Sidetracks

After several months of battling the painful wrath of a bunion, I decided to take action. The ever-growing pathological bump on the side of my big right toe joint was making it hard to run, walk, sleep through the night or wear any shoes other than my Birkenstocks. Enough!

My scientific research began by talking to anyone I saw hobbling around in goofy-looking surgical shoes. Folks were happy to share their
war stories, and I typically heard - "It's the most painful surgery you'll every have," "It takes MONTHS to recover," "Surgery may be unsuccessful," and "Bunions often recur." Bolstered by these encouraging words, I opted to take a conservative approach. I altered my exercise routine, used a splint at night, wore pads and ugly shoes during the day, and took an anti-inflammatory round-the-clock. Not enough!

So I resumed my research and identified an orthopedic surgeon in Spokane who specializes in foot and ankle. Dr. Shirzad signed me up for surgery, I did the pre-op requirements (blood work, EKG, etc.), and I went under the knife. After the 2-hour outpatient procedure, Tom dropped me off at home and headed to the pharmacy to fill my prescriptions for pain meds.

One week later, I am off any kind of painkiller and am taking prohibited showers, thanks to the miracle of duct tape. I currently depend on help from precious friends while Tom is out of the country on a 2-week medical mission in the Philippines. For me, the most difficult part of recovery is not being able to drive for several weeks since I'm hobbling around in one of those goofy-looking surgical shoes. But now I have war stories of my own.