#after y’know 6 months of recovery and physical therapy.

[badolmen]

I’m actually getting super excited about my surgery this fall. Sure it only fixes* my right leg but that one is so bad because of how I walked on it as a kid. I won’t have to take prescription pain meds that have been ruining my liver for over a decade! I won’t have to wear clunky braces anymore! I can own more than two pairs of shoes (which don’t have to accommodate the clunky braces)! I can walk on the beach barefoot! Or wear flip flops for the first time ever! I might be able to hike like I used to - or try impact exercises like jump squats or jumping jacks again! I might be able to drive without having my chair pushed all the way forward to accommodate the ‘zero foot or ankle mobility and therefore must use knee or hip to press pedals’ problem!

[penig]

Went to the doctor for MRI results today. The tendon has separated from the bone. My foot has more flexion than expected, though, and given the state of the whole of me, the doctor thinks that a non-surgical treatment might do the trick. Or, y’know, it might not. If I get back to him before noon tomorrow he can schedule surgery early next week. I thought I’d throw this out into the wild to see if anyone pops up who’s got experience or knowledge that should influence me before making the final decision.

As I understand it, my options break down like this:

Non-surgery: Immobilize the foot with a cast; no weight on it for 6 weeks, followed by 4-6 weeks with a walking boot, followed by physical therapy and a re-evaluation after six months, with the option for surgery then if results are not satisfactory. The leg will always be weaker than before (face it, that’s true whatever happens).

Surgery: Outpatient procedure detaching the tendon that controls the big toe on that foot and moving it to control the ankle instead. Get rid of the Haglund’s deformity that the heel spur built up on to cause this mess. Same recovery as for immobilization. Loss of movement in big toe. If it doesn’t work, major life changes which we won’t think about yet.

So far, those consulted (self, husband, Mom) are plumping for the surgery. We want this over! Also, prospect of future heel spurs greatly reduced! But there may be considerations that someone with more experience could bring to our attention.