Topic: The Joys and Dangers...

[Skhilled]

Ok, you get to sit on your ass while others bring you food, etc. and you're complaning??? LOL

[Ken (OP)]

Ok, you get to sit on your ass while others bring you food, etc. and you're complaning??? LOL

 

[Ken (OP)]

Don't you just love it when you think that an issue is resolved, but it comes back with a vengeance?

My original complaint was a cut on the bottom of my left foot and while this problem is on my right foot it has been caused by the same source... my driving console and the GT Sport driving game.

For some time now the gas peddle on my driving rig has been making a callous on the 'shoulder' (behind the little toe) of my right foot. This past Sunday the callous began to break apart and as it turns out there was a serious infection under the area. During an 'emergency' visit with my podiatrist, the subject of amputation even came up! 
I'm still not doing real good, with lots of swelling and redness in my foot, but with daily wound care by my wonderful wife Kay and doses of a strong antibiotic, there is great hope that all will work out well.

[Skhilled]

I hope everything works out. I will pray for you.

[Ken (OP)]

And now the other shoe drops... or a foot falls off, or something. 

So, as I've documented before, my feet are rather numb and so things happen that go unnoticed, sometimes until way too long as in the current dilemma.

This latest bit of drama involves my other foot, and believe it or not it's also about my driving game! 
Dear reader, as you may have surmised all along, my love of my driving games is stronger than my cautionary instincts should have been and so there I was just driving away! This time I had developed a rather large callous just behind the little toe on my right foot and although I knew that the callous was there, the damage being done by the accelerator went unnoticed until it was ripped almost completely off and had become massively infected.

Then we see a series of visits to my podiatrist, with minor surgery and then daily treatments and bindings and after about four weeks while it seemed to be getting better, suddenly there was pronounced swelling of the whole foot and lots of redness, so my family Dr set me up with a wound clinic to see just what the heck is up. The wound Dr. was very knowledgeable and through and after a few minutes of him probing around, he found that the infection is down to the bones next to the toes, which means that there is a very good possibility that major foot surgery is called for.

I go in for a consultation with a surgeon on Tuesday to see what's next, hopefully, the news won't be too bad.
Are my driving game days over? Yes sadly they are over and I've already dismantled my driving rig and consul next comes selling of my equipment, including my PS4 and all the games.

EDIT: should have said "on Thursday" for the consul date.

[Skhilled]

I will pray for you and hope things aren't as bad as they seem.

[Ken (OP)]

Saving me a little toe!  ... errr, maybe. 

Actually the news is not horrible, but it's not all that good either. My foot surgeon, Robert M Goecker, DPM ran a fresh set of Xrays and finds that infection is indeed into the bone just behind my little toe. The 'Proximal Phalanx' bone has lost about 50% of its mass due to the infection and the fix is to cut the bone about in half and remove the degraded portion. The problem at this point is that Dr. Goecker will not know for sure about the little toe until he opens up the foot, this he will do from the top of the foot even though the wound is actually on the bottom.

The surgery will be in about two weeks and then the recovery should take about 6-8 weeks, but given my history of slow healing with my foot injuries, it may take a bit longer. I'm guessing there won't be any DC Hiking for me this year! 

[Skhilled]

Get better soon and sit back, relax and let Kay do all of the work! 

[Ken (OP)]

I'm trying to do just that Steve, but I'm also trying too not become a burden... and it's close to that now.

[Skhilled]

Sounds like she's gonna kick your butt sooner or later... But you can't run from her.

[Ken (OP)]

Sounds like she's gonna kick your butt sooner or later... But you can't run from her.

You are sooo right! 

[Ken (OP)]

... and, speaking of COVID-19!

COVID-19 Testing
Going in for COVID testing on Monday... it's part of my pre-screen testing as we get ready for the surgery that's coming up on Friday (27th).

Saw my foot surgeon on Thursday (9th) and set a date for the surgery, it will be on July 17. There's still lots of swelling and redness so it's not looking very good for the little toe and I could tell that my Dr is thinking that it's gotta go. Got a lot of pain in my foot and the toes and it feels kind of like a really bad toothache and that's making me take more pain meds that I prefer.

My oldest son, Ken III sez, "Keep your pinky toe in a Mason jar for good luck"
And my second son, Curtis sez, "@Kenny, maybe it could be attached to his keychain like a Rabbit's foot!

My preference is the Rabbit's foot! 

[Ken (OP)]

Today is surgery day! 
... COVID test results were negative, nice to know.
From all of my reading, this would appear to be a relatively minor and routine procedure so I'm not worried, just anxious to be done with all the drama that goes along with the day.

BTW... The old aphorism, "When it rains it pours", just might apply with my feet currently! Now the other (left) foot has become substantially swollen and discolored over the last three days, so much so that it's hard to get my shoe on. I'll show it to Dr. Goecker to see what he thinks... I hope that this will not interfere with the schedule for today's surgery. 

Please send me some prayers, I'm always in need of Spiritual help and I'm grateful for any received! 

[Skhilled]

Prayers are coming fast and hard!

[Ken (OP)]

Back in my recliner and feeling tired and achy. 

The news on the toe is good, for now, and the 'for now' is because that depends on how the recovery process goes... six to eight weeks according to my Dr.

So, a couple of pics for your entertainment.

This longer view of the foot after we returned from the surgical center and got settled into my recliner... this recliner will be my home for the next eight weeks. 

Not really crying or whining about it, but it will require some determination and intestinal fortitude on my part to not start cheating the process, but I will be strong.   
... note the compression on the left leg, this is the short term fix for the swelling in the left foot and ankle, may need to do more later.


Yes, I know that this one is gross, but it gives context for why this surgery was needed.