The Holidays are here! I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
It is now about 10 weeks post-op and everything is still going well. I got another set of X-rays on my feet and Dr. Wu has said all my bone positions are still looking good. Unfortunately, I was not able to get just one X-ray image with both feet (something to do with how they bill and code X-rays...sigh...), so I had to take two images, one of each foot. Cost more $$ but what can I do? See below for my current X-Rays.
My casts are still fairly secure so I have not been able to take them off, which of course means I still cannot wet my feet. Dr. Wu said I should not remove the casts until they slip off very easily. If I remove the casts too soon, then they will be difficult to put back on. My toe bending exercises are getting easier. I find that both my right and left foot are getting more flexible and it is easier to get them into the 90 degree positions.
I had to also start a new big toe exercise, which Dr. Wu says is to help strengthen the big toe muscles and also help me learn to walk again in the correct way. As I mentioned before, I've been mainly using the front padded portion under my toes to walk, which helped alleviate the pain from the bunion. Now that I have better bone alignment, I can use my big toe for walking, which is apparently how proper walking should be. This new big toe exercise involves me placing the toes of both feet on top of a thin book. I then contract my toes as tight as possible, with emphasis on putting weight specifically on the big toes. I lean forward (or as Rachel says - the Michael Jackson defying gravity move) to add more weight to the big toes, and hold this position for 1-2 min. I'm supposed to do this exercise 10 times a day, but I haven't been able to accomplish that as of yet. Work has been quite busy and I've only been able to do the exercise about 4 times a day. Somehow my routine needs to change to increase the frequency of this exercise.
The other good news is that I'm starting to see some of my calluses disappear! I'm so excited about that as I've never thought they would go away. It is fascinating to see the changes that are happening. I look forward to all the different milestones that will be coming from this recovery.
Because I have been staying off my feet so well, Dr. Wu has given me the okay to stop using my crutches or wheelchair while I'm walking around my office area - as long as I walk very slowly. This is to help increase the amount of weight bearing steps and hopefully will make it easier for me to transition out of the cast in another few weeks. Transitioning out of the casts will need to be done carefully as there is a risk of fracturing the 2nd metatarsal bone if I walk too quickly too soon. That is all the updates I have for now. Will do my best to check in again in a couple weeks.
It is 2-months post-op as of today! Hooray! About 4 more months to go and I'm counting down the days. Of course, I still cannot drive as of yet which is very limiting but understandable. I had asked Dr. Wu when I could start driving and he did not give me a solid answer. He made a good point where if I got into a car accident, and people saw I was in crutches and foot casts, what would they say or think? I doubt my insurance would back me up in this case :-) So, no driving for X number of months....
The day after arriving home, one of the first things we had to do was to pick up the wheelchair that I reserved about two months ago. I reserved a wheelchair where I can wheel myself around, if needed, so I didn't need to rely on people all the time. This wheelchair rental is setup for a monthly payment and costs about $64 per month ($60+taxes). Not too bad and luckily the medical supplies company was not far from where I lived.
The next step was to go see my primary care physician (PCP) so she can check my progress and order my X-rays for the next month. Seeing the clinic at Stanford was a pleasant experience as when I got to the front entrance, we didn't even need to take out my rental wheelchair. They had many wheelchairs available for the patients to use, so the Stanford staff brought a wheelchair around and also wheeled me upstairs to my appointment. Once I was in my appointment, I explained to my PCP how my surgery went and she was quite impressed with the progress and material Dr. Wu and his team provided. My visit ended fairly quickly and again, the staff were courteous enough to roll me back downstairs to the car.
The next day, I headed to the DMV to get a temporary handicap parking placard. I had asked my PCP to help me with this request and this placard is valid during the time I am healing. Definitely make an appointment with the DMV first so you don't have to wait 1.5hrs! They called me up to the window right on time and I was able to complete my task within 30min. This placard has been helpful when handicap spaces are available. It saves you from walking all the long distances just to get to your destination. Walking from one end of a parking lot to the front door can take quite a long time and lots of steps. Granted, you can also use the wheelchair, but having the placard is a plus.
