There are so many questions going into this surgery. Since we are removing a bone from both feet, I couldn't help but think of the repercussions if the surgery went poorly. With that in mind, the search was on.
Some questions I tried my best to answer were:
Who would be the best qualified to do this surgery? Podiatrist or Orthopedic surgeon?
I came to the conclusion that a podiatrist would be better because they deal specifically with the foot, and would probably have more experience in dealing with this condition.
When reading reviews, what do you believe and not believe?
When reading reviews about doctors I found that reviews can sometimes be misleading, so I went with my gut. The doctor we chose does these surgeries all the time and it showed. He was quick and clear with his instructions and the scaring is minimal. I am not one for long doctor visits, so this doctor was a great fit for us.
BELOW:
Dr. Flitton was great. He sat down and talked to her. He told her exactly what to expect. He was clear and direct and also had a little bit of that dad-quality that always puts a child of this age at ease.
WEEK 1-2: SURGERY & TEMPORARY BANDAGES
DAY 1
We were up around 6am and made it to our appt. at 7:45am. She wore comfy clothes and as instructed, she wore pants that were wide at the bottom so they would fit around her bandages.
Oh my goodness, the footage of her waking up will keep us entertained for years to come. It was so bizarre and hilarious. So be sure to have your cameras ready for some hilarious family treasures. She cringes every time we watch her videos, but they are too good to not watch. Her younger brother can often be found with my phone watching these videos over and over again, laughing. ;)
DAY 2
ICE~ELEVATE~MEDS
This day was quite painful even though we stayed on top of her pain meds. We found that icing her feet worked best at relieving the pain. And, for some odd reason her big toe throbbed and putting a cold wet paper towel on it helped. (?)
Going to and from the bathroom was a task we often talked about and thought about, but never really came up with a firm plan. I just figured that Max or Steve would take her, as she is about 1/3 their weight and half their height. The biggest problem is that we live in a house built in the early 1900's and the halls are tiny. So as Max and Steve would carry her, her feet would inevitably hit a corner or wall. All it took was one time of her feet hitting the wall, no matter how gently, for her to not allow these guys to carry her anywhere in the house. I was the only one that was low enough to the ground that she felt safe to piggy-back on... lucky moi!
Day 3:
GETTING BRACES & BANDAGES
There was still quite a bit of pain on day 3, in fact we found this to be a regular pattern. Each time we progressed onto the next step, there was about 3 days of pain and adjustment. At this point the bandages were removed, the doctor checked out the stitches and then put on mini-casts to keep her feet at a right angle. Because we were religious about elevating and icing her feet, they looked really good, with hardly any swelling!
These bandages stayed on for 2 week.
She let her dad carry her outside of the tiny hallways.
CHRISTMAS!
For Christmas morning the kids slept in the basement family room so she wouldn't be alone. Her big brother carried her up the long basement stairs to see the gifts left by Santa the night before. (I HUNG UP THIS DOOR-WAY TINSEL JUST TO MAKE THINGS FESTIVE...and I found it while putting things away and thought it'd be funny to hang up).
Week 3-6: CASTS, CRUTCHES, WHEELCHAIR & SCHOOL
A little over 2 weeks after she had surgery, her braces and bandages were removed and she had casts put on. She was very excited for this step because she wanted the freedom to walk around. But, as with the previous stages she had a few days of pain and adjustment ahead of her. Again, because we were diligent in icing and elevating, her feet had little to no swelling and the incisions were healing nicely.
She didn't want me to post the picture of her crying, but I figured it was important for someone going into this recovery to know that at each stage, there is quite a bit of pain and tenderness that goes along with the territory. The good news is that it really is very temporary.
As expected, her feet hurt quite a bit for the next three days. We made sure to ice and elevate regularly and gave her ibuprofen when needed for pain.
The day after getting her crutches from grandma, she returned to school. We would have returned earlier but because of Christmas break she has only missed 3-4 days of school. She had 3 designated girls who helped her get around. They were so kind and considerate and made her life at school so much easier.
Week 6, she had her casts taken off!
YAY!
I mean, ewwww...
...um... yuck...
(Read below to see our biggest oh-no-no of this entire process)
We were so good at following the rules that I began to think we were pros at this, and then her casts came of ...
Yuck, what was I thinking? In retrospect I keep wondering how didn't pick up on this? If I had I seen her even once itching her foot from the bottom of her casts, I would have stopped it. Oh well, it has been 2 days since taking her casts off and they already look better.
We are currently on day 3 after getting her casts removed and she is still in pain. Once again, the pattern remains of 2-3 days of pain and adjustment (at least for us, I'm sure everyone is a little different). But she now knows if she can push through these few days she'll feel much better in no time.
She is still using her crutches and will need just one more solid day at home elevating her feet before returning to school. We will continue to keep you updated
In conclusion here are a few things to remember:
Before Surgery:
-Rent a wheel chair and bring it with you to the surgery.
-Make sure you have a supply of ice packs, preferably 2 sets so you can alternate them.
-ICE ICE & more ICE (that was the key to relieving pain and reducing swelling).
-Wear pants with wide legs so they will fit around your bandages.
-bring ibuprofen
After surgery:
-a place to lay down that is very comfortable, because you'll be there for a long time.
-If you buy a recliner (which I suggest, you can find inexpensive ones the internet or a big box store) make sure it is powered, not manual. This was a nice feature, just in case her body got achy in one position it was easy to adjust the levels with a remote. Also, the adjustments were smooth and gentle.
-no matter how good you think you are doing, don't try and move around a bunch. Each time this happened, we paid for it at the end of the night (her feet were aching).
