T Minus 3 Days

So, this little surgery I’m having on Tuesday. It’s no big thing. No metal rods or artificial joints, no tube down my throat, no overnight hospital stay — just a quick surgery to pluck out a pesky, non-essential bone and clean up an angry tendon. I’m probably making too big a deal out of it. But considering it’s my first surgery (wisdom teeth don’t count; that’s just a rite of passage…) and will require significant changes to my lifestyle for at least a month, it’s a little nerve-wracking.

The surgery is supposed to take half an hour — incredible that they can fix the cause of nearly 2 years of pain in 30 minutes! Dr. Porter told me there is a 1-2% chance my ankle will be worse afterward, 12-15% chance of no change (still having pain and stiffness, but this time from scar tissue), and 82-85% chance of positive change. I'll do everything I can to be a rock-star patient and hopefully have a great outcome from the surgery.

I’ll be out of work for a week, on crutches for 1-2 weeks (no driving during that time), and wearing a boot until 4 weeks after surgery. At that point, if everything’s going well, I’ll switch out the boot for a sexy lace-up ankle brace for another month or two. I’ll see a physical therapist at Methodist Sports Medicine at every follow-up appointment, then have sets of exercises to do on my own at home. One of the best parts of this whole scenario: They’re assigning me to a PT who used to be a professional ballet dancer! It’s so reassuring to know I’ll be working with someone who gets both the physical and the psychological aspects of being a dancer and recovering from an injury (or, in my case, an instance of genetic freakishness).

If everything goes according to plan, I'll be able to head back to my favorite barre 4 weeks after surgery, then incrementally add center work, jumping, and pointe after that. My surgeon estimates it'll be 3-4 months before I can resume my full dance schedule.

Right now, I’m trying not to stress or think about it too much and just enjoy my last fully mobile weekend for a while! Thanks for all of the prayers, positive vibes, and support…they mean a lot as I'm heading into what I know will be a tough time. But in the immortal words of the Indigo Girls, "the prize is always worth the rocky ride."