My Ankle Surgery Part 1

Over the next few days and weeks I will be writing about my experiences with my ankle surgery. So far it has been an adventure and a half. I am not new to having any kind of operation done on me. When I was fourteen I had a spinal fusion for scoliosis. For those who don’t know scoliosis is when your spine curves in either an “S” or “C” type pattern. Mine was definitely an “S”. What the doctor did was put a metal rod and hooks into my spine to straighten it back out. However when I was 20, I developed a staph infection on my back and the culprit was determined to be my hardware from the spinal surgery. So I ended up having the hardware removed. Fast forward to 2009 and 2012 when I had Hushpuppy and Dumpling and there were two more surgeries. So suffice to say I was a pro at being put under general anesthesia. 

My ankle problems began back in 2012. I had a love for wearing five inch heels and one day after church we had a dinner in the family life center. Well during the dinner, Hushpuppy wandered off and of course me being in mommy mode, I took off after her. However my heels decided that they were not made for running and slipped which in turn led to me twisting my ankle. After that there were days when my ankle would be sore but it was nothing I couldn’t handle. However in December 2012 after starting to work for the Corrections system and all the standing and walking that it entailed, my ankle started to really hurt. So I went to an orthopedist who at first prescribed an ankle brace, contrast baths, and PT that I could do at home. So I started to do those things and for a while everything seemed alright. Then of course one day I stepped the wrong way and my ankle became sore again and I went back to the orthopedist. He then had me fitted for custom orthotics for my shoes because my left ankle (the problem one) had absolutely no arch left in it and my right foot had slightly more. He figured that the flat footedness was contributing to my ankle problems.

My First Ankle Brace (but not the last)

Well I used the orthotics and continued the at home PT until one day when getting up for work, I stepped wrong on my left foot and my ankle gave way. The pain was excruciating. I swore that I broke my ankle. Lovey carted me off to the emergency room and after they did x-rays they saw no fractures but recommended that I get in touch with my orthopedist right away. Well I went back and he had me fitted for an air boot to give my ankle time to heal and a MRI to see what was going on. When the MRI came back it showed that my joint was damaged and I had lots of inflammation and scar tissue on the tendon that ran along the inside of my foot (classic symptoms of over pronation and flat foot). I was given a cortisone shot and orders to keep the boot on for six weeks. Well after six weeks my ankle was still a mess. So I was referred to a surgeon (who happened to have done surgery on my mother’s ankle as well as a consult for my grandmother). He wanted me to try outpatient PT and to keep the boot on for a few more weeks to see if that gave my ankle some relief. It did not. So it was decided at that time to schedule me for surgery. 

My Airboot (Which I still wear now)

The procedure that would be done was medically called a calcaneal osteotomy with FDL tendon transfer. Basically what was going to be done is the doctor was going to take another tendon from my foot and run it along the inside of my foot to replace the worn out one. Then he was going to reset my heel so that my foot would point forward again instead of out. I was ready for it but I had no idea what would be in store for me afterwards...

TO BE CONTINUED...

Sunshine Blogger Award

Hey everybody! Long time no see I know. Well I’m back and with good reason. I was nominated for the Sunshine Blogger award by Nisa at Ms. Direction. We follow each other on Instagram and I have to say it was an honor and a privilege just to be thought of for the nomination. If you are unfamiliar with the Sunshine Blogger Award, here is how it works...

Rules:

• Acknowledge the nominating blogger with a link to the website. Thanks Nisa!!
• Share 11 random facts about myself by answering the questions the nominating blogger has created for me. 
• List 11 bloggers I believe deserve some recognition and a little blogging love! (I can't nominate the blogger who nominated me.)
• Let the 11 bloggers know you nominated them.
• Post 11 questions for the bloggers I nominate to answer. 

Questions:

1. What inspired you to start a blog? What inspired me to start a blog is that I enjoy putting my thoughts in words that I can go back and read. My first blog was on MySpace (really lol) and it went on from there. What keeps me blogging though is just tracking the journey that my hair has made.

2. Who is your biggest supporter? My biggest supporter is my husband. When I first started blogging, we were dating. I really wanted him to know how I felt about him, but I couldn’t verbally express it. So I let my blog do it for me and I like to think it worked. He is always asking when my next post is coming and that he still likes reading both of my blogs.

3. If you could live anyone's life for one day, who would it be? Why? I would have to say either one of my daughters because I just miss being a kid sometimes and they make it look so easy and fun.

4. What quality do you value most in a person? Honesty. Just be honest with me. I might be a bit upset at the truth, but it is temporary. That’s part of why me and my husband work because he is honest to a fault.

