Third and Fourth week post op

What a difference it is from week 2 to week 3!   Week 2 it still hurt to walk much and I was happy to keep the foot elevated as much as possible.  This third week post op I had more energy and I had a 'slap in the face' moment when I opened the door at 6am and thought, "Wow, it's a beautiful morning for a run. Oh, Carp, I can't run".  :-(   It was still a gorgeous day and I did some more walking that day.  Last week Tuesday (just under 3 weeks post op), I decided to try my cycling sandals. Once I remembered how to loosen the toggle (um, unclip it from the toe region!), I was able to get my foot in.  After walking around the house for a few minutes I said, "NO" and took them back off. A bit too much pressure on the toe area.

I then tried on an older pair of running shoes (three seasons back, but the back up pair I currently have).  I had to keep the toe region very loose on the left side and I thought they fit okay. However, after a few minutes I said, "not yet".  

That said, I gave it a couple days and tried on the sandals again and I thought, "well, let's try this today".  I went for a bike ride to the river park and back, going slow---I did have a treasure hunt reason for going and was keeping my eye open for some items to find along the way.  I didn't find any treasure hunt, but decided I wasn't ready to go up any hills with the pedals, so I headed back home.  I then switched to the shoes and drove to another lake in town ---for the treasure hunt :-).  The shoes just put pressure from the top down on the toe and that's something that I think will get better/go away and I just have to deal with in the meantime, if I want to wear covered shoes. 

I didn't get too far. There's a generally flat area and then the start to a hill that I love running up.  I got about a third of the way in the shoes. Sat on a bench and put the foot up and then said, 'Go home'.   Going back downhill went a little better.  I decided to try something and I ran for about a hundred yards and thought it felt weird and it's going to be a sensation I have to get use to.

What sensation is that?

It's the sensation of a drunk toe.  That's right. My toe is slightly numb. It feels like my skin does when I get drunk/inebriated. Not that I get drunk often, but I am a 'lightweight'. 

Dinner time: roasted butternut squash!  I grew up with baked squash and love it.  One of the things I tried a couple years ago was roasting it.  Fabulous!  It gets a little caramel sugar like on the outside as it bakes.  I peel it with the serrated veggie peeler from Pampered Chef, which has "teeth" that really dig into the skin of the veggie.  Then I cut and dice the neck of the squash, then cut the "bell" in half, seed it and slide and die that bit.  Place on a roasting pan, drizzle coconut or olive oil on it with salt and pepper and roast at 375 for about 30 minutes or so.   For some variety, I added a few large florets of cauliflower as well. 

Then I served it with some skillet cooked squash and zucchini and the left over Classico Roasted Red Pepper alfredo sauce.  

I also had to go to the doctor again. This time the primary care for my third antibiotic in a month!  Fabulous, I know.  I had gotten scratched by an unknown to me cat, so I did went to the doctor.  My tetanus is up to date and she said my rabies shots I had to get a couple years ago would still be good. :-)   She also looked at my toe and told me I could just put vaseline on the dry (dark spot) of the toe.  

Hanging outside on a beautiful day for lunch.  

An hour in the sun in the peak of the day will make you a little pink in the spring time.  

Friday I had some errands to do.  I included in the errands a trip to my apple tree. The blossoms were coming on and it looked fabulous!    Then I had to pack for an overnight trip.  Concentrate on packing. I found a pair of dressy sandals I had in my closet and wondered why I hadn't found them last weekend for the meeting.  I decided those would be my shoes to wear to the funeral/memorial on Saturday.  One of my mom's cousins passed away and my sister thought it would be good to go. She was awesome and went out of her way /drive to come pick me up as well. 

I made up meatloaf and manwhich for The Mike while I was gone. 

The overnight for my sister and me was at the Holiday Inn /Suites in Hannibal Missouri.  I was very pleasantly surprised to see Udis in the breakfast room.  I was sad to see that they packages were opened at the bottom right just slightly.  It was on all of them, so I think it was on purpose. 

The drive to St. Louis was uneventful and the memorial was as expected. 

We headed home shortly after, with a stop at Trader Joe's before leaving.  I had to stock up on the tuna/water Tuna Fish from there (an unnamed large tuna fish has tuna/water but their water also has vegetable broth which includes soy --WHY?) 

A few hours in the car and we were ready for a stop: 

    The shoes went well, until we stopped at a river town on the way home--Louisiana, Missouri.   Last year I was in Paris and Mexico, Missouri with my hubby, and I added Louisiana this year. Don't worry, there are a LOT of state and country names in this state!  We walked along the river stone looking at shells and the Mississippi river. I remembered fishing with my grandfather on the water of the Rock River.  And then I slipped on the stone and my right foot turned in a bit. I recovered without falling and without injuring the left foot, but decided those shoes were getting removed as soon as possible.  Sunday I was fine, but Sunday night my foot hurt. Turns out I bruised an area of the foot.  A few days recovery and it feels much better now.  

The wide Mississippi with the railroad trestle in the background. It's one of the older style where the west side swivels to allow barge.

Scenic overlook on twisty back roads to Hannibal.  The greenery in front is a steep bank down, then farm land, the Mississippi river, tree island, Mississippi river and then Illinois.  

One of the surprising things to me on this twisty and winding road was the bike signs.  There were several miles with no shoulder and huge blind curves which I would be fearful of any cyclist riding.  Then the road opened up with shoulders and eventually became a road with marked shoulders for bicyclists.  I found the MRT bike route sign to be funny. . . MR. T.  'I pity the fool' and all that. 

The apple tree in full bloom.  What a difference a day made! I took pics on Friday and it was just starting to bloom. Sunday it was gorgeous in full bloom.

Three (plus) weeks post op, I can fit into my Born sandals again.  YEAH! 

We brought in some lilacs and apple blossoms. . . . they were a hit with the Felix cat!  

This week I did more walking and stood on the foot while we were working on the grape vine.  Sunday we trimmed it and then decided this is the year we'll redo the trellis/fencing.  It has needed to be done, and the end post is on the property line (something that was done 50 years ago).  New neighbors want to put in a fence, which also motivated us to do this task.  Most of the time I just stood and put the weight on my left heel.  Sunday evening I enjoyed putting my foot up.  

Forward to today, Thursday. I went for a walk in my Born sandals. After about 30-35 minutes I was ready for a rest.  It took a few hours of elevating the foot for the foot to feel 'normal' again.  This rehab for running is going to take a while, I think.  

More yoga stretching done the past few weeks. I'm sure it'll be much easier when I'm not wearing a sock to keep the gauze around the stitches :-)  

Oh--good news. this past Monday I had my third appointment with the oncologist.  Just to go over the biopsy results which I had heard already from the surgeon's office were good.  The oncologist was glad to see the results were negative for any cancer spread, the lymph nodes were good as well.  I had to ask what the stage of cancer was and she seemed surprised I didn't know.  I had seen the original punch biopsy report that said Clarks (something) Level II, so I didn't know if that was related to cancer stage. No, it's not.  I had Stage I melanoma and it's all taken care of with this region.  Next oncology appointment in six months.  Second dermatology appointment at the end of this month.