Jan 10, 2012 Doctor Appt

The first week was ok. I cannot stress to you the importance of ICE and ELEVATION.  These will be your best friend.  I have only had to take the pain meds the first night - but that was a doozy of a night.  My surgery did not go exactly as planned.  The metatarsal was smaller than expected, so in order to confirm the the fixator was placed correctly, he had to slice my foot open down to the bone.  This will unfortunately increase the recovery time and also leave a nasty scar on my foot.  But, a scar I can handle - it will be a reminder of the brave steps that I took to overcome my fears and enjoy life !!

I tried to attach the video of removal of my bandages for the first time, but it was too large, sorry :(  It looks way worse than it felt - trust me.  There is lots of dried blood in the gauges because of the excessive incision.  After this appointment, we began the turning process.  It was simple.  Insert the tool and turn it three times a day.  There is NO pain associated with it at all...I was stressing because I thought that I was not doing it right the first week = because of the no pain.

 The pin in the end of my toe is to keep the toe from raising while the metatarsal is being extended.

Surgery Day - January 3, 2012

My husband and I went down and spent the night.  One last date since we figured that I would be kind of limited for a while.  We woke up Tuesday morning - ready for anything.  It was hard for me to make that walk into the surgery center.  I think that the fear of the unknown was the hardest.  When you have lived with something this personal and trivial to you for so long, the thought of finally changing it is almost more than you can take emotionally. 

And the fun begins....

Xray of my foot prior to surgery

Choosing a Doctor

Trusting and being comfortable with your doctor is VITAL to this process.   I LOVE my doctor, Dr. Michael Gallina at Central Florida Foot and Ankle Center in Davenport, FL.  After visiting 6 different podiatrists in the Jacksonville FL Area and becoming extremely frustrated, I drove 2 1/2 hours to Orlando to meet Dr. Gallina.  I instantly fell in love with him and his staff.  If you are in Florida and have this condition, it is worth the drive.

http://www.flfootandankle.com/

My Apologies... I have been horrible with updating this blog, but I remember how frustrated that I was when I began looking for information about brachymetatarsia.  I promise to update everything that has happened this year :)

It is now 2012 and after lots of research, many interviews of podiatrists and lots of support and patience from my wonderful husband, I have decided to revisit the options for correction of this deformity.

Living with brachymetatarsia?

Brachymetatarsia is a congenital deformity of the foot.  People often think that they have a small toe but the reality is that the bone in your foot is underdeveloped. This condition is more common in females and is normally seen in the fourth toe, although it does effect males and other digits.

The first time that I remember realizing that my right foot was not normal, was about the age of 8.  I would go to church every single week, believing in a miracle.  That I would pray and when I opened my eyes my foot would be normal.  I am 38 today and I still have this condition.

Unless you have this condition, you cannot fully understand the impact that it has on one's life and lifestyle.  It effects every decision of your day to day process from your events that you are willing to participate in to the shoes that you can or will wear. The emotional pain that comes with this condition is more than the physical, but it painful none the less.

In 2000, I decided to visit a podiatrist to see if there was any way to "fix" this.  I had surgery in which they fused the toe and pinned it to try and lengthen it and "hold it down".  For anyone who is familiar with this condition, the toe is often "sitting" on the foot or raised - which causes pain and discomfort in shoes.  Needless to say, it did not really work.