Week-by-week summary

I have put together a simple week by week summary, to avoid anyone having to slog through every detail (although would be lovely if you wanted to!) - this is very much a work in progress so I will update it as the weeks go and keep it as a featured post on the gadget bar for easy access.

Weeks prior to the surgery:

Get as much prepared beforehand as possible. Do a big shop to stock up your cupboards as you won't likely be going out much at least for the first couple of weeks and the idea of a supermarket filled me with dread, so I did about a months worth of shopping beforehand and froze anything perishable so it would last.

Get some key items such as: 

Shower stool
Very comfy clothes with wide leg holes
Tray table (for eating meals in bed/on the sofa)
Wheelchair if available (a self-propelled one will give you much more freedom)
Lots of cushions
E45 cream (to use when bandages come off)
Socks with lots of room in toe area for when bandages come off (walking socks gave good support)

Also good to set up your base ready for when you come back from hospital - you will spend all of the first two-three weeks here and likely up to 6 weeks. I initially set up a base on the sofa with a mattress topper for extra comfort (and to protect the sofa from going limp) and then had a duvet on and lots of pillows/cushions. I spent the first four nights on the sofa before getting upstairs to sleep.

Make sure you have done plenty of research so you know what to expect but try not to let anything put you off - remember everyone has a completely unique experience and recovery and so what you experience won't necessarily be the same as someone else. Stay positive and try not to let the nerves get to you - it will all be worth it!

Lastly, make sure you have a plan for who will be helping you - who will bring you home from the hospital, who will bring you your meals and help you out. For the first week you will ideally need someone on hand 24/7. Then once you are steadier on your feet you will need them less and less, but for 6 weeks at least you will need someone to drive you anywhere and someone to carry things if you need - the more support you have the happier and smoother those immobile weeks will be.

Week 1: Post Op

This week for me personally was really hard - much harder than I expected it to be. I was emotional and ended up in tears on most days. The pain mixed with immobility was a real shock to my system and I am also a very anxious person and found every little pain, particularly when trying to heel walk, made me worry I was doing something to ruin my recovery.

Tip: you will feel all sorts of sensations during the first few weeks. Pain comes in different formats and sometimes it was a deep throb, or a stinging, or a dull ache. Sometimes it was a stinging sensation on the skin or even at one point feeling like a needle was sticking into the side of toe. As far as I know all of this is normal and providing the overall level of pain is gradually decreasing then it should be fine - always contact your doctor/hospital if you are at all worried!

Heel walking was very hard in the first week - for me it felt as though every time I stood up something was going to crunch, it was a really uncomfortable straining feeling in my foot, coupled with getting used to putting pressure on your heels only it is difficult but you do get used to it and it gets easier every day. Take it slowly - don't rush anything.

I kept my feet up 24/7 for the first week solidly (minus toilet trips), as high as possible and I didn't remove my heel boots even at night.

I took painkillers routinely until about day 6 and then pretty much only took them when needed. Stopped taking painkillers at night after about day 4.

For showering, I used the shower stool in the bath and used the hose to wash the top half of me. I dangled my legs over the side of the bath, elevating them on a stool. I had my husband to help me with this during the first week.

I also had ZERO mental capacity during the first week or so - I couldn't concentrate on anything for longer than 5 minutes - so don't get frustrated if you can't watch an entire film or take up a new activity or get into a novel - I was spaced out on medication and tired from the healing so it was hard to do anything mentally.

Had to take Clexane injections in the stomach for the first two weeks at the same time every day. I got my husband to administer these as I just didn't fancy it - although I'm sure I would've got used to it. To be honest I think he quite liked being involved and having a role so I was more than happy to leave that to him.


Week 2:

My feet started to relax a bit during the week and I relaxed along with it, much less anxious. I did have a moment where I jumped up by accident, forgetting about my bad feet (but I had my heel walkers on) - this set me back and caused a bit of pain and anxiety so do remember to take it easy even if you are feeling things are improving.

