Day 11

I've been living with my folks since the surgery as they have more time to help me, but tomorrow I'm going home. That is exciting for many reasons. I've missed my husband and dogs and just my home. I'm ready to be back in my space. It's a bit scary because my husband works long hours and I know, whether he's there or not, I'll end up doing more and I know that means swelling and pain.

I've been up more today. I had my second shower (woo hoo!), packed a few things and moved about a bit. We'll see how the foot feels after that. Last shower day was rough by the end of the day.

So, how does the foot feel? I'm still on two Tylenol every six hours and, 90% of the time, one 5 mg Oxycodone. Occasionally I take two. I take the Oxy every 3 to 4 hours. If I wait longer than 4 hours, I still get too much breakthrough pain. Amazing! I've had a lot of surgeries - one was a four step gut surgery done over about eight months. I was always off the meds after a week. Not so this time. If I'm up for 20 minutes or so, the foot begins to swell a bit and my toes get tingly. I also get a burning in the toe next to the big one - all toes except the big one have metal pins hanging out of them to keep the toes straight. Usually the outside of the foot by the ankle bone aches, but today the inside hurt. Weird. I am also getting occasional heel pain. That ends to be sharp and stabbing. None of this pain is unbearable except for the time I think I forgot my meds. The pain is the thing that reminds me not to overdo it. Last night my leg twitched and shuddered inside the cast and that hurt! It took a bit of deep breathing to relax and get back to sleep. Unlike some people, I've slept pretty well. I can usually sleep anywhere, anytime, so I didn't anticipate sleep issues, but you never know.

Pain - 2