My foot was a little stiff and sore this morning and although I did my ten reps of gentle, non-assisted, stretching in bed, I was running late when I got up and didn't get a chance to do the more thorough stretching before we left. Not my ideal situation but my husband had a deadline and we needed to get going.
It was cold this morning so I really wanted to get a pair of socks on in the New Balance slip ons. The first pair I tried, a very lightweight cashmere made the fit too tight. I was quite uncomfortable before I even stood up. So I switched to some light weight knee high opaque socks and that was better although still not as comfortable as the shoe was yesterday with no socks. Not sure if my foot is swollen or just that little room taken up by the sock makes that big of a difference.
Managed to walk several blocks from the car to the farmers' market and navigate another 4 blocks or so through the market and then back to the car. Luckily, it was early and not too crowded so I wasn't so paranoid about someone stepping on my foot. I wasn't walking at my normal clip but I wasn't shuffling either. By the time we got to the car the top of my foot was pretty sore. Kind of feeling like the skin was being pulled off. Maybe it's the waterproof tape I added to the edge of the steri strips before I took a shower last night. The joint was a little achy as well. But then again probably nothing much worse than when the joint flared up before the surgery.
First shower without my foot wrapped up was uneventful. Felt good to scrub my foot thoroughly after two weeks of not being washed. The incision didn't burn like some do when water hits them. The warm water felt good. I'm finding cold feet tend to aggravate the achiness.
On a different note, I don't think I talked about how I chose my surgeon. I'm a big chicken about surgery but also a big believer that if I have to do it, I want someone who has done thousands of exactly what I'm having done. I also looked for someone who does a lot of work on people whose livelihoods depend on their feet getting fixed right--like professional sports players and dancers. So instead of going with my local podiatrist, who I happen to like and who first diagnosed the condition, or a surgeon at our local hospital, I decided to go to a major orthopedic center at a major medical center in the city. The orthopedic surgeon I chose specializes in foot and ankle surgery--in fact, I think that's all he does. He's been in the business for some time so I figure he's seen it all. So far, I've been quite satisfied. I didn't really expect to be walking as far as I did today just two weeks after my surgery. I'm hoping that's a good sign.
Went to the garden center this afternoon. I find walking behind a shopping cart easier than walking unaided. My gait seems almost normal. I think it's because I know if I get a shot of pain I have something to hang on to and won't end up going down.
Worked for a couple of hours in the garden, planting and weeding. My foot did pretty good. Really didn't think about it too much. Then right as I was ready to head in I stepped down and got a real intense jolt of pain through the joint. Hobbled in and up the stairs pretty much walking on my heel since it hurt to put any pressure on the joint. I got the ice pack out and iced the top of my foot and put it up for about 20 minutes. It took about 10 minutes for the pain to subside but I got occasional throbs for the next hour.
Although a little concerned about that little episode, after dinner my foot was feeling better so decided to try to do part of the usual 3 mile walk my husband and I had been doing prior to my surgery. It was a nice evening so out we headed. I decided my goal was to do the entire distance and back along one of the streets on our walk. It is fairly level with a good walking surface. Probably about a mile. My gait wasn't perfect and I wasn't moving at my usual speed but I was able to do it! Set a goal for doing the whole three mile walk by next week at this time.
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