Before I had my recent ankle surgery, the surgeon went over his post-op directives with me. One of these was that if I noticed toes turning blue or white, I should let him know ASAP.
As can be seen from the photo, my toes were distinctly blue yesterday. I was pretty sure that it was natural bruising, but we took this photo and sent it to the surgeon just to be on the safe side. He confirmed that this "blue" was not the "blue" that would concern him. The "dangerous" blue would have indicated a blood circulation problem.
So, the healing continues apace. I stopped taking the prescription painkillers over the weekend because, while I was taking them, I couldn't keep anything - food or liquid - down. I found that aspirin worked just as well for the pain and that I haven't even needed more than 1-2 aspirin per day. Apart from a couple uncomfortable moments on Saturday, the ankle has felt much better after the surgery than it did before. Now that my appetite has returned more or less to normal and that I don't have to use the crutches much at all now, I am feeling quite optimistic that I'll soon quit being a burden on HWMBO. While he is an excellent nurse and has been waiting on me hand and foot, I am undoubtedly the world's worst patient.
I even had my first shower since the surgery this morning with no problem. Not to worry, I've been taking "spit baths" up to this point, so it's not as if I haven't been keeping clean. It's just that our home in Maryland is a multi-level dwelling and those bathrooms that have baths and showers are upstairs on the second level, while I've been staying on the ground floor. Creeping up and down stairs on my bottom (the way recommended by my surgeon) or manipulating crutches and perhaps losing my balance altogether were challenges that I wasn't quite ready to meet until today.
But now, they are behind me! Onward to more challenges!
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