5. What is your favorite quote? “When you love someone you gotta trust them. I mean there’s no other way. You have to give them the key to everything you own. Otherwise, what’s the point?” Sam Rothstein (Casino)

6. When was the last time you tried something new? A few weeks ago at Trader Joe’s I tried guacamole for the first time and I have to say it was amazing.

7. What day stands out as the happiest day in your life? Argghh!! Too many to narrow down to just one. I’ll say my top 3 are the days my girls were born and the day I got married.

8. What's your favorite thing about you? My sense of humor. I would say it is a mix of sarcasm and sharp observations. It doesn’t come across as mean, but I have been told that I am a true smarta$$ lol.

9. What is one thing you usually forget? Where I put my car keys. I can sit them in a common spot for five minutes and if I am asked where they are I couldn’t tell you. I also forget appointments if I don’t write them down.

10. What does friendship mean to you? Friendship means a lot to me, but because I’m so introverted at times it may seem like I don’t enjoy having friends. It is further from the case.

11. Would you rather be dumb and awesome or smart and boring? Smart and boring because being dumb is just not me.

Who Do I Nominate?

Well I honestly can’t think of eleven bloggers who would pay attention to this or have not already done this, so instead I nominate anyone with a blog who has read this post. Easy way out? Possibly but I don’t mind.

Questions?

1. Is there a subject that you would not blog about?

2. What is your favorite dish to cook?

3. If you are stranded on an island, what 3 things would you be stranded with?

4. What is your most embarrassing moment?

5. What is your favorite body part?

6. If you could describe yourself in one word, what would it be?

7. Which superpower would you choose: invisibility or flight?

8. When is the last time you told someone you love them and who?

9. Spiders: nature’s friend or your sworn enemy?

10. If you could go back to any period of time in history, what would it be and why?

11. Which do you like more: the new Ninja Turtles or the 90’s version?

That's The Stuff I Don't Like

Nothing Says I Don't Like It Like Steven Colbert With His Head On His Desk

Hey everybody. I decided to do another tag blog for you. If you are a YouTube addict like me then you have seen these video tags over the 'net for a few weeks or so. Since I don't have a decent enough camera or editing equipment to do the video, I decided that I would blog about it instead. So the gist is to just talk about things you don't like or may get on your nerves, so let's do it to it.

1. People who eat or drink something and leave a corner or a drop in the fridge like they are doing you a favor. I hate this. In fact I have family members (no names) who have or still do this. There have been times when I have had my mouth set ready to eat or drink something, only to find the empty or near empty container still in the fridge. Dammit if you are going to eat or drink that much you might as well finish it off. I'll be less pissed if you do.

2. Facebook/Twitter tough guys. What this mean is if you are bad enough to say something on Facebook/Twitter then you should be able to back it up in person. Not sub tweeting or using vague status messages to say what is on your mind. Dammit put it out there if it is serious enough to warrant venting on social media. And while we are at it...

3. People who put all their business on social media and then get mad when someone calls them out for it. I have a social media friend (we know each other in real life as well) who is always posting what she's doing, where she's going, what she's wearing/eating/drinking. However when someone brings up where the money for all this is coming from or here her child is, she's ready to start fighting. The way I see it, don't put all your business in the streets and then you won't have "haters" questioning you. Just sayin'.

4. People who get in my personal space. You want a one way ticket to a butt kicking? Just get in my personal space and don't get out of it. Seriously. Try it.

5. People who are just plain disrespectful to the President of the United States. I mean seriously. Donald Trump, Mitt Romney, hell the entire GOP/Tea Party. Calm your nerves. Because your attitudes are trickling down to some of my Republican friends and they are getting out of pocket and some of their personal issues are issues that could be solved if they would only open their eyes and stop listening to Fox News for five minutes.

6. My check engine light in my car. It know what it is doing and it's getting on my nerves.

7. People who stare at me when Itty is throwing a tantrum. Okay I get it. Her crying is irritating and makes you want to run out the room, store, ect. screaming. However, what to do you want from me. I can either ignore it until I get her somewhere where I can dish out discipline or dish it out in front of you and have you get the law involved and then I have to jump on you. Surely you must have children who drive you nuts as well.

Okay last one because I'm starting to run out of things:

8. People who reach onto my plate. Okay we're eating and you see something on my plate that you like. Please don't just help yourself. Ask me and I will fix you a sample for you to try. Reach on my plate without clearance and you might draw back a nub. Or a fork mark on your hand. Just sayin'.

Well peeps there are the things I don't like. I hope this was fun for you as it was for me. Who knows I may end up recording this as well as a video response or something. We'll see. Until next time loves.

Afton