Yesterday's Point Revisited

I realized after I posted to my blog last night that I had never actually written anything about the title, which had to do with my post-op appointment. As I mentioned, I was so distracted I simply couldn't write anymore -- and that takes a lot. So here's what I meant to say.

Before my appointment, I considered telling my doctor about my bad hospital experience(s). When I got there, I thought it might be better to wait until the end of my care, since he was part of the bad experience. I'm not sure whether I mentioned this part, but he never spoke with me after the surgery so I was left to assume that all went well. I found out at my appointment yesterday that it had, in fact, gone well, and that I'm recovering nicely. I was surprised to learn that there is a pin in my toe! It's just a little thing with a hook on the end. They'll be yanking it out at my next visit, which is in two weeks. If you're squeamish, turn away now! I studied my little toe while I was waiting for the nurse to come back in and wrap it. It has a serious Frankenstein appearance, cut horizontally across. It doesn't look like it was put together right, but maybe that's a consequence of swelling rather than poor alignment. Additionally, there is an incision that runs vertically along the right side of my foot, about three inches long (as I recall; I didn't have too much time to look).

According to the doctor I'm healing well, but he's not happy with the amount of swelling. He said I need to rest more, with my foot propped up high. While I'm not thrilled with him or his communication skills, I do appreciate his words of wisdom: Once these early weeks of healing have passed, you can't get them back. You need to be still and do everything you can to make sure it heals properly. (I'm paraphrasing.) That makes sense. I feel like I've been "behaving" but when I think about it, I'm sure I've been up more than I should be, and I have spent a little time in the recliner (where I am now). I can't prop my foot up as high as it needs to be unless I'm lying flat in my bed or on the sofa. It's hard to use the computer in that position, however, and I'm trying to do an edit and write some articles. My new attitude, as of today, is that work can wait. If I can do some of it while I'm lying down, that's good. If not, the world won't end because I get those things done later.

My next visit is in two weeks, and the above instructions apply until then. In the grand scheme, two weeks is not a long time. In the moment, it feels like forever. Time for some new projects, things I can do lying down.