My First Blog

I think it's interesting that at the age of 55 and two months, I am formulating my first blog...especially since it is on the eve of foot surgery. I am having a bunion removed from my left foot. I was feeling fine about all of it until the pre-op appointment and the nurse reminded me that they were going to break a bone in my foot, realign the bone, then shave off whatever was still protruding after the realignment. She was quick to assure me that the doctor would only cut where needed. I would be in a cast for three weeks and was warned repeatedly not to get it wet, bump it, or fall on it as I could re-break the bone. I have an allergic chronic cough as many of you know. The more she talked, the harder and louder I coughed. She asked me if she was making me nervous. YEAH! Everything liquid in me was flowing down my throat!

I want to assure you that I am not nervous in the least at this moment. I will be tying a pink ribbon around the correct toe just to make sure there is no mistaking which foot gets the attention. I also called today just to make sure that a remnant of a blister will not hamper the operation, as the letter she sent home with me put the fear in me about open wounds. They didn't expound on what would happen if there was one, but they didn't have to in my case. I played the video in my head, and suffice it to say, it wasn't a pretty picture...in fact, everyone around me was crying.

Enough said. I instantly turned those negative thoughts into glad ones. Randy and I teach 4 year olds in Sunday School, and we have a little girl who recently had a cyst removed from her neck. She was so happy about going to the hospital and having surgery. I asked her if she was even going to get to have stitches. She responded with glee, "YES!" I was even getting excited for her, but I knew that getting the stitches out would be far worse than having them sewn in, since the area would have been numbed. So we all prayed for her and awaited her return to class. About three weeks later she shows up with a piece of tape over the little half inch incision. She couldn't wait to show all of us. The girls looked with interest; the boys not so interested because it wasn't worse. Dare I ask if it hurt? She was still dancing with joy that she'd had surgery, so I ventured to ask, "Did it hurt?" She looked at me with the biggest smile and said with gusto, "YES!" I determined right then, that is the way I am going to go into this surgery tomorrow. I've been jumping up and down whenever I think about it, on my left foot especially, these past few days,, so I can remember what it feels like to have full mobility.

By the way, I am blogging about this because my sister Scarlette, and my neighbor Ian, are contemplating going under down the road. If for some reason, all does not go well, this will be my last blog on this subject, so...let's hope for the best! My word! I get to wear a cast! And have people wait on me! I'm not having anymore babies, so I hope to take full advantage of all the attention. I do wish I could have my friend, Brenda, dress in her nurse's uniform and take care of me as she did when I had my wisdom teeth extracted 32 years ago. (She never did get her nursing degree, but she had a terrific bedside manner and that's all I really needed.)