-by-one and made sure that the incision stayed closed before progressing. We both looked at each spot and agreed that it all looked good. It is better than where we were three weeks ago, but the center of the incision is still open. I was told in the recovery room that this was a possibility. The drainage has returned, so we are going to watch it closely over the next few days & will see what happens. Not sure if skin grafting will still be needed or not. We went almost three weeks with a totally dry incision and everything looked closed. Frustrating to say the least ....

We also discussed my inability to wear a normal shoe (or anything closed) on the operative foot. She agreed it is due to my inability to bend right behind the "toe line." The two inches behind the toes is rigid w/no movement. You bend at this spot every time you push your foot into a shoe and I cannot do this. I was told in the fall that whatever motion I was going to get back with therapy had occured. I've been wearing different shoes on both feet for the past 4-5 months (fall/winter). I'm disappointed and somewhat frustrated that after all we've been through, this major issue still exists. There is a surgical fix but given where we are at, no one wants to discuss that option. It is not good for my left hip situation as well. Sring or summer shoes are somewhat easier, but not comfortably wearing the same pair of shoes is a dilemma. I went to another shoe shop in Chicago (specializing in shoes for people w/foot issues) and must have tried on 15-20 pairs with no luck. It doesn't sound like a big issue, but it is hard and affects a lot. In the short term, we need to continue to focus on the incision and then come back to the "shoe issue" at some point. In the meantime, wearing two different shoes will probably have to suffice.

Will see what next week brings ....
je