Day by Day

Recovering since Thursday has been okay. No major issues ... just taking it easy, taking pain meds and antibiotics. Thankfully, I am not nauseated anymore. I spend my time on the recliner or laying down, with a little walking on my crutches. I have stitches at four different places, two where Dr. Sauer worked on each ankle and two where Dr. Ducic worked on sensitive nerves.

Dr. Sauer stretched the Achilles tendon of my left ankle (non weight-bearing for 6 weeks) and removed two screws from my right ankle. The incision on my right ankle was very sensitive for a day or two, but is now feeling fairly good. So as time goes on, walking on the crutches should be easier.

When I had seen Dr. Ducic back in February, he told me he can either cut or decompress the damaged nerve in my left thigh and he was leaning towards cutting it. That would mean instant relief from the burning pain I have had for over a year (YES)! It would also mean a numb area for the rest of my life. Decompressing the nerve might/should/could relieve the pain, but no guarantees. When I saw him on Wednesday he decided he wanted to try to decompress it because he thought it might work and he didn't want me to have a numb area on my leg for the rest of my life. I was not a happy girl ... I had been planning on waking up from surgery with no burning pain and now he was telling me decompressing might work, he thinks it should, but he couldn't promise me it would. Because decompressing is reopening a damaged nerve, it might not work instantly, but slowly over the next days/weeks/months the pain might get better. And if it doesn't ... then I can come back to him and get the nerve cut at that time. Needless to say, I was not happy to hear he wanted to try this option, but he is the expert and so what could I say.

Today I can say the decompressing did help, I do not have the burning pain, Praise God! I do have some annoying tingling sensations, but they should go away with time as the nerves heal more.

So, day by day I move forward in another chapter of my recovery.