Not A Blog™

My apologies once again for the delay in this week’s update. I had the best intentions of mentioning last week that this week would be late. I knew it was coming. But of course it slipped my mind when I was writing the update, once again prompting a few people to write to make sure I’m okay. I do appreciate that.

I will start off by saying that this week’s update will also be late. This is for two reasons: first because Thanksgiving break is this week so I won’t have much to report, and secondly, because my second surgery is coming up December second. I’m going to wait until that’s out of the way so I can update everyone with how it went. Look for the next update later next week.

I put off last week’s update because I had a checkup and pre-op appointment with the surgeon this morning. For the most part, things are coming along fine. Bone density is still light, but not worryingly so. Swelling is good, range of motion is good and the surgery has been confirmed for, as I said, the second of December.

But—and following a phrase like “for the most part”, there’s always a “but”—there is a potential complication with one of the other screws in my ankle. The doctor said it doesn’t appear to be coming loose, but it sticks out noticeably further than everything else, and being at an angle, it comes to a point, as well. The skin healed around it without any trouble, but there’s not a lot covering it.

The skin is thin enough, and the screw head pointy enough, that it seems like a single, well-placed rap against some hard surface could puncture the screw right through the skin. Fixing this would be much more complicated than just slapping a bandage over wound. It would necessitate more stitches, as the skin would need to be pulled back over the screw and secured. Even if this never happens, once I start walking again, it could cause trouble as it rubs against the inside of my shoe or sock.

One solution is to pull that screw out, as well. This is where it gets complicated. My fibula isn’t healed well enough to have all of them removed. The doctor said they usually wait a year before they pull anything extra out—if they pull anything out at all. Pulling out two is doable, but would leave my bone with two holes instead of one, and the ankle would be that much weaker because of it, lengthening recovery. It also means I would need two more weeks in a splint to protect the stitches and incision as it heals. (Opposed to simply removing the big one, leaving me with only one or two stitches and the ability to continue using the boot.)

Obviously I want to do the best thing for my leg. I’m not at all looking forward to being in a splint again. That seems like an almost hilarious step backwards, and my initial reaction was something along the lines of “gah! Figures.” The problem is that I don’t know which route the doctors will take—and I won’t know until I’m in the operating prep room. The doctor I talked to this morning said they may not even know for sure until they actually open up my ankle again and see first hand how the bone growth is doing. Considering that it’s still not as high as they’d like it on the X-rays, they may leave it in for now.

So the funniest part about this (if any of this can be considered “funny”, in a non-ironic way of course) is that I will get knocked out and wake up with—something being different! Something will be done to my leg! I don’t know what it will be! Will I still have a leg? Will they put in more screws? No one knows!

Hyperbole aside, I will definitely have the syndesmosis screw removed, and possibly the second problem screw, but I won’t know for sure until after it happens. If they both come out, I will still be on crutches through Christmas. If it’s just the big one, I should be able to start putting weight on my leg as early as the next day.

Which brings to mind an interesting holiday isomorphism, pointed out to me by no less than three different people, none of whom know each other: if I’m using a cane, I can “bah humbug” everyone in proper Scrooge style. If I’m still on crutches, naturally I would be Tiny Tim.

I’m pulling for the cane.

-Ted

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