The First Lesson About Having Surgery

I wanted to start writing this blog prior to going under the knife but better late than never. First of all, I am not a doctor, the opinions that I express are based solely on my experience after having ankle surgery.

That having been said, I want to give you a little background about what lead up to my having to have surgery. I decided to go running in April of 2011 in an attempt to get into better shape [bla bla bla]. Long story short, I twisted my ankle and, being the person I am, waited 3 weeks before going to see the doctor.

Left ankle prior to seeing the doctors

After 3 x-rays, a ct scan and having one specialist tell me I needed to see a "more qualified orthopedic surgeon" I am told that when I was younger, the bones in my feet grew together instead of apart. When I twisted my ankle in April [it was June at this point] it had aggravated my tendons and I would need surgery. 

Perfect.  Just what every 24 year old want's to happen right before summer. So after living on my own for over two years, I had to move back in with my parents temporarily.

Surgery was scheduled for July 15th and I could not wait to be out of the walking cast I had been in since the middle of May and get back to normal.  



Yeah, not the most comfortable thing
to have to wear in the summer.

While my parents felt that I was going into surgery a little fast, I explained to them that if I postponed the surgery I may not be at least partially weight bearing by the time school began in september.  Recovery time was going to be about 6-8 weeks and I figured by the time November 12th [my brother's wedding] came around, I'd be good as new!

This brings us to the first lesson I learned about having surgery:

When given a recovery time, add 8 weeks to allow for setbacks, complications and unforeseen circumstances.