As of today, I have been back to work a little over a week now. It has been an interesting experience, but I think I have now developed a good routine. I get dropped off as close to my office as possible. My rental wheelchair is taken out and I use it to wheel myself to my office. I have awesome co-workers so if any of them happen to see me in the hallway, they are always willing to help wheel me to my office. Having the option to wheel myself is better than not having any ability, but it still takes a long time. Wheeling myself long distances can be tiring so I empathize with those who are in a wheelchair long-term.
When I finally get to my office, I am able to park my wheelchair to the side so it does not take up too much hallway space (wheelchair can fold up quite easily). I use my crutches for short distances and walking into my department. The difficulties I have had is mainly if I need to get to meetings outside my department. This requires extra time and planning and I miss being able to walk/run quickly to a meeting. Today, I lost track of time and was late to a meeting because I had to open the wheelchair, then open the office door, then wheel myself to the other office, open the other office door, wheel myself in, park the wheelchair, and then go into the room for a meeting. Lots of steps to take just to go to a meeting!! I also still walk slow so it takes me longer to go into another area or another office. I try to consolidate my trips when I need to and again, my co-workers have been very helpful and supportive.
As far as my PT exercises, I am not as diligent as I should be, but having my own office helps. When I need to, I can take off my surgical boots and perform my toe stretches. I need to set a schedule for myself to do these stretches, otherwise, they will never get done. I try to do them before I get into work, 1-2 times while I'm at work and then 2-3 times when I get home. I find it easier to control my stretching exercises when I am not at work, but this is probably not good enough. The good news is that I feel my toes are becoming more flexible, so hopefully I'll see more improvement later.
As for swelling, there is barely any swelling seen. I can keep my feet down for quite a long time without any discomfort. At times, there is some tightness around the cast on my left foot, but this tightness is probably from the cast being placed on a little too tight. The cast is slowly becoming more comfortable over time. The cast on my right foot has no issues. The cast also gets a little tight after I shower, probably due to the steam from the shower causing my feet to expand (not sure how true this is)?? I also notice that when I try to do my toe exercises right after I shower, they are not as flexible as during the day. I experience some minor pain when stretching my left toes. My left toes are still tighter than my right toes as they are not as flexible. This "stretching pain" is definitely very tolerable though. I still cannot shower without the foot covers, so the skin on my feet are still quite dry.
Within the next week or two, I'll be taking another X-ray. I'll be sure to post another update afterwards. Happy Holidays to all! Cheers!
It has been 6-weeks since my surgery and I'm going to be posting less frequently now (either every 2 weeks or every month), unless there is some major change. Since my last post, my cast still had not loosened nor fallen off my feet. The cast is supposed to fall off when the swelling decreases, but I don't think I had much swelling to begin with when they placed the casts on my feet. Thus, I don't imagine the casts falling off on their own as I also have not been walking much to change their form. We shall see what happens when I visit Dr. Wu one last time before going home.
One main reason why I would like to remove the casts for a little bit is to change the surgical tape and also wet my feet. Right now, I've been cleaning the exposed areas of my feet with alcohol wipes, but no matter what, it does not feel the same. My feet get itchy because the skin has dried up and using lotion/vaseline only helps so far. Besides those issues, everything else is going well. I can keep my feet down longer now without much swelling, but I continue to elevate my feet when easily possible. I'm also continuing to do my toe exercises and find that the flexibility is improving, but very slowly. My right toes are more flexible than my left toes.
Before I talk about my last visit with Dr. Wu, I have to throw in a food picture. Check out this picture from our Thanksgiving dinner - impressive version of "sweet and sour pork" over ice!
Now back to my visit with Dr. Wu. This past Saturday was my last visit with Dr. Wu before I headed back home to the US. The visit started with Rachel taking me into the X-ray room to perform another X-ray of my feet. The X-ray still looked good so I was happy! Here is an electronic copy of the X-ray.
