The recovery

Ok...here's the kicker...the recovery. 2 weeks in a splint, 6 weeks in a cast, you must keep it elevated and you are only allowed to get up out of that position to go to the bathroom. That's it. The recovery was/is long and rough. Not only are you healing bone, but tendon, muscle and incisions. I also have fibromyalgia which made laying around in bed quite tough! I stayed in bed for 2 whole weeks, and then I felt confident enough to move to the futon during the day. The first two weeks, I had no pain thanks to the pain killers.  It was very nice.

I found it very helpful to have a laptop beside my bed as well as a phone, TV remotes, all my meds, a calender and other things to keep me occupied.  My mother in law (bless her soul!) came to our house every day to help me with sponge baths, fix my food and keep me company.  The more people that can come over to visit, the better.  It will keep your mind off your foot.

Every time I got up to change locations or use the bathroom, I could feel the fluids just rushing right into the foot.  The toes turned red and purple and it started to throb.  Believe me, elevating it was the best position for it and usually I couldn't wait to get it back up there and let it drain.  The pressure is incredible.

Here I am a few days after the surgery with the splint on elevating my foot. I stayed in this bed for 2 solid weeks.

Here I am with my faithful "helper" dog on the futon. It was so good to have a place to lay during the day.  My pets were a wonderful source of compassion, amusement and comfort during my time in bed.