Foot free at last

Posted in: Injury Time

Yesterday my fibreglass cast was sawn off, and the pins pulled out, and I was given another Aircast boot for my right foot, and my physio is my local hospital where the lovely Dawn is training, and I went to the theatre yesterday, and they upgraded me and Adrian to a box seat which I've never been in, and we felt like royalty, and then hung out with and made new friends at the Hayward Gallery, and even got a lift home with two of those very nice new friends, and, and it was all great! Even being stuck in traffic in the morning rocked as I was in a car, seeing buildings and trees and people and stuff.

Phew...
So anyway, my new boot is a size "large" as my foot simply now is bigger than the left. Not exactly sure why, but all the screws and plating might be a clue...

Pic below. Owing to a beginner mistake with my video phone I managed to get it to not take any video of the pin removal which has unfortunately "deprived" the world of seeing my surgeon pull out, with rather gnarly-looking medical pliers, the two 10cm/4" rods from my foot. Which was a shame as his commentary as he tugged the pins out was quite amusing.

All this was done without anaesthetic. He grasped my foot with his firm, sturdy, confident surgeon's left hand, got a solid hold of the pin in the pliers and pulled. And pulled. And then ... ssscchlick it came out immediately followed by a two foot pulsing stream of blood from my anxious pounding heart, liberally spraying the floor, splattering ... No, just kidding. There was some blood but nothing a thick lump of gauze couldn't staunch.

(taken a few weeks ago)

Oh, and then the other pin. My macho points will have to stay as they are, as the whole experience was completely painless even while he was pulling.

My new foot:

It's a big relief. I feel like I'm a bit more in control now too as I'm responsible for its recovery beyond just diet and not stubbing my toes. I had a proper bath too, without the huge cast "sock". Lots of baby oil and soap to remove the layers of dead skin, and I have a shiny new foot! (And going straight to bed after a baby oil bath is never a bad thing...)

The heel is still numb in places, or responds to touch/pressure oddly. More disturbingly, at least for now, is that my little toe motor nerves seem to have been cut/damaged so it can't flex down (as though pressing a key on a piano). It can flex to the side, inwards, but not down. I really hope that comes back! Especially since once of my party tricks was being able to move my little toe independently from the rest. Actually, I've never demonstrated that at a party. But I might want to!

All the joints and tendons are stiff as hell. It's a little more than barely mobile. Well, that's 6wks in a cast + surgery I guess.

Assuming the Royal MFail can do their job, I'll have my crutches tomorrow. They're bronze. Exactly like pimp canes. I'm going to stick plastic diamonds on them.

Make me some money, ho!

Posted by Paul Makepeace at July 15, 2005 18:52 | TrackBack