March 2017
Recap of my injuries [from post #7] after surgery
The first time I fell was at home about 3½ weeks after surgery: my toes hit the floor with force. The second time I fell was on concrete porch steps a few days later: the bottom of my cast thudded down on the cement. I had become quite active on one leg before my falls: vacuuming, cleaning the floors with a Swiffer mop, going up and down the stairs, showering at least twice a week with a bag over my cast, yoga, and more. Both times that I fell were a result of being careless, rather than from doing too much. Neither fall happened when I was performing any type of feat; I was standing in the living room next to the knee walker the first time, and I was going up two porch steps the second time. I had done both of these things numerous times before.
Pain
The pain and tingling in my foot was much worse after my second fall. The fall itself did not hurt as much the second time; however, the pain got worse as time went on, rather than better. In fact, a few days after this, I took a couple of Norco pills I'd had leftover after surgery, since I had not taken them all then. My foot throbbed when I first got up in the morning, and it throbbed within five minutes anytime I got up to move around. I could no longer bend my big toe without using my fingers, and I had been able to do so before my falls.
Initially, I thought the pain and tingling was just a setback in my recovery because of the trauma to my foot. After the third day, I thought the pain felt worse than it had after surgery. It was actually difficult to judge the pain for sure, since I had been taking Norco for three days following the surgery, which dulled the pain. I called the doctor's office five days after my second fall, and they scheduled an appointment for two days later.
Podiatrist visit
The morning of my appointment, my foot finally felt like the pain and throbbing was subsiding. Since the state of my foot was still worse than it had been at the end of the third week following surgery, I decided to keep the appointment.
Before I met with the doctor, I met with a fabulous intern, who was filling in from another office. He asked a lot of questions about my situation, took notes, and then he took X-rays. When the doctor came in, he said everything looked good on the X-rays. After he examined my foot and asked a few questions, he decided to remove my cast to make sure everything was okay. I was glad he did, because his thoroughness put me more at ease, and I am pretty sure my cost for this visit would have been the same either way.
It felt great to have the cast off, even if it was for only 10 minutes. While I waited, I spent that time rotating and wiggling my ankle, since I was not able to move the ankle much with the cast on. My leg and foot were nasty dry and scaly under the cast! The doctor and nurse both said this looked normal. I asked about my pinky toe pressing up against the next toe, because these toes had not looked like this before being wrapped up so tight together. The doctor did not sound like this was a concern, so I am hopeful they will return to normal once I start walking without my toes wrapped up.
The doctor did not say anything about what kind of injuries my foot had sustained or whether the falls had caused any setbacks in my recovery time. He basically just said that everything looked okay, and that I needed another cast put on until my 6-week checkup. He told me to continue to move all of my toes back and forth (using my hand, if I needed to) several times a day. I asked about the incision pain around my toe, and I inquired how I should be caring for the area. He did not specifically tell me how to care for this, although after I told him I had been gently washing it with cotton balls or swabs, and then applying aloe, he said that was fine. He did not sound like the incision pain was a concern, even though this pain had become worse after my second fall.
I asked if I could have a shorter cast put on this time, and the doctor said yes. I think the height of the new cast turned out a bit shorter than it should have been, although it was still better than the taller one. I could now moisturize and care for most of my leg, and the cast weighed less than half as much as the taller one! It took about three days of cleansing, exfoliating, and moisturizing the newly exposed skin before the scaliness went away.
Before I left the office, I thought the new cast felt too tight, just as the previous cast had been before it had been sawn. The medical assistant told me the same thing everyone had said when I expressed this before; to come back in if I needed to. The cast was only going to be on for about 10 days before my 6-week checkup, and I hoped it would be okay until then. She told me the doctor usually puts a walking cast on at 6 weeks. I had viewed many kinds of walking casts online, so I asked the doctor if the walking cast would be an actual cast. He sounded like I could get some kind of removable support, so I am looking forward to that! 𝩬𝩬𝩬😃
If you do a lot of activity without wearing long pants, I suggest covering or padding your knee. I did not initially think about this, and I started to get callus on my knee from the yoga and cleaning I was doing. The knee walker was soft, except where the company logo was imprinted. Some of the carpet in our home is berber, which is a bit rough on bare skin. I usually wore a dress, skirt, or wide leg capris, so my knee was often exposed. After I noticed the rough skin, I started wrapping my knee before I did yoga or any floor cleaning.
My discomfort did not occur because I was not caring for my foot as I should. I always sat with my leg elevated, I iced my leg every 20 minutes, I did leg lifts and bends every hour, and I drank plenty of water to make sure I was not retaining water. Until I went through this experience with a cast covering my foot, ankle, and leg, I had no idea how uncomfortable this would be.
Today is exactly one week before my six-week checkup. As long as I am able to stop the tingling and discoloration in my foot and toes with exercise (even if I have to do it every hour), I plan to tolerate the cast until then. I wish I had completely trusted God, instead of only partially, when I made the extra trips to the doctor after falling. This week, I am completely trusting my foot condition to God, and I am not going to see the doctor until my regularly scheduled visit.
