Surgery!

Hello Everyone!

It was my intention to write a post about the surgery I just had on my right foot BEFORE the surgery actually occurred, but that just didn't happen. There were too many good things happening in my life and the time just disappeared. Not to worry though, now that I have a giant blue cast on my foot, I have plenty of free time to write a post.

To recap, in December 2012, I had surgery to correct the deformity in my left foot caused by Charcot Marie Tooth. This surgery included an Achilles tendon lengthening, triple athrodesis, and first metatarsal osteotomy. The Achilles tendon lengthening helped my toes and foot lift up more toward 90 degrees, the triple athrodesis fused my ankle in a proper alignment and restricted it to forward and back movement (preventing lateral ankle instability), and the first metatarsal osteotomy helped lift the inside of my foot allowing it to sit in more of a flat neutral alignment. After what seemed like an endless amount of physical therapy, the final result was visible. Damn, was I impressed. My foot was more flat, stable, and very strong.

So naturally, my next question was "When do we do the other foot?" I was so happy with the result of the first surgery, I couldn't wait to get the second surgery out of the way and be left with two good feet. So we scheduled the surgery out way in advance for the summer between undergrad and graduate school. I figured this would be the best way to ensure I had a proper chance to recover. It had always seemed so far away until bam, I was sitting in pre-op waiting to go into the operating room wondering where the time had gone. Welp, at this point, there was no turning back.

So I groggily woke up with my foot wrapped up an an ace bandage. Once again, they shoved so much padding around my ankle that it was the size of a basketball. I looked so attractive. At this point, I still had a nerve block and so I didn't feel any pain (I didn't feel my leg at all for that matter). According to the doctor, it was a success. He did the exact same surgery as last time, but was fairly confident he got an even better result in terms of ankle alignment. My first surgery had great alignment, but he was determined to get it perfect this time. So far, it appears he did.

Side note: If any of you get nervous about dating with CMT, date a doctor (or med student). Not only do they know what CMT is, but they come, cookies in hand, to visit you at the hospital. On top of that, they lay with you in bed until you fall asleep. I'm starting to realize this has nothing to do with him being a med student, but rather that he is just a remarkably wonderful guy.

So anyway, dealing with the pain, I headed home from the hospital. Turns out, I don't get along with narcotics (that's a story for another day) so I just took some Tylenol and dealt with it. A few days later, I went in to the doctor for him to check on the healing progress, and to get my hard cast. They took some x-rays, and confirmed that everything looked great. So that's where I am currently. I go back in about a week to get my stitches out and to get a new cast. Six weeks after the surgery date, provided the surgeon notices substantial fusion in all the important places, I should begin to bear weight in a walking cast. From there, physical therapy starts. I'll keep y'all up to date as things progress!

Take a look at some of the pics below. One is of my left foot (2012 surgery) and the other is my right. And then, last is that wonderful guy I told you about. :)

Until next time, y'all.

Joey