There is a very solid reason why I haven't posted in weeks. Part pride, part denial, but mostly disbelief. My left bunion has returned. No, I'm not kidding. This is a recent pic...
After a brief period of depression, followed quickly by anger - I will share my experience.
A couple weeks after getting my boot off, it looked like my big toe was beginning to drift back over to the left, while my metatarsal bone appeared to be pushing it's way out again. I spent days staring at my foot and showing it to my husband. He, being the supportive and completely awesome guy that he is, wanted to make me feel confident that it was fine and was most likely a result of swelling. He was only able to hold that position for a few hours, before my obsession of bunion photos, texts and emails made him snap. He knew it was true, the fucking bunion was coming back.
A hellish surgery, weeks of post-op recovery, inability to run with my kids, golf, or even walk - has been in vain. I am crushed. I went to see my surgeon at the 9 week post op mark to show him what was happening. For a man who assured me of his expertise on bunionectomy surgery, and who was adamant about me opting to have the most invasive of the bunion surgery options - for fear of under-correction... his response to what was occurring did not sit well with me. His first response was "That's not a bunion, it's very normal for your big toe to try and find your other toes." WTF? Does he think this is magic? Did my big toe feel lonely? If it's so normal, why don't we all have bunions? More importantly, why the hell did you cut me open, cut bones and put hardware in my foot? His next response (somewhat less witty than the first) was that he had the option of doing an Akin procedure on top of the Open Base Wedge Osteotomy to make sure that it was straight - but that he didn't want to over-correct. So, rather than over-correct and have a "really straight" foot, I now have a bunion again. sweet.
He also instructed me to begin wearing a toe splint that keeps my big toe aligned. I am guessing he means the same non-surgical toe splints that he once told me don't work at all and that surgery was absolutely necessary. Dick. As if I would opt to have such a major surgery and then start wearing a brace all day. I knew that he had screwed up, and so did he. Good luck getting a doctor of any sort to admit fault. I decided to get two more opinions.
No surprise that the two opinions were the same. I saw two highly recommended orthopedic surgeons who focus on reconstruction and repair. Both said the same thing... my bunion was under-corrected and indeed, coming back. Not only did he fail to correct the bunion entirely, but the hardware he placed in my foot does not allow for a simple rotation of that bone to align the toe. In more simple terms, I have to have the surgery redone. You can imagine my joy.
I will be doing my right foot with a different surgeon this Summer as planned. The procedure she will do is invasive, but the recovery is much better and she will have me weight bearing slightly in the first couple of weeks. Once my right foot is finished, I can make the decision on redoing my left. There's a chance I may decide to live with the mistake, but chances are...
For the Summer, my stud of a husband will see me in
pink BIRKENSTOCKS... and even if I suck at golf, we are back on the course.
xo
mercergirl
www.kitchendanceparty.com
