Post-Op Day 11

Mom and a family friend, Annice, have been here for a few days, so we've been getting out of the house...Wednesday was dressing removal and boot receipt day, so after the reveal of Frankenfoot (see that day's post) we drove around Knoxville a bit....We had iced tea on Calhoun's patio, where I camped out while Mom and Annice took a walk down the waterfront...I tell you, the knee scooter makes things MUCH easier, but still is hard to get around, and after shopping a bit the day before, Wednesday I was a bit worn out....thank you the the lovely waitress on Calhoun's patio who didn't charge us for our iced tea, what a lovely girl.  (my view from the most easily accessed part of Calhoun's on the River's deck...yes, the river IS out there somewhere!!)

Mom, Annice and I did Dollywood yesterday, and although it was fun as always (the train was not running, though. :( ) it WORE ME OUT...talk about a new perspective, being stuck in a wheelchair/scooter all day, having to THINK if able to go to certain places, or find a bathroom...I was exhausted by day's end. I am every SO thankful that for me, this is a temporary thing. This experience is really opening up my eyes.



BTW, if they read this by some weird coincidence, Dollywood REALLY needs some automatic doors on their family/handicapped bathroom doors, I tell you...I didn't have my crutches with me, so had to drive the scooter right into the bathroom, and getting in and out of manual doors in one of those scooters is almost impossible without help. 

Today we opted to skip the Biscuit Boulevard downtown Knoxville...Missing it again this year, but I just wasn't up to the logistics of getting around downtown on my knee scooter or crutches, and in those crowds, nonetheless...and did the simple, tasty breakfast at Horn of Plenty...then we braved the rain showers to Crab Orchard so, on their last day here, Mom and Annice could see Ozone falls, one of our favorite sights to show people who visit....I had my books, and camped out in the back seat with my foot up while they hiked a bit.....finally finished a book I started several months ago!!

Even after an afternoon riding around I'm the car, foot down, in my boot--well, we DID stop at Riverside Grill in Oak Ridge, TN, enjoy some of the rowing from their patio with a cold beverage:
 

a couple of hours elevated and a bit of ice, and I have to admit, it's looking better. 



That long, bruised, second toe sticks out furthest in my boot, and when it gets shiny and swollen, I know it's time to get my foot elevated a bit!! Looking good now.

Pain-wise, Motrin is enough. Oh, it throbs a bit when I put it down, but really I don't need anything else. 

Will post a pic without dressings tomorrow. Dr. Ritchie just put gauze over the stitches with an ace bandage loose over it, saying he knows anything tight can be uncomfortable, but I've found that, even loosely wrapped just to hold Gauze on over the stitches, it feels like the ace bandage makes my foot joints lightly but constantly grind together. So I dug into my first aid kit, and this is what I've come up with. Still did the ace bandage loosely inside the boot today, but taking it off to relax and sleep.

I can still see the faint outline of Dr. Ritchey's Happy face foot. :)