Surgery Results

So in case anyone doesn't know or was worrying, I'm writing this little update to fill you in. I had a bunion on my left foot and rather than waiting for it to enlarge and cause further complications than simply discomfort, Casey and I decided that now was the time to take care of it. A couple of the older sisters in our single's ward at BYU recommended a bunion study to us that would allow me to have the corrective surgery with all of my expenses taken care of and a check to take home for $1100. The website for anyone who is interested is: http://www.premier-research.com/eng_study_Current_Studies.aspx.

There are three different types of pain medication being studied in bunion removal surgery. The drug study I was in was for Anesiva, which contains the chemical that makes peppers hot. To remove my bunion, they cut the protruding bone from the side of my foot and then took a screw and straightened out my big toe to prevent it from pushing underneath the others. When they finished, they put the pain killer (Anesiva) directly into the surgical site and then stitched me up. There was a 50% chance that I would be part of the placebo group and not get the real drug, and sadly I do believe that I was part of that group. The first two days were a little painful, but bearable since I could always ask for additional pain relief.

My doctor, Dr. Dickerson, has been incredible. I have an appointment to meet with him every week to see how I'm doing and he is extremely attentive to my needs. He even gave me his pager so I could contact him in case of an emergency (I didn't need it, but it was comforting to have)! The anesthesiologist that put me under for the operation told me that he trusted the doctor enough to send his own daughter to him, which certainly boosted my own confidence as well!

As part of the study I had to stay at the clinic in Salt Lake for two days. No visitors were allowed, so that was a little difficult since Casey and I have only been married for a month and a half. I did get to talk on the phone for as long as I wanted, so that kept us from going completely insane. Apart from being boring, it was an enjoyable stay. Kneader's provided all of our meals and there was a good selection of movies to choose from. Since I was a little sick the first couple of days, I was slightly relieved that I was in the hospital during that time. I didn't feel nearly as guilty buzzing the nurses at 3:00am to bring me medicine or help me use the bathroom as I would have felt keeping Casey up half the night and then sending him to work the next morning!

Now I'm home again and I can hobble around pretty decently with one of those huge boots velcroed to my leg. Today is the second day that I've managed to get by with Tylenol as my only painkiller, so I'm pretty excited! We visited the doctor yesterday and everything is looking great. I'm healing up just fine and things are looking wonderful. I'm very happy with the results so far, and I will be even happier when I don't need any pain medication at all! :)

Casey has been absolutely wonderful throughout the whole ordeal: He waits on me hand and foot. The first few days at home were especially difficult and he has been so patient with me. I have a tendency to talk in my sleep and on the nights when my foot is hurting I'm even more disruptive than usual. I feel terrible about it, but he just puts up with it, wakes me up and gets me my medicine when I need it. He makes my meals and does the dishes and folds the laundry and does so much for me that goes above and beyond what I ever expected. I'm so grateful I married such an incredible man! On Tuesday I finally had the energy to clean the kitchen and bathroom and put some laundry in to wash. Although I still have good and bad days (Tuesday was good, Wednesday was BAD, Thursday was good...etc), I feel like I'm gaining more strength all the time. In about six weeks I should be able to manage without the boot. I can't wait! :)

Anyways, if anyone else reading this has bunions that need fixing, I really highly recommend going through this program at Scirex. You get amazing care during your stay there, the doctor is fantastic, and you get PAID to have a surgery that would need to be done eventually anyway. I don't know how much longer the study is going for, but you can look at the website and find out.