Contrary to popular belief, in the immediate aftermath of my surgery I was NOT put into a cast. Rather I was put into a splint to allow the swelling to recede and any residual bleeding to ooze out.
Oops, hope you weren't eating dinner while reading that.
So today I got my first outing since the surgery. I got to get in the car and drive up to San Francisco for my first follow up appointment with the surgeon and if everything looked good I would have a cast put on. The surgeon's name by the way is Alicia Knee. This is a picture of her:
In the movie of this experience she would be played by my friend Tamara Zook due to the fact they were obviously separated at birth. Also they share a personality. When I first met her it seemed strange to have the woman who stood comically toe to toe with Robin Williams and Billy Crystal and gave as good as she got (see FATHER'S DAY) telling me how she was going to re-sculpt my foot, but a few jabs in the ribs from Betsey reminded me that Tamara was not in fact going to be doing the surgery and in fact was on the road with (shudder) I LOVE LUCY LIVE ON STAGE.
But I digress.
It felt so good to get out of the house. I don't think I've ever spent this much time cooped up in one location. I was so happy I wanted to put my head outside the window and feel the wind on my face. I wanted to let my tongue loll out and put a giant smile on my face. Betsey said that was not socially acceptable. I acquiesced as she had a rolled up magazine in her hand when she said it.
It was a beautiful day for a drive and everything was going right. We sailed into the city with little traffic hassle and even found a legal parking space right out in front of the California Pacific Medical Center. I even discovered that the knee scooter and San Francisco hills could produce some fun activities that I doubt I would have tried without being under the influence of heavy pain medications. I scored an 8.7 from the Russian judge but the French judge only gave me a 6.3 so I finished just outside the medals.
At last we made it into the office. I was excited to see what was underneath all the bandages that had weighed like a cement shoe on my foot for the past four days. I wanted to see the miracle of modern medicine that would have me walking proud and proper in just a matter of days. Here is a picture of what I saw. I link to it rather than show it just in case you are still eating dinner.
It was fascinating to see though. My foot might look like something Dr. Frankenstein would have cobbled together, but Dr. Knee said it was all normal. I finally got to hear just exactly what had gone on in the OR during the surgery. I know that she had told me while I was in the recovery room, but I also apparently was singing quite loudly at that time so anything she might have told me I honestly don't recall. Apparently when the tendon snapped into place with a giant PLOP, the surgical nurse announced "That's the sound of freedom". I thought that was rather poetic till I was informed that the surgical staff is made up of former military medicos who were more than likely referencing that it sounded like a gunshot. Oh. Well. Never mind.
Since everything looked good on the outside it was off to X-Ray to snap a few 8x10s just to double check the inside. Here's what they showed (and if you're still eating dinner, jeez finish up already):
It may be modern medicine and the miracles associated with it, but what I see is a couple of wood screws in my heel and a metal plate on the top of my foot that has me thinking TSA is going to give me a good going over the next time I fly. But according to the experts it all is good and so at last I got my cast. Dr. Knee made me promise I wouldn't Beadazzle it, which I guess is a problem with her younger female clients. I said at most it would be sporting a SF Giants logo when I see her in two weeks.
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