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Cheilectomy - Day 16

Had a walk-in shower today. Hoorah! Then did the first of the exercises - pushing the toe back and forth. Had to put a dressing on the wound because it's still weeping, and then got a lift out to sit on a bench and watch the view while a mate walked the dog. 


I guess I had worked myself up to the milestone that was yesterday, without much thought as to what comes next. So in my mind I was going to be doing a 5K walk already and just getting back to normal. Boy, how wrong was I. Once I had got round the fact that it's going to be AT LEAST another 2-3 weeks before I can hope to even get to walking far, and that this is NORMAL, I reset my expectations and got over my disappointment. 

Right now I feel more sore and more vulnerable when I'm walking than I have been the last few days scooting around in my surgical shoe. But that's NORMAL. The consultant encouraged me to start to walk around gently on the foot, that it will be sore at first, and I should be realistic in my expectations for the next couple of weeks. The swelling could last months, and the soreness and stiffness WILL ease, so long as I take it easy, elevate the foot, and make sure I do the flexing exercises to get the joint moving.

It's going to hurt - it's only 2 weeks from being operated on - but it's normal at this stage. I mustn't let it put me off. It will get better. 



It's been really helpful re-reading various people's experience of the same or similar surgeries to help me formulate that my progress is pretty normal and that I should see swelling going down gradually, some flex returning, and the soreness going away. So here are a couple of links to other people's blogs that I've found helpful. 


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