You can never have too many blogs!

I have decided that a calcaneal osteotomy is worthy of its own blog. So I'll be posting most of my CO related stuff over at http://cofootnotes.blogspot.co.nz.

It's only ten days until surgery unless I'm bumped for some elderly lady's hip op. My foot seems to be clued in and has been protesting mercilessly for days. I guess it can be seen as a reassurance that the surgery is necessary.

Onwards and upwards.

Techno disability!

I changed the app I use for blogging on my ipad because I had previously not been able to add new labels and the number I had was limited. So I thought great, I'll up date my previous entries with labels. Duh! Rather than save I chose publish so about six previous entries have been republished today. Not my best day.

Fortunately I was able to resolve the problem and everything is back where it should be.

My thought for today is that I might have a separate blog for my foot. I'd probably just mirror/copy any relevant posts from this one but it could be useful if some poor fool googles calcaneal osteotomy blog and wants to avoid digging through all my other stuff. 

Of course if I do create another blog I will have to name it and that could be a challenge. Watch this space.

Busy living

I've so busy living I haven't had time to write about it! That's a nice way to be I feel.

So what has been going on for me? Some really positive things certainly.

- I've had a huge weight loss. I keep checking myself out in shop windows.

   22kgs off. Don't you think it's a big improvement!

- My hip replacement has been a phenomenal success. I have been able to run on it up until an   incident that will discuss later. I don't even remember half the time.

- I've been using a lot of self-talk to beat down my MS -"Shut up, I don't care if you make me walk like Frankenstein's monster, we are going to complete 5k or die trying." Haven't quite convinced it to let me eat normally or remember anything but at least I have regained a small amount of control.

- I've nearly finished my NZIM certificate in management. Just working on a group project. Doing OK for one who does not play well with others. Once it's over I'm through.

So those are the positives and now what about that incident?

Three years ago I was merrily running along when I stepped off a curb and was hit with a searing pain in my right ankle. It did not improve and after many battles I finally got to see an orthopedic surgeon who agreed that the split perineal tendon should be repaired and duly wrote off to ACC to say the same. This was the period of the unfortunate degeneration excuse and the poopoo heads said it was due to degeneration due to age and they would not pay. I had a new job and just didn't have the wherewithal to fight so I decided to just let nature try and do the repair.

Nature appeared to do an OK job until last year when I stepped in a hole while walking Millie

There it was, the same pain! My GP referred me to the orthopedic clinic at Greenlane. I had the usual uncomfortable examination and an x-Ray which was inconclusive. So I was booked for an MRI and then seen once the results were in. Yep, split tendon. So I was fitted for supports and orthotics and sent off for a steroid injection since the MRI also showed some arthritic changes.  The jab did nothing so six weeks later I trudged back to clinic to report. Only to discover that that was a good thing since it meant the pain was more than likely due to split than the arthritis. 

The next step was surgery and there were a couple of options. I could have the ankle fused which would kill the arthritis as well as having the tendon repaired (well one removed and it's remained stitched to the other). The down side was a reduction of movement in the joint. The other option was just to do the repair and see if that solved the problem. After some discussion we chose option number two.

Yesterday I got a call to say they had a cancellation in preop clinic and would I like the space. Certainly, I would.

So today I went along. I met with an anaesthetist but not the one who will be mine, naturally, because this is the public system and there is no real sense to it. I pressed home my desire to have a regional anaesthetic rather than General due to my MS and what issues it could cause. It's in the "we'll see" box. Then I saw the surgeon, who after examining my foot and making me repeatedly stand on my sore foot while I moaned and groaned, came to the conclusion that my high arches put me at risk of ankle instability and I supinate. So in addition to the tendon repair I'm having a calcaneal osteotomy where the heel bone will be cut and moved towards the outside and held there with two big ol screws. 

She felt the osteotomy would be necessary at some point regardless and it may as well be done at the same time so it meant only one period of six weeks non-weight bearing rather that two. I agreed that that sounded much better to me. So hopefully after six weeks non-weight bearing and then four weeks or so partial weight bearing I'll be doing much better and less likely to pop a tendon again.

So in just over three weeks on July 3rd I'm booked in. I've had to cancel a whole lot of courses that I'd enrolled in for July but hopefully enforced inactivity will result in a book or two. You have got to look for the positives.

My service to you is constantly developing medical problems so they can be blogged about for your information and pleasure. Remind me to tell you about my surprise diagnosis today.