4 1/2 Weeks Post Op and feeling a lot of anxiety
So I am 4.5 almost 5 weeks post op, I still haven’t had a bath or shower yet and it’s driving me crazy. As I’ve discussed before I am a heavy set woman, with chronic back problems and PWB at this time. There is no way that I could push myself up and out of the bathtub and my balance is no where that I could stand in the shower, with no boot on and try and clean myself without falling over. So, I got myself a good set up…a shower transfer bench, a hand held shower nozzle that has a pause on the grip so, I don’t have to lean over and keep turning the water on and off while freezing my butt off, I even got a shower speaker so, I can listen to music while I’m in there…I got it all within 2 days of ordering it. The only problem is, you have to have a curtain that has a cutout for the bench or I will have water all over the bathroom. Of course I had to buy the curtain from an authorized seller and it is taking forever to get it!
Also, now I have developed a huge blister on the pad of the bottom of my foot and tonight it opened up…I don’t know if the pain or the itching is worse. I’m not sure why it’s developed, except that I am wearing an ace bandage on my foot because my incision rubbing against the back of the boot was painful and irritating. I guess the moisture built up under the bandage and caused it. I am dreading the next time I have to get up to go to the bathroom and I put weight on it.
My progress is not as fast as most but, I am doing good, I think. I got rid of the knee scooter and I use the walker every time I get up. I go to the bathroom several times a day and I walk around the house once or twice a day now, inside that is. I have a split level house so, going anywhere is horrible since I have to crawl down the stairs and back up. I feel bad when I read other blogs where people are getting up and going to work and doing all kinds of things at this point in their recovery. Also, every time I take off the boot and ace bandage to clean myself, I am worried that my foot is going back into that position it was in that made me have to have the surgery in the first place. I can’t pull my toes up without my foot shaking and it makes me nauseated. Is this normal? I try to flex it on and off throughout the day to help strengthen those muscles. That’s the only time I take the boot off…too clean. The Dr. told me to leave it on all the time and after reading on here about people that walked around without theirs and fell or reinjured their tendon. No way I am risking that, it’s not worth it. Anyway, I’m glad we have this blog…I learn a lot and it’s nice to have people to talk with that understand where I’m at.