Welcome to my Journey! by Stephanie Dempsey WARNING: Images on this site are surgical and very graphic. If wounds and surgical sites make you queasy, please proceed with care. I accept no cleaning bills associated with reactions to my site and my pictures.  |
It all started with the shoes. . . When I bought the shoes on the left, it was with a smile at the thought of what my husband would think (He likes them!). But, somewhere around Fall of 2011, they started to become uncomfortable. All my shoes started to become that way. Then they just started to not fit at all. And I noticed that my big right toe had lost about 1/2 of the movement in both directions it could go. Next thing I know, I am trying on shoes that were a whole size to 1.5 size larger than what I had been wearing for the last 20+ years! Not a happy camper. And to make it clearer . . . my new size was in the section that seemed to be filled with old-lady shoes, orthopedics, and the ugliest boats for feet I have ever seen. Not a happy camper. So I head to my GP, who thinks it may be arthritis (it runs in the family), and prescribes anti-inflammatory medications. Well, if it weren't for the fact that, when I went to this appointment in June of 2012, I had the most excellent insurance ever, due to my international oilfield working hubby: 100 % coverage, no co-pays, no deductibles, (the only thing it didn't cover was my prescriptions), I would have never taken this next step. I headed over to a network podiatrist. A couple of X-rays, some investigation of my swollen right big toe, and we had surgery scheduled for the next week: July 3, 2012. The pictures and information that follow are the journey to where I am now, post-RECONSTRUCTIVE surgery! Some things went wrong in the after-care of my July 3rd surgery that has led me here. To the best of my knowledge, the actual surgery went just fine! I had a damaged joint, the ligaments were detached, and bone spurs had grown. They fixed all that. The only wonky thing that they told me was that I had two screws put into the joint, which I wasn't expecting. Next page, please . . . |
