For the first time in nearly four weeks, my right foot is free of layers of bandages. I do have several big Band-aids on the various incisions, but for the most part it's unencumbered by the padding that has been both protecting and smothering it. Today I was able to take my first "real" shower since my surgery, by which I mean that I didn't have to worry about getting my foot wet. I did, however, have to worry about standing on one foot, flamingo-like, as I washed my hair and skin. And afterwards, when I had sat down on the back ledge of my tub to wash my feet, I had a moment of panic about how to turn off the water and get out of the tub. The big bath is a blessing -- in that it gives me more room to move around -- and a curse -- in that everything seems far away. And when I looked down and saw that my foot was a weird bluish color, I knew it was time to finish up and prop the foot.
I'm not complaining. It felt wonderful to let the water run over all of me, and especially to use my bath brush on my back, something I hadn't been able to do in my funny little birdbaths over the past few weeks, where I managed to get just clean enough. I put on the easiest outfit I could find -- even without the wraps, I'm not eager to put on anything that might pull on my foot -- and combed out my hair, and headed straight for the sofa and my three-pillow-high footrest. As I lay there, clean and on freshly-washed sheets and pillow cases, I noticed that the air from the AC vent was directly hitting my foot. I hadn't changed my position; it was just that I hadn't noticed the breeze through all the wrappings. Cool air never felt so good.
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