Week 7

Just got back from my appointment and I have so much great news! My x-rays show bone growth! My brachytoe pin was removed! My bone stimulator is on the way! My fixator is coming off in 2 weeks!!

Here is my xray:

A sight for my sore eyes. Because of this my doc says that at my next appointment (in 2 weeks) the fixator will be removed! He looked at my scab and said that it looks great and not to poke at it, it will fall off on it's own. Then told me I can now get my entire foot wet! This means I can thoroughly and more comfortably scrape off the reptile skin my foot has decided to grow and it's now ok if the hardware gets wet.

Then he took out some gauze squares and placed them around my toe. He was talking about how most patients don't feel the k-wire (aka brachytoe pin) when he takes it out; at the same time he started turning mine and in 3 short pulls quickly removed it from my toe. It stung slightly for a millisecond but mainly felt weird/cool because you feel it in your bone. My toe bled a tiny bit; all in all it was no big deal and I got some pink gauze out of it ;)

As for weight bearing he said I can do what feels comfortable. I confessed to him that I started walking yesterday and he says that's fine as long as I'm not in pain. Yes, that's right I started slowly walking around yesterday without crutches and it was awesome if not surreal! The only downside is the swelling afterwards but I've been told it's normal. There's gonna be swelling for a while so I intend to keep my foot elevated and ice packed when not in use LOL. Also those purplish bruise-looking marks on my foot have gone away. Yay!

And last but not least there is the business of the bone stimulator. I received a call from the bone stim. company stating that my insurance would not cover it. They said it costs $3000 but they could sell it to me for $1000 at either a lump sum or 12 monthly payments. They also mentioned that they offer a financial waiver to cover the entire cost but you have to meet certain criteria. I'll be contacted by my doc's office when mine comes in :)

This past week went pretty quickly although my restless legs has been out of control. I don't take anything for it because exercise keeps it at bay for me so this must be due to lack of exercise. That won't be a problem for much longer.