I had several errands to run in preparation for a 250+ person banquet that I was leading the production of. One of the tasks I had to do was pick up some of the supplies that were in heavy boxes. The sales clerk said thanks, and bye, as if our transaction was over. My heart sank when I had to tell him that he was going to have to carry the boxes to my car or get someone else to do it for me. One of the things that I value the most is my independence. I get a lot of it from keeping myself in a highly trained state that prepares me for handling even the toughest of activities of daily living. Of course I would rather have doors opened for me, stuff carried for me, stuff around the house fixed for me...but I pride myself in wanting those things instead of needing those things done for me to survive. I am literally dependent on other people to help me at this point and I absolutely HATE IT!
While I was at the first place, I missed the call I had been waiting for from my doctor's physician assistant (PA). His message said that he was going to be out of town the whole next week, so I had to talk to him today. I called him right back but didn't get an answer. Since the doctor's office was on my way home, I figured that I would stop by to see if I could talk to him briefly.
What a life-changing decision that was...
I ended up talking with the PA in my doctor's office. Upon detailing the struggles I had been having with my right foot and his inspection of it, he confirmed that my right foot was in trouble. He told me that it would need surgery, but that I had to decide how frustrated I am with it to determine the timeline. He also added that since it is a RIGHT foot surgery, that I was going to have to think about placing it on my life timeline more seriously because I will not be able to drive for at a minimum of 2 months. I further explained how stripped down my activities of daily living are and the difficulties I have been having doing even the simplest of tasks. I told him that in terms of frustration, I am at the absolute end of my rope. He paused and then said with a heaviness, "No 25 year old should have to go through this."
I could feel the depth of his sympathy for me when he realized that I was having to go through this...AGAIN.
As the discussion ended, he walked me right over to the surgery scheduler to put my surgery on the calendar. In a blink of an eye, my second surgery was scheduled for June 4, 2013, exactly 5 months post my left foot surgery. I also got prescriptions for pre-op blood work, the dreaded return of the wheelchair, and 600 mg ibuprofen and Tylenol 3 to help with my increased pain levels. He also had me schedule an MRI for this coming Monday.
An innocent trip in to talk to the PA turned into my second surgery fully scheduled. I just wanted to go home and cry at that point. Cry I did, but I only made it to my car before the waterworks began. I didn't have much time to process what had happened because I had my big banquet coming up and had to finish preparing.
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Afternoon
Swim! It felt great. I did a quick 600 m. I swam as fast as I literally could to try to escape the news that I got this morning.
Final banquet prep.
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Night
Banquet- It was everything I could have asked for and more. My team did an awesome job organizing it and everyone had a great time. The catch- I wore wedges (the conservative pair by Clark's pictured on an earlier post) for the first time since surgery. Being one of the organizers, and having to give multiple speeches, no way was I going to wear an ugly pair of flats or my tennis shoes with the AMAZING dress I was wearing. I focused on running the banquet and completely ignored how my feet were feeling. I even went out after with a few of my friends to reminisce on the night and the year of accomplishments.
When I got home...
...several rounds of icing + drugs + elevation.
Oh the price I have to pay to do "normal" activities.
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