Here's My Ankle, So Cut Me Maybe?

I’m alive! At least that’s what I proclaimed as I left the operating room yesterday afternoon, according to the nurses, along with “Dr. Porter rocks!”

I’m back at my parents’ house (about an hour from Indianapolis) after my surgery, and am happy to say that I’m feeling better than I expected. My husband Eric and I drove up here Monday night so we could save ourselves a few hours of driving on the day of surgery. Determined to enjoy my last few hours of eating and drinking before the anesthesiologist-mandated cutoff, we went out for a delicious dinner at a local Italian restaurant. I chugged several glasses of water in an attempt to store up my reserves, camel-style, then came home for dessert: a chocolate peanut butter banana icebox pie (!) my mom had made from the latest issue of Southern Living.

OMG. All the things!

On Tuesday morning, I put on my Threadless “Swan Kick” T-shirt as a good luck charm (it shows a ballerina kicking a ninja through the air with her mighty arabesque), and we hit the road. I had to arrive at the surgery center at 10 a.m., and surgery was scheduled for noon. Once a nurse called me back, had me change into a hospital gown, and started a saline IV, my mom and Eric got to come back and sit with me. I had started to get nervous, not to mention thirsty!, and it helped a lot to have them there to distract me.

Dr. Porter came in around 11:15, explained once again what would happen in surgery, and wrote “YES” on my right foot. I asked if I could keep the bone, but that was a no since it’s live tissue, which isn’t allowed to go home with patients. Dr. Porter asked if he could say a prayer over my foot before we went into the operating room, which was so comforting and meant a lot to my family and me. He said we would get started a little early (a medical miracle!), then a nurse had me hand over my glasses to my mom and held my hand to walk me into the operating room. My vision is terrible, so all I could see was a big, bright room with five blurry people inside. All of the nurses were so sweet, and they had me lie down on a bean bag on the table, which helped keep me from moving around because I was lying on my side for the surgery. I was under a warm blanket and couldn’t help thinking the whole setup would have been cozy with a book and cup of tea…if the room weren’t freezing cold and scalpels weren’t involved. The anesthesiologist told me he was putting “I don’t care medicine” in my IV, and seconds later I was out.

The next thing I remember is Dr. Porter telling me he found and repaired a “good-sized tear” in my FHL tendon. The tear was about 2 inches long and the tendon was torn halfway through, thanks to the pesky os trigonum (which is NO MORE!) rubbing against it. The bone was “wiggly,” he said — fractured but still attached by some tissue. It blows my mind to know I had been walking and dancing on a torn tendon and a chunk of broken bone, but the new info also reassured me that surgery was absolutely the right choice.

I stayed in the recovery area for a little while and drank fruit punch Gatorade with ice…the most refreshing thing ever after 13 hours of nothing to drink! The nurse told me I came out of the OR chatting away (see the first paragraph in this post…) and that I asked to sit up and look at my foot in the boot. I have no recollection of this, but apparently it only took me a few minutes to wake up after surgery, so I think the anesthesiologist was right on the mark. I was amazed at how alert I felt, and I wasn’t nauseous at all. After changing back into my clothes, a nurse wheeled me out to the car, and we were on the road home by 2:00.

At home I went through the post-op packet, which included a get well card signed by Dr. Porter, the anesthesiologist, and all of the nurses (so sweet!), a crazy-long list of medications, and a picture of my snazzy new ankle, sans os trigonum!

I see why they told me I need to be out of work for a week: No joke, it’s surprisingly hard work lying around trying to heal. I have a set of simple physical therapy exercises (such as toe wiggling and leg lifts) to do every hour, and the cryo-cuff inside my boot is supposed to be drained and refilled with ice water every 20 minutes to minimize pain and swelling. I’m supposed to keep my leg elevated and not put it down for more than 10 minutes at a time, and I take various pills (painkillers, antibiotics, and anti-nausea meds) five times a day. It’s quite the elaborate routine but is the best excuse ever to hijack the living room TV and watch “Dance Moms” with no complaints, even from my husband and dad. 

Flowers and chocolates from my in-laws in Minnesota!

Hello from the recovery room!

I had a tough first night because it turns out that sleeping in a giant boot with your foot elevated is not the easiest task, especially once the nerve block from surgery starts to wear off and the pain sets in. Still, I managed to get a few hours of sleep, and am feeling OK now that I’ve had a couple rounds of painkillers this morning and am back in the cryo-cuff. Lots of couch time and relaxing ahead today! Thanks to everyone who has been checking in on me and sending prayers and positive thoughts!