Bunions. You may think only old people get those, right? I wish that was the case. Anyone can have bunions. Even Oprah and Chan Luu. Unfortunately, I’ve been living with bunions for as long as I can remember. They hurt when I ran, they hurt when I wore fins on the swim team, and they killed when I had to wear heels in my friend’s wedding!
Last summer I had my first bunion surgery, or bunionectomy, on my left foot. Now, a year later, I am recovering from surgery on my other foot. It’s been a week of laying in bed, wishing I was outside, and watching way too much YouTube (I even watched a whole bunion surgery video!), and I thought I might as well write about my experience.
Now that I’ve had both feet done, I can say that every foot is different. (Having surgery on your right foot also means no driving for six weeks!) This time around, the pain and swelling is a lot less.
I credit that in part to keeping my foot elevated as soon as I was wheeled out of the hospital. You may not feel anything right after surgery, but you will feel it later if you have your foot down in the car the whole way home or stand in line for half an hour at the pharmacy. Keep your foot up and have someone else pick up your pain meds!
The first few days I slept most of the time. I didn’t even take half of the pain meds given to me. I had prepared my room ahead of time. I put everything I thought I might need right by my bed: changes of clothes, eye mask, phone charger, laptop, travel magazines, essential oils & diffuser, vitamins & supplements, CBD oil, and water. I even bought snacks like apples, popcorn, and protein cookies to have at arm’s length.
My room is upstairs so my husband had to bring me all of my meals. I had a lot of things in the freezer to make it easy on him. I also bought a few things on Amazon last year that I was able to use again. I definitely recommend: 1. a shower chair, 2. elevation pillow, and 3. a limb cover for the shower. I also had my doctor prescribe me a walking boot for week two or three. A walking boot makes life so much easier when the time comes to walk! (Last year, I was able to walk all over Charleston, and I wouldn’t have been able to/wanted to do that with the surgical shoe.)
A lot of people worry about taking so much time off work. Trust me, I was too! The thing is, it’s usually never a good time to take off work. Fortunately, for me I was on unemployment at the time of my first surgery. I actually went to two job interviews with my walking boot on (and was hired)! This time, I work part-time from home for VIPKID. (I think I will do a separate VIPKID post.) I am so happy because I can actually start working now. If you work from home, you can probably ease back into it within a week or two.
So right now I’m at the tail end of week one. I just started hobbling around without my crutches. I can make it up and down the stairs by myself. I don’t have to wait for my husband to get home from work to feed me. This time I’ve been able to make it into the shower and bathe myself from day two. Last time, I was in a bit more pain so I needed some help. I’m able to move my foot around in a circular motion, but moving my big toe is a bit harder (and kinda scary). The top of my foot is also turning into a blue/green/purple. I remember the bruising was pretty bad last time. I’m also prepared for the skin to start peeling, but once I’m able to shower I will just scrub it off and moisturize. It is annoying, but in the end you have baby pink skin and no calluses! Whenever I look at my other foot I remember it’s all worth it. I can’t wait to have two cute matching feet!
Shout-out to Dr. Cahill for making my feet dreams come true!!
If you’re wondering whether you should have bunion surgery, I would first ask yourself why you want it done. If it’s only cosmetic, then it might not be worth it. The recovery is long and can be uncomfortable. Have you had bunion surgery? Are you thinking about having it done? Comment below!
Plumeria Dreams 