For those who don't know, I had surgery on my right foot to correct my bunion. Some people don't really know what that is. Let me explain. A bunion is where the space between your foot bones, (metatarcels) is wider than it should be, causing your tendons to push your big toe joint outward, and your toe inward. It can be very painful.

I have had this ever sense I was born, but it progressively got worse when I entered the military and had to wear my combat boots so much. So I applied to have a surgical procedure to fix it. When I saw my podiatrist, he said that the procedure that we would have to use is a more invasive one, and would cause me to be unable to bear weight on that foot for at least 12 weeks. Even in spite of this, we decided to go ahead and fix it.

Originally schedualed to be done in June, because of certain events on the base, I had to push the surgery date back to October. So, October 29, 2004 I had my surgery.

The procedure lasted about two and a half hours, during which I was sedated. During the procedure an incision was made parallel to the bones on my foot from the big toe to the arch. The doctor then shaved down my big toe joint bone, and disconnected the tendon. Then, on the first metatacel, he cut a piece of bone out in the shape of a wedge, keeping the point of it still together to act like a hinge. After that, he moved the metatarcel over towards my other toes, so that it was straighter. He then secured it with two screws that will stay in my foot, and two pins that are holding the bones in place. These pins stick out of my foot, you can see them in the pictures next to this. Then the tendon was sewn back to the muscles and bones, and the wound was stiched up.

After the surgery, the first cast was put on, and I headed home to begin my recovery on convalescent leave. This meant that I didn't have to go to work at all. But I also had to stay in bed and keep my foot elevated, so the blood wouldn't rush to my foot and cause it to swell. Also, there was no pain at all from the surgery. I haven't felt any pain from the procedure, just minor irritation from the casts.

After a month of convalescent leave, I was to return back to work. (December 3, 2004) Although I could move around on the crutches, I had to have a wheelchair so that I could keep my foot level with my waist. After I went back to work, I continued to see my podiatrist once every two weeks, having the cast removed, and then the foot x-rayed, and then a new cast put back on.

Now I am nearing the end of my 12 weeks in the cast. (January 21, 2005) I hope that all will go well. When the cast is able to be taken off, the podiatrist will pull the two pins out of my foot (it will be numbed for that) and then the bandage will be put back on untill the holes heal. Then (hopefully) I will be put in a walking cast, or Darth Vader type boot. I will still have to be careful, no running or anything like that, but will be able to put some weight on it. I am looking forward to that!