So the instructions are to soak in hot water for four minutes, then cold (yep, some ice cubes in there) for one minute, and do this cycle four times for a total of 20 minutes. The alternating hot/cold is supposed to expand/contract the area and help reduce the swelling. Admittedly the thought of getting my foot in to water was pretty awesome, I'd been wondering how funky things were getting under those bandages at the 2.5 week mark...
It felt weird of course, but good. My foot is pretty swollen (now even more so underneath, on the ball of the foot, as I start being able to walk around more). It is big and dark colored and super puffy. It looks like a yam (see photo). So Yamfoot and I soak and air dry together twice a day. I've been applying Aquaphor (except near the incision and butterflies) to rehydrate the skin, which is working great.
I took a shower sans bandage/sleeve and standing on the foot with no constriction was ridiculously painful. To offset it I made a lot of moaning noises that I tried to conceal as Christmas caroling. I guess that will just keep getting easier as the swelling goes down.
I can pretty much walk on it now, when wearing the ugly shoe, though I favor the right side/heel of the foot and still keep the weight away from the big joint or the whole foot. When I go out of the house (yay, I've now had four outings!) I use my big black support boot that I still have from stress-fracturing my tibia earlier this year. It helps distribute the weight more evenly and makes me feel more protected. But my toes still stick out, and man when the big one gets bumped it's The Worst Feeling Ever. Like yesterday, when I adjusted my foot on the chair under the table across from me and inadvertently knocked my toe - C. told me I turned shades of purple he'd never seen before. Also there is a lot of swelling underneath which is partly why walking is still so uncomfortable - seems the small bones at the ball of the foot were also in bad shape and required some resetting in the surgery. Sheesh. So now if I could just fight gravity and keep the blood from rushing down there and creating pressure, I'd be upright for longer periods of time, but I'm very good about those elevation breaks as needed. I'm about ready to leave the crutches behind, though I'd be willing to use a cane for support. Stairs are still tough.
Today I tried to put on an Ugg slipper... no dice. I'm going to have to go find some shoes a size and width larger than normal to get rolling again. Steel-toed, of course...
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