Good news ... great JOY & wiggling toes!

GOOD NEWS! It is with a joyful and grateful heart that I can happily share
that it looks like the tendon lengthening surgery worked - yippee, high five,
applause, hip-hip-hooray, yahoo, bravo, jump up and down, whew!

Today we learned the following at my post-op follow up appointment:
- the foot is completely flat to the ground
- could put weight on the entire foot (like normal) … this is big time good
- incision healed beautifully and is the best looking incision I’ve ever had
- no open wound or wound issue … such a relief
- the wiggling in my toes or toe movement returned
- the incision from the flap surgery (last May) has really faded a lot now
- not much swelling in the foot area

Honestly, the foot looked WAY better than I had ever dreamed could happen. I can’t even remember the last time that it looked as good as it did today – probably before I started all of this surgery mess. There is still stiffness & some swelling, but that is normal and will improve. Assuming the foot continues to remain down & nothing weird happens, we are going to be “good to go” with this! Time will tell on the shoe wear situation, but I’m guessing that should be much better as well with time ….. I could slip into a shoe before, but then the issue was that the foot was 1 ½ inches off the ground so if the foot remains down, we should be able to wear two matching shoes. As expected, it will take quite some time to have it feel somewhat normal.

I am very thankful that we didn’t have to cut again on the foot itself. If that had needed to occur, the outcome could have been much different. The latest incision is about 3 ½-4” and is just above the ankle on the shin. Snazzy red cast made its debut today and will be in place until December 8th. The beautiful black boot will follow after the cast comes off and some light exercise will begin.

I’m thankful for the Dallas surgeon & his willingness to operate. There were four other doctors that we saw that were not sure if his plan would work (they all wanted me to try the Botox as a temporary fix), so we spent days and days anguishing over whether or not to move forward. My Chicago dr. was the only one that thought it was worth trying … so glad she was bold & shared her feelings honestly … this is rare in the medical field.

We definitely made the right decision to go for the tendon lengthening surgery and we are all clear for no wound issues, which was the biggest risk. There was also a large risk of "over correcting," which would have meant that the foot would drop and I'd have to essentially drag the foot around - this did not happen either. I wondered if this was the case the other day because I was tripping at work, but we didn't over correct; it is just right ... God is so good.

I sent an e-mail to the Chicago surgeon tonight and told her that I’d come show her after the holidays – she has worked incredibly hard on my case & deserves the opportunity to see the final outcome. Don’t give up on continuing to pray for total healing ….. we are on the right path and it just needs to continue to go smoothly.

Praising God for his faithfulness and hope in the time of need …. there is a lot to be thankful for – much too long to write it all out tonight, but I will at some point. Going to bed tonight with great hope for a brighter new year ahead …. wishing you a blessed Thanksgiving and hoping that you can find lots to be thankful for, too.

Wiggling toes with a thankful heart,
Jenny