3 mths since my Lisfranc surgery .........

Tomorrow will be the 14 week anniversary of my Lisfranc fracture, I thought I'd update you all on how I'm doing. ....
I've been home alone for two weeks, just me, my foot & my dog rattling around in my flat & finding ways to overcome some of the obstacles I now face when trying to do some of the simplest tasks.
My dog, Hannah is almost completely blind now from degenerative retinal disease, so trying to negotiate around the flat on my crutches & avoid banging into her has been a challenge !
Hannah lives to eat, food is her greatest pleasure in life, so every time I got to the kitchen, so does she. Hannah has cunningly worked out that if she sits in between me & the kitchen work surface, then she's in a prime position to catch any food I drop, before I can stop her. Although this has worked well for her for food, the downside is she regularly nudges my crutches that are resting against the work surface & as such has received several bumps on the head from them as they clatter to the floor.  She walks hopefully alongside me with her head in the air, nose twitching, as I trundle slowly along on one crutch, whilst precariously balancing a plate of food in the other hand. My cutlery & anything else I need in one of my pockets. I do it this way because the only other alternative would be eating in the kitchen whilst standing. Hannah's also bumped into my crutches when trotting up to me for a stroke, the poor thing has had to try to adapt to her mistress's extra two legs by touch & smell only. I look at her & can't help but think that this must be very confusing for her. Walks only happen if someone visits who doesn't mind taking Hannah for a quick stroll around the block, the rest of the time she has to make do with the garden, but she never complains.................. treats & strokes work wonderfully.

So I've been continuing with my physiotherapy exercise since being home, the plus is I can now do them in the living room in front of the TV. I've worked out a way to do my laundry too. I have a big bag with a long strap. So upstairs in the bathroom, I load my laundry into the bag, then I put the bag on diagonally & swing it around to the front, like a kangaroo pouch. After bum shuffling down the stairs, I then use my downstairs crutches to get to the washing machine in the kitchen & unload. To dry it I do the same thing but in reverse & sit on the loo (lid down of course , it's just a handy place to sit!) whilst I unpack the bag & hang the laundry onto my clothes horse.
Thermos vacuum mugs have been a god send. I make a cup of tea, put the lid on & then manage to hobble back into the living room carrying it without slopping it all over the floor- fantastic !
I had a go at hoovering the living room last weekend. Mmmn not my most sensible idea. I worked out how I could use the hoover as one of my crutches & shuffle around the room, hoovering as I went. Balancing was tricky & I did overbalance onto 'the foot' several times......
I've discovered the power of home shopping too ! I place my orders for my food & groceries online, a very friendly chap delivers it & carries it into my kitchen for me. I can even order magazines, newspapers & alcohol :) The next delivery is tomorrow & I can't wait, I've ordered an Indian takeaway, the highlight of this weekend- hoho
My sofa is a huge corner style one, which has now become my main base. I have the TV remotes, my handbag, Blackberry, Iphone & all that I need set up in the corner seat. Lots of cushions to prop me up & both laptops to hand. This is where I currently rest, work & spend most of my time.
I've been working from home for the past couple of weeks which has been difficult to concentrate on. But perseverance will help I think, I mostly just answer emails, phone calls write reports & co ordinate the team in the office remotely. But after being in this very insular environment for so long, it's tough now to snap out of it & stay focused on any singular task for any length of time I find.

This week however I went to two day sales meeting & met with the rest of my team. It was the first time I'd seen them all since I'd had my accident. So I had one chair for me & one for 'the foot'. I sat at the end of the boardroom table & gave my presentation, to my surprise it was well received, I finished with the last slide being my X-rays with the caption "any questions?" & gave everyone a wry smile.
The hotel room booked for me was an accessible one, with a walk in shower. This was novel, I've been lifting myself in & out of the bath for three months. So in I hobbled on my crutches & switched it on, the shower head squirted water everywhere, not just on me, but up the walls, all over the wash basin, all over the towels & mirror. It was broken & there I was naked, on crutches & powerless to do anything other than watch the water spray uncontrollably anywhere it wanted to !
I gave up, washed as best I could & switched it off. the bathroom was a scene of soggy chaos !
I think I'll stick to baths.......


So I received a letter from my consultant yesterday, I am to go back into hospital on Friday (15th) for the operation to remove one of the plates & approx 6 screws from my 1st, 2nd & 3rd metatarsals. It may mean an overnight stay due to the general anaesthetic, I'm hoping this op won't be a big deal though. I'm sure I'll feel a little bit sore afterwards but I have plenty of pain killers left over which should see me through. I'm guessing that they'll go back in through the same scar from the previous op, pity as it's healed quite well.
I've put boyfriend on standby for some TLC & to ensure they'll let me out as quickly as possible (apparently they have rules about discharging people after GA without people to look after them) & I've warned work that I'll be uncontactable for a few days. But this op is another step forward, after I've recovered I should then be able to begin walking using all of 'the foot' albeit still in my boot & on crutches. The thing to look forward to though, is I'll be another step closer to SHOES- Yay !