My next post will be:
Before I met with the doctor, I met with a fabulous intern, who was filling in from another office. He asked a lot of questions about my situation, took notes, and then he took X-rays. When the doctor came in, he said everything looked good on the X-rays. After he examined my foot and asked a few questions, he decided to remove my cast to make sure everything was okay. I was glad he did, because his thoroughness put me more at ease, and I am pretty sure my cost for this visit would have been the same either way.
 |
| In doctor's office, immediately after cast was removed |
It felt great to have the cast off, even if it was for only 10 minutes. While I waited, I spent that time rotating and wiggling my ankle, since I was not able to move the ankle much with the cast on. My leg and foot were nasty dry and scaly under the cast! The doctor and nurse both said this looked normal. I asked about my pinky toe pressing up against the next toe, because these toes had not looked like this before being wrapped up so tight together. The doctor did not sound like this was a concern, so I am hopeful they will return to normal once I start walking without my toes wrapped up.
The doctor did not say anything about what kind of injuries my foot had sustained or whether the falls had caused any setbacks in my recovery time. He basically just said that everything looked okay, and that I needed another cast put on until my 6-week checkup. He told me to continue to move all of my toes back and forth (using my hand, if I needed to) several times a day. I asked about the incision pain around my toe, and I inquired how I should be caring for the area. He did not specifically tell me how to care for this, although after I told him I had been gently washing it with cotton balls or swabs, and then applying aloe, he said that was fine. He did not sound like the incision pain was a concern, even though this pain had become worse after my second fall.
 |
| New cast |
I asked if I could have a shorter cast put on this time, and the doctor said yes. I think the height of the new cast turned out a bit shorter than it should have been, although it was still better than the taller one. I could now moisturize and care for most of my leg, and the cast weighed less than half as much as the taller one! It took about three days of cleansing, exfoliating, and moisturizing the newly exposed skin before the scaliness went away.
Before I left the office, I thought the new cast felt too tight, just as the previous cast had been before it had been sawn. The medical assistant told me the same thing everyone had said when I expressed this before; to come back in if I needed to. The cast was only going to be on for about 10 days before my 6-week checkup, and I hoped it would be okay until then. She told me the doctor usually puts a walking cast on at 6 weeks. I had viewed many kinds of walking casts online, so I asked the doctor if the walking cast would be an actual cast. He sounded like I could get some kind of removable support, so I am looking forward to that! 𝩬𝩬𝩬😃
Activity
I did not initially increase my activity this week like I had planned to, because my foot throbbed so much after the second fall, and I was being cautious. After my visit to the doctor, I resumed the yoga and toe exercises I had been doing. After just 24 hours, I had more strength in my big toe, and I was able to bend it slightly without using my fingers. This continued to improve, although I still could not bend my toes like I could on my other foot. Part of this was due to the tight cast; I could feel my toe knuckles tight against the inside of the cast when I bent my toes forward. |
| Callus starting to form on my knee |
If you do a lot of activity without wearing long pants, I suggest covering or padding your knee. I did not initially think about this, and I started to get callus on my knee from the yoga and cleaning I was doing. The knee walker was soft, except where the company logo was imprinted. Some of the carpet in our home is berber, which is a bit rough on bare skin. I usually wore a dress, skirt, or wide leg capris, so my knee was often exposed. After I noticed the rough skin, I started wrapping my knee before I did yoga or any floor cleaning.
Cast comfort
Although the decreased weight of the smaller cast made it more comfortable, the tightness was unbearable. I have read many, many posts from people who had to go back to have their cast loosened or redone. I also saw videos and read comments from people who removed their cast at home because it was unbearable! It sounds like having a cast that is too tight is a common problem. Someone at my doctor's office always told me to just come back, if I needed to. I had to make an appointment, if I wanted to return to have my cast loosened or redone. Why should patients have to do this? I do not understand why this is so difficult to get right (or, even close). I understand if there is swelling after the cast is put on; however, swelling was not an issue when I had my small cast put on, and it was still too tight. Both times that I had my cast put on, it felt like the cast tightened as it dried. It seems like someone would have come up with something that could have been held along the bottom of my foot and/or back of my leg while the padding and cast material was applied, and then removed afterward, if the material shrinks as it dries. Something like this could provide an inch or so of extra room. And, it would eliminate the patient needing to return to have the cast sawed to expand it. |
| Photo of first cast after it had been sawn to loosen - click photo to enlarge |
My discomfort did not occur because I was not caring for my foot as I should. I always sat with my leg elevated, I iced my leg every 20 minutes, I did leg lifts and bends every hour, and I drank plenty of water to make sure I was not retaining water. Until I went through this experience with a cast covering my foot, ankle, and leg, I had no idea how uncomfortable this would be.
Today is exactly one week before my six-week checkup. As long as I am able to stop the tingling and discoloration in my foot and toes with exercise (even if I have to do it every hour), I plan to tolerate the cast until then. I wish I had completely trusted God, instead of only partially, when I made the extra trips to the doctor after falling. This week, I am completely trusting my foot condition to God, and I am not going to see the doctor until my regularly scheduled visit.
My next post will be:
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