“You put the left foot in and ya shake it all about…”

It’s been 7 years since I’ve written in WordPress and I suppose time really had gotten away from me.  Perhaps it was a little writer’s block, if you will, but I thought I’d give it another dabble and exercise the brain.

The skinny lately is all about the left foot that has been a Pain (quite literally) since a Summer fall, about 8 years ago now.  An avulsion fracture that took about 6 weeks to heal, complete with a stylish walking boot.  In the course of that injury, the arch in the foot had fallen, which caused an array of other problems down the road.

Fast forward to earlier this year when a surgery was done to try to remove 2 very angry nerves in the foot, suspected as neuromas.  This surgery was supposed to be the end to 8 years of incredible pain while walking or standing for long periods of time.  Sadly, this may have been a misdiagnosis – since neuroma were not visible on the ordered ultrasound pre-surgery.

8 months later, as pain continued and never improved, I sought out a 2nd opinion.  According to the X-rays and MRI, there was a lot missed from Doc number 1.  There was a tear in the plantar plate, caused by dysfunction of the foot that wouldn’t have been a problem had the arch not fallen 8 years prior.  Crazy, right?

So surgery #2 was done to repair the plantar plate, as well as an osteotomy to correct an aggravating hammer toe and a fusion for the 1st tarsal metatarsal that was not stable. If fusion goes well, I can expect the first 3 months to be the hardest. It will be 6-12 months before I’m completely back to normal functions of the foot. There will still be pain, swelling and frustration in those 6-12 months – but I’m well aware because the Doc gave it in straight terms. You get your life back in a year, pretty much.

I’ve been trying to keep it on a positive path, but I will say there are emotions involved with having to get a 2nd surgery because things were ‘missed’ the first time around.  That was 8 months of time that I kept thinking the increased pain would eventually stop, things would come full circle and I’d feel better. I had no idea that the biggest culprit in the issue was definitely not a couple of nerves in the foot. No, they were simply firing because of other dysfunctions in said foot.

This road will be a long one and I’m sure I’ll have bad days, but right now I’m envisioning Thanksgiving time of 2020 and how different my life could potentially be without pain. The thought of walking more than 3 aisles of the grocery store pain-free or even the goal of a 5k as a reward makes me happy.

I have put a countdown on my cast for when it comes off (4 days left) and I’ll go in a medical boot that can be removed at bedtime.  I’m searching for small pockets of joy in this process and a boot-free foot at bedtime gives me reason to smile. 🙂

One day at a time, one foot literally in front of the other…for the next 50-ish weeks.

 

 

 

Giving Thanks

‘Tis the season of all the feel goods in the world, so I wanted to jot it down on paper (does this count?)

So – in no particular order, I’m Thankful for:

1.)  A man that I’ve loved for 17 years and can still give me butterflies with a kiss. His intelligence is sexy and I still can’t get over how compatible we still are, this many years into a relationship. I’m so grateful that we didn’t cash in the chips when times were hard, because we have really turned us into something valuable.

2.) Real Hugs. Big, wrap-your-arms-around-someone Hugs. There are so many healing benefits from touch, it’s amazing.

3.) Facebook. There are times I feel like tossing it and returning to simple phone, hand-written notes and face-to-face contact. Then I realize there are not enough minutes in a day to establish that with as many folks as I do now with the online community of friends, family, colleagues. In short, Facebook is a convenience that I can live without but choose to keep.

4.) Massage Therapy as a career. I could go on and on in a whole separate blog on this (and have) but suffice to say, there has never been a career in my life that has been this rewarding and gives back to me as much as I put in. I’m in love with everything about it and hope my body can withstand another 30 years easily.

5.) Chocolate.  I’ve never tasted something that can be so versatile and spine-tingling delicious. It really should have it’s own food group, that’s a given.

6.) Christmas Lights. It’s one of the simple pleasures and I feel like a 12 year old all over again during the Holiday season, gawking at the beauty of lit houses all in a row. I’m especially fond of the dancing lights – the ones where you can tune in to a radio station and the lights coordinate with the music. You can actually find some near you through this site: http://www.tackylighttour.com/default.aspx

7.) The Fall season. The leaves are changing into gorgeous reds, yellows and orange hues and it’s absolutely grounding. Every year I look forward to late September when it starts to show and I’m still taken by surprise at just how intriguing nature can be. It’s this reason that makes me believe I’ll always live in a state that has 4 seasons.

8.) Partylite Candles. Yes, I said candles. Whether it’s watching a horror movie in the dark, a candle-lit dinner or ambience for a quiet night in. They burn clear, clean and I’ve turned into a candle snob over the years who will only buy THAT brand of candles. If you ever need a wax dealer, I’ve been ordering for years from:  http://www.partylite.biz/sites/mwettstein

9.) Friends that accept & love my quirks.

10.) Books of all kind – paperback, hardcover, ebooks, blogs, etc.  I love to read, especially in the winter near the fireplace. Sounds cliche’ but it works for me. 😉

11.) Music… It serves a purpose and keeps my fire lit.

12.) Internet – where I met awesome people years back and continue to connect and grow friendships. The same internet that allows me to keep in contact with family I don’t often see. Oh, Internet how I love thee… and all your plethora of useful information, the infinity of Encyclopedia.

So much more than this to be Thankful for, but I figured this was a great start. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. 😉

 

The Fickle Feline

Lounging around by day, licking themselves by night.
It’s amazing cats aren’t exhausted with such a busy schedule.
After all, it takes bounds of energy to walk to the litter box after rolling around in catnip, swatting at imaginary bugs.

Some will go to great lengths to jump from counter top to refrigerator in what I assume to be an act of power, to be taller than human. (Or to hide from human?)

When spoken to, they’ll stare at you intently – trying to make sense of the babble coming out of your mouth. Sizing you up, they do that sort of Eyes-half-open, Eyes-half-closed look. (You know the one) Humoring you, the Feline lets out a meow or two and closes the eyes for a bit.

When I think of the behavior of cats (mine in particular) – the random lifting of the leg to clean the bits, the yacking up hair balls, the aggression of tossing her food or water bowl onto the floor, her catnip craving, ignoring you when you say her name or hiding out, the need to be up high towards the sky and the occasional gesture of affection when my hands are busy on a keyboard – I imagine her as a human for a moment…

In human form: She is my introverted slacker friend that sleeps all day, eats my food, has a bit of a drug problem, has superman powers, fairly unladylike, has the Trichotillomania Disease (eating hair), socially awkward when meeting new people, needs to take anger management classes and a bit of a hermit since she never really leaves the house.

Guess I’m drawn to the weirdo’s of society, what can I say? 😉