I continued to stay on the sofa all day but made it upstairs at night. My husband went back to work during week two so I became a little more independent - learned to shower without his help using the shower stool so he didn't have to worry too much about helping me in the morning. Every day he would set me up with breakfast next to the sofa and tea ready for when I made it downstairs as carrying things was too tricky when using two crutches, and I wasn't steady enough to get by with one crutch just yet.

Continued with injections and had to have a platelet level check at the GP surgery at the end of the two weeks.


Week 3: 

Managed to move around a little more and slowly started to use one crutch so I could make a cup of tea and bring it back to the sofa.

I went to stay at my sisters for a couple of days as my husband was working away and she has a 3 year old son who is fantastic but it made me realise just how tiring this whole procedure is on the whole body - not just the feet. I struggled to be around anybody for too long as it just made me tired.

Mobility was improving slightly and I could manage with just one crutch. Still had the bandages on so couldn't get my feet wet which was hard as we had blistering heat during week 3.

Boredom really took it's toll during this week and I was constantly sore and stiff all over from lack of movement. Even though I could do a couple of limited pilates exercises what I really wanted to do was run around and get my heart rate up.

I still elevated my feet pretty much all day but was able to walk a little more to make myself meals and generally be a bit less of a burden round the house.

During this week I pretty much completely weaned off painkillers but took the occasional ones as and when I required them, sometimes at night to help me sleep. I worried a little about addiction so was trying to take them as little as possible. I also found they made me feel very depressed which really didn't help my already down mood.

Week 4: 

At the end of week 3/beginning of week 4 I had my bandages removed. I was really excited about this and seeing my feet for the first time, but whilst it was lovely to see my feet, I actually felt it was a bit of a step backwards in my general feeling and progress. I suddenly found it really hard to walk again without the protection of the bandages and so this dragged my mood down a lot, just when I was starting to feel a bit more human.

I also started doing my range of motion exercises. These were EXCRUCIATING for the first day or so, and to begin with just made me cry with how painful it was - however my doctor had said if it isn't painful, then I'm not doing it right, so I really pushed myself through this to get my toes as far back as they will go. I was surprised at how stiff the joints were.

There is also a huge amount of skin that stays under your bandages for three weeks - my feet looked like lizard feet and every day a load of scales would appear and dead skin needed to be removed. I used a lot of E45 cream to help with this.

Week 5 and Week 6: 

Main issues to deal with are continued boredom and feeling rubbish, getting frustrated and noticing muscle loss. However, mobility is somewhat improved and can sometimes get by without crutches at all, although this feels like it puts more strain on the feet so I used the crutches as much as possible, and always when leaving the house!

I continued to do my range of motion exercises four times a day, or more. Generally I just did them whenever I wasn't eating, drinking, going to the toilet or standing up. Just pushing them back and forth as often as possible.

Week 7:

This was the first week of walking properly. To begin with this was really strange and my toes were really stiff and sore. The first few times I tried walking barefoot I felt the floor was rotating infront of me so I was a bit wobbly. I was able to drive, but could only manage about 10 minutes or so. Walking was very slow, and I would know if I had done too much on my feet.

The hardest challenge of week 7 was learning to go up and down the stairs. I had completely forgotten how normal people use stairs and so could only manage it clinging to the bannister or contorting my body and doing it one step at a time. Going downstairs was particularly tricky and I would often yelp at the odd step if I tried it too quickly.

Week 8

This week I felt the best improvement, feet are starting to become less stiff and sore and I can manage more and more time on my feet without a limp. I returned to work in the office this week, although feet would occasionally go purple if allowed to dangle for too long. I managed to get to the gym and swimming is easier, able to push away from the swimming pool wall with my toes.

A big success from this week is being able to go up onto my tiptoes. I practise this every day and also practise walking like a gymnast/ballet dancer, pointing my toes and planting my big toe on the floor, then pressing the ball of my foot down and following the step through. This practises walking using my big toe and also flexing the toes.

To be continued...