Afterwards, Rachel gave me instructions for what I should be doing now 1-month post op. Dr. Wu's office has it set up really nice where they provide printed instructions (in both English and Chinese) for you to take with you after each visit. Since I won't be returning to HK until almost a year later, Rachel gave me instructions for all the remaining months. 1-month post op instructions include still not walking too much, doing my toe exercises, and to keep my casts on until they naturally fall off (which unfortunately means I still cannot wet my feet :-( ). They also do not advise using crowded public transportation nor driving at this stage. It is best to have someone drive you to/from places, but I know this can be tough to find someone to help. Luckily my family is helping me with this but I am sure we will run into some issues during the next few months.
After my visit with Rachel, I went into Dr. Wu's office to be fitted for shoe inserts. The inserts are in European sizes, so it is important to know what your size is. Unfortunately, I did not know my European size so I hope the inserts Dr. Wu gave me are okay. He sized them up to my feet, but I will double-check with Rachel anyways. I was fortunate that Dr. Wu decided to take off my casts for a little bit, as he decided to place new casts on my feet. I was happy to finally see what my feet truly look like and also to be able to wipe down my feet. Below are some pictures.
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| Before Surgery |
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| 1.5 month post surgery |
We then went into the next room so Dr. Wu could place new casts on my feet. He also explained how I should tape my feet when the casts come off and when the surgical tape needs to be replaced. Below are some pictures of Dr. Wu placing new casts on my feet, and then the finished product.
Dr. Wu also discussed with me a new exercise I should start doing beginning of the 2nd month. Rachel cleverly called this the Michael Jackson move, where MJ bends forward and defies gravity. Basically, I need to strengthen the muscles in my big toe and to do this, I lean forward, keep my body straight, and place my weight on my big toes. I'll explain more later when I need to start doing the exercises.
Before I left, I took a picture with Rachel and Dr. Wu. Thanked them so much for all their help and I hope to see them again for my 1-year appointment.
Now, its time to fly home! We took a flight on November 30th and the experience was perfectly planned and executed. My uncle drove us to the airport and we used his wheelchair to transport me to the airline check-in counter. There, we confirmed that I had a wheelchair reserved under my name (you can reserve this easily by calling the airline disability line and having them place a note under your reservation). We then waited for the airport wheelchair to come pick me up. We said good-bye and many thanks to my uncle, who then left with his wheelchair.
The HK airport staff were very friendly and prompt. The airport wheelchair arrived as expected and once they transferred me onto it, we were off to go through security and immigration checks. The airport staff wheeled me the entire way through and I also had a special line I could go through (being disabled) so it made the whole process very quick. The airport staff also assisted me with my backpack and computer as we were passing through security (very helpful)!
We had to wait a little bit before our flight so they had to transfer me to a seat for a bit, and then another wheelchair+airport staff came later to wheel me directly to the gate. Once we got to the gate, they had not yet started boarding, but what was great is that we were wheeled past all the lines and got to be the first ones on the plane. Here are some pictures of me waiting to board (and the lines I didn't have to wait in :-P)
Once I boarded, they also helped me put my backpack into the overhead storage bin and I was seated without any issues. My crutches, I asked them to place in the closet to be out of people's way. I had selected a seat very close to the bathroom so I did not need crutches to walk there. I just balanced myself using the airline seats or walls for support. Again, I was fortunate to have a seat where I could elevate my legs during the flight. This made a huge difference as it felt like the altitude may have caused my feet to swell a little. At times, my feet felt uncomfortable as the cast became very tight. Besides that minor discomfort, the flight was very smooth.
When the plane parked at the gate, I let people next to me off the plane first since I had to wait for the wheelchair. The flight attendant came over to re-confirm I needed the wheelchair and shortly after informed me that the wheelchair was at the gate. He brought me my crutches and I was able to exit the plane with no issues (hooray, I was not the last one off the plane :-D). The airport staff then wheeled me off the ramp and to the immigration area. Again, my family and I were able to go through a special line and we passed the immigration checkpoint with no waiting in line. Our luggage took some time to arrive, but fortunately the airport staff stayed with us the entire time and helped us with all our luggage. They then wheeled me the rest of the way out until we were at the airport exit. We still had to call a taxi and the airport staff said that we could continue to use the wheelchair until the taxi picked us up. We just had to leave the wheelchair at a certain location and the airport staff would retrieve the chair later.
Overall, a very pleasant trip home and I'm very happy to be home! Until next time....
