Feet Surgery and a Scare

January 30th 2012

I did it!  The unbearable and the most dreaded surgery.  

Bunion removal.  On BOTH feet!

We felt like January was a good month for that.  Kids in school, cold weather.  A great time to have to stay inside.

This was my very first time going under the knife!  I was so scared!  But my podiatrist, who happens to be the doc for the Utah Jazz team and my Stake Patriarch, reassured me that I would not die from a blood clot. :)

When I asked him if he was saying that as a Doctor or my Stake Patriarch, he said,

"Both".

So I felt like I was in good hands. :)

My nurse used to be a hair client of mine, Patti. 

 It was good to see her again and she took great care of me. 

I felt great the day of surgery, it was a same-day procedure.  Drugs are amazing!

The next day was a killer!  I had to walk on my feet for a total of 45 minutes in 5 minutes increments!  Youch!

Each day I had to increase my walking time by five minutes.  So I wore a stop watch around my neck every time I got up to count the minutes.  

My Doc told me I'd recover much faster if I could push myself through those first few days. 

 Frankie got a cold so we did a lot of this.  

There were so many thoughtful people who brought our family meals and helped with our kids!

 This is a terrible pic of me but I just loved staying in bed, not putting on make-up and watching Downton Abbey 1st and 2nd season.  

I was supposed to catch up on blogging but I was too distracted with that good show!

But I did back-up all my photos.

I love the random things collected on my night stand.  

Show much going on.  

My meds and Frankie was sick: a pulse ox, a thermometer, Tylenol and a binky will do the trick for him.

Tape and a barbie shoe?

My kids were always hopping in bed to cuddle me or fighting over who got to serve me my meals.

 I seriously loved all my cuddle time with this one!

 I had to get creative with bathing.  Is this TMI?  

Lookin' good!

And for the not so faint hearted.....

My incisions

The one on the left is called neuroma which is now fixed permanently too.

Overall this surgery isn't any more painful than most(I would think).  The hardest part for me was the lengthy recovery!
I wore the medical shoes (no boots) for 2 weeks and then was allowed to wear running shoes for 4 weeks after that.  But still, 4 months later, no bare feet.  See, loooong recovery! It's coming though.  I feel okay walking barefoot, not 100%, but I'm SUPER nervous someone is going to bump my feet.  So shoes is my preference.  It took a good 2 months to feel back to normal in shoes.  The time spent on my feet was a slow progression.

I was super eager to get back in the grove of life.  Thankfully it's all behind me now.  Which is why I did both feet because my doctor told me that I would not go back to do the other.
Boy was he right.

*****

Two weeks after my surgery, we went down for a Sunday visit to my parents.  Upon arrival, My mom called us in quickly to come see my dad.  He suddenly was not feeling well and was lying on the couch.  His hands were tingly, blurred vision and having a hot flash.  A stroke, heart attack, allergic reaction?  We had no idea what was happening to him.  But whatever it was, it was progressing fast.

So we decided to rush him to the hospital.  While my mom and Kevin are guiding him on the sidewalk to the driveway and I'm on the phone to 911, he collapses.  Kevin was able to catch him but the (forever) vision I have of my father who looked dead in my husbands and mothers arms will forever haunt me.  Legs buckled, arms dangling to his sides, eyes and mouth locked open.  Shiver.

The panic, the tears, the screams for an ambulance to get here fast.  Those 4 minutes of waiting seemed like an eternity!  Who knew where my 4 kids were or what they were doing.  My dad came to, just as the ambulance arrived and was able to talk and remember his name etc... Feeling relieved for help, we came inside to check on the kids to find my 3 little sweeties are on their knees in a circle in prayer with many tears.  They had witnessed it all.

What a scare!  The diagnosis:  an Allergic Reaction!!!!

20% of people die from those and we feel SO lucky it didn't take my dad!

He took one bite of some potatoes he made the kids (the instant potato pearl kind) and that did it.  It was a preservative that is no longer made (thank goodness) that was in the potatoes.  

The funny thing is we never eat those kind.  My dad usually makes his yummy home made mashed potatoes.

I share this story because this was just the start of the domino effect of the medical scares I've had in the last 4 months.  To much for me!!

I'm so grateful that my dad is okay!  It could have been much, much worse and I can't even think of the what if's!  It made me have so much compassion for those who experience any type of loss.  Especially if they have to witness it!