Post-Op Check Number 1 – So Far, So Good

Part 4 of my “journal” related to my Lisfranc injury to my left foot.

January 8, 2020
First Post-op Check

Finally, two days short of three weeks after surgery, I was getting my “two week” post-op check up. (Yes, it still was bugging me that I had to wait the extra five days.)

It was actually a very full day. My appointment was at 8:45 in the morning, then my wife and I went out for breakfast. That evening was also the family party to celebrate our granddaughter’s second birthday (see the last post, Part 3, for more on that), but I split the day’s events into separate posts.

Getting the splint cut off was refreshing. My foot could breathe!

My foot can breathe again! No, it wasn’t pretty when they took the splint and dressing off, but it felt really good. It felt even better to find out they weren’t going to put another splint on.

The foot was still swollen, though. That was disappointing, though I’m not sure if it was just my expectations that were unrealistic or what. I thought I’d get the stitches out, but the surgeon decided not to do that. I tried not to be concerned about that. He did, after all, tell me that the foot looked good.

They applied a light dressing and fitted me for a boot. For some reason, I was expecting to get another full splint put on the foot, since I knew I was still not to let it bear any weight, so hearing him say I was getting a removable boot was exciting!

The boot is not comfortable, at all, but I really only wear it when I’m going to be going outside (which is still almost never) or when I’m going to be trying to stand for a little while (brushing my teeth, doing laundry, preparing food in the kitchen, etc.). I’m still not allowed to put any weight on the foot, but I can use it just to keep my balance when I stand. It’s easier to comply with that limitation if I’m in the boot.

The next appointment, set for two weeks later (January 22) should be when the stitches come out and, I believe, x-rays will be taken and we’ll find out how the actual healing is going.

From the outset, every doctor I’ve talked to has prepared me for a long recovery process. Maybe I just didn’t want to believe it or maybe I thought they were just giving me conservative estimates. But it’s becoming clear to me just how long this is going to take.

Before the injury, I had planned on spending almost all of February and March (even maybe some of January) at the condo in Florida. I don’t like cold weather and when you have a place to stay in Florida, there really aren’t many reasons you shouldn’t spend the winter there.

Of course, after retirement, family is really the ONLY reason for spending time in Iowa during the winter and with two adult children, three grandchildren and an elderly mother all living in Iowa, I’d want to spend some time in the home state. But with direct flights between Cedar Rapids and an airport only a half hour away from the condo, spending the winter in Florida doesn’t mean you can’t also see the family a few times.

That’s not likely to happen this year, though.

Surgeon check ups every couple of weeks for the next month or so and, eventually, physical therapy sessions all mean extended periods in Florida are probably not going to happen for a while.

And then there’s golf.

I don’t know when that’s going to happen again. Sometimes, I even wonder whether it will ever happen. Will I ever be able to swing a golf club the way I need to, with the stress it places on the front foot?

Getting old isn’t a lot of fun. Beyond the family thing, two of the things that have made it at least a bit enjoyable have been going to baseball games and golfing. This year, my annual trip to watch the Minnesota Twins MLB team and their minor leaguers in spring training probably isn’t going to happen and I can’t say with any certainty when, if ever, I’ll be golfing again.

That sucks.

I know, I know. Have to think positive. Some days it’s just easier than others.

Here’s something on the positive side, though – while it certainly is January in Iowa and that means we get snow and ice and cold and all that goes with it, when I’m stuck in my recliner all day, I have absolutely no reason to even look outside to see what the weather’s like. Could be lovely. Could be a blizzard. If not for the occasional audibly strong wind (and family who decide they need to tell me what’s going on), I’d have no way of knowing as long as I don’t look outside.