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Cheilectomy 4 months

 Gosh, four month mark already. Well, here's the update: the toe seems worse than it was at 3 months. Though in a way I think it's hard to tell whether it's just worse, or just different.

The obvious clanger has been Covid-19 which I caught at the start of November and which had me off my feet (and pretty much in bed) for the best part of a week. After that it was a further week or so before I started to feel fit enough to resume the daily walks. Right away the toe was niggly. In fact, during the peak infection time with Covid and while I was laid up, I had stabbing pains in the toe joint where I had surgery. I also had similar in odd joints around the body - left shoulder, right knee, left wrist - which cleared up after a few days once I started to recover. I've read that this can be a symptom of the Omicron variant of the disease, so I'm guessing Covid is the chief suspect in all of this.

Maybe also, being suddenly laid up and off my feet for almost two weeks at a crucial point in my surgery recovery has been detrimental or set me back. Either way, I'm experience pain in the join again which is definitely worse than just before getting Covid. Doh!

I'm not into my fourth week since getting infected and I'm creeping back up to around the 4/5 mile mark a day and I think it's getting a little better. So I'm hoping it's just a blip and not a long-term set-back. I have to keep reminding myself that it's still only 4 months. 

So specifically, this is where I'm at. I'm still in the orange trainers. I tried to wear my walking boots or another kind of shoe - mainly because it's winter now here in the northern hemisphere and wet and muddy, - but it just wasn't working. I think the toe joint is more swollen again than pre-covid, although that does appear to be getting less again. The colder weather could be an issue too maybe. Dorsal flexion is ok, planter flexion still limited and a little more sore. I think the area around the top of the toe that's been completely numb since the surgery is waking up a bit, I can feel when I run my finger over the scar now - not pleasant - and maybe the waking up is why I feel like I'm experiencing more pain because I can actually feel the toe a bit more now!

What with the vertigo left over from Covid and the tenderness and pain I'm feeling in the toe, I haven't been back to yoga and that's a shame because I really need to be doing something with the whole body now to get it moving. I've completely abandoned any idea of playing tennis for a while, no way is the toe going to be able to do that - just too sore for sudden flexing on that joint. 

So, it's back to patience, patience, patience. Hoping that by month 6 - month 5 is only a couple of weeks away so don't have huge expectations for big improvements by then - but by month 6, maybe I'll be checking in here with some good news. 

Watch this space!



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