80 days No fixture

Hey Everyone,

So today has been exactly 174 days since the operation and 80 days since the fixture was removed. I just wanted show you an updated picture of my feet. My lengthened toe is now much more flexible and my surgeon told me that I can now start wearing any heels that I like!

Hope you are all well!
N

46 days Post Fixture

Hey Everyone,

Just a quick update on how I am doing. I began wearing normal shoes (thongs and sandals) and noticed my foot swelling up excessively and changing colours from bright reds to purples. So I quickly put on my runners but there was always a weird pain when I was walking. I decided it was time to see my doctor and it turns out I have tendonitis, which is common in people who have foot operations that start walking too fast/too much. Soo, I am not told to rest and not walk so much :( setting me back a little bit, but it should heal soon. Apart from this my x-rays showed even more bone growth and my doctor is so happy with the results.

Heres an updated picture of my feet! As you can see my right foot is still a little swollen.

For those of you who are getting the surgery/are going through healing now, my advice is to take things slow, it may seem like it is taking forever, but in the long run it will be worth it! Don't rush into exercise and make sure you regularly rest your foot because it isn't as strong as it used to be (for now :) )!

Hope you are all doing well!

N

29 Days No fixation

Hey Everyone!

Just an update on how I am doing. The external fixture  has been off for 29 days now, and I have been in runners, without crutches for 12 days. Since I have been walking without crutches, I experienced a lot of unbearable pain in my heel, mainly a stabbing pain which shoots up into my ankle. It made it hard exercise the foot, so I finally went to see an Osteopath and have been given some exercises which have helped so much already! I was already doing steps 1 and 2, however I was told to increase them to build up more strength.

My exercises include:

1. Regular stretches of my achilles and calf muscle. Stand facing a wall, about a foot away and stretch the brachy foot/leg. I hold this for about 30 seconds, then do step 2 and then repeat this step.

2. Heel raises. Stand facing the wall about a foot away and lift your heels off the ground (I think this feels weird because you can feel the new bone in the front of your foot), do about 20 reps.

3. Balancing. I try stand on the operated foot, at first I found this very difficult, but in only 3 days my ankle already feels stronger and there is less pain. My Osteo suggested doing this while doing something else, e.g. brushing your teeth, this makes you focus on balancing because it requires more effort.

I do these about 3-4 times a day :). Less than two more weeks of runners to go! I am so excited :D

I hope you are all well and I would love to hear your stories!
N

Day 13. No Fixation!

Hey Everyone!

Today I got the last bandages removed from my foot! So exciting! My doctor told me he wants me off crutches as soon as possible which is the best news, so sick of the sticks! I am fairly happy with the results, the toe still looks a little small because the bone are all compressed but when I start walking on it properly it should stretch about 2-3 mm making it amazing! Also my second toe which was shortened is still long, and will take another couple of months before being 100% normal :)

I am only wearing runners now, for about 4 weeks and then I will be free to wear anything I like, I cannot wait, just in time for summer!

Heres a photo of my new foot and the scar :)

Hope everyone is well and I'd love to hear all your stories,

N

Day 5 no fixation

Hey everyone,

So since my appointment on Friday I have been able to apply 30% of my weight onto my foot while walking. This feels so unnatural because I can only apply weight to my heel and I often forget I can use my foot. Because there was still signs of the fracture I will have to stay on crutches for another 2-3 weeks, which is a little disappointing however the end is VERY close and I am so so sooo excited!

So far I have experienced a little bit of discomfort, mainly from my ankle though. My ankles are weak to begin with and seeing as it has not been used for such a long time it is feeling weaker than ever. There has been no pain in my foot unless I try sleeping on my stomach with it flat against the bed, I think it stretches it a little too far at the moment.

As the days go on I am getting more and more excited for summer (for the first time in years!) and I cannot wait to go swimming!!

:) Hope you are all well,
N

Removal of Fixture!

Hey everyone!

After little sleep and much anticipation, I finally got the good news that my fixture was getting taken off today! I was/am so ecstatic! I will be wearing a supportive sandal shoe for the next 13 days and only applying about 30% of my weight gradually building up!

I had my pins removed in the doctors office. If you are getting this done I suggest maybe taking a pain killer. However on my first foot I had no actual pain just a sick feeling because you can feel your bone moving. This time round I did have some pain and felt a bit dizzy from it.

Here's some pictures of my foot!

Anxious

Hey!

Today is supposedly my last day with the metal fixture on my foot!! I'm so nervous for tomorrow (incase the fracture hasn't healed fully or it just isn't ready to come off)...but I am hoping for the best! I'm so excited that I might be rid of the fixture, I have lived with to for 93 days! I cannot wait to be able to sleep comfortably, without my leg having to be propped up on a pillow or waking up because it was caught on my blankets and being able to stand in the shower or go swimming and most of all not be cooped up in the house! and most of all NO MORE CRUTCHES! I can not express how much I have grown to hate my crutches, always falling and constant struggle to do normal activities with them.

To those of you who are considering this surgery I'd like to give you my opinion on which season to have the operation in.

Summer:
Positives

• I have read that being warm makes things heal faster, and in turn will result in less time with the fixture on. Although my first foot did not heal incredibly fast I think it was better than having my foot always "looking like a corpse", as my sister would say.
• Getting dressed is SO MUCH EASIER. You can throw on a dress or pair of shorts so much easier than trying to get into trackies or tights as I did on occasion (I had to cut a slit in the bottom to get them off).
• I was a little scared for a while after my operation that someone would step on my feet and crush them if I wore open toed shoes, so going straight into winter allows your feet to gain extra strength while in closed shoes, making them EXTRA ready for summer time sandals. 

Negatives

• You're more likely to miss out on going somewhere with friends/family, which can make you feel more depressed throughout the weeks. (But stay positive, if I made it, You can)
• The sunshine makes you go crazy when you are stuck inside

Winter:
Positives:

• Normally when its cold out I want to be inside and not get out of bed anyway, so it made me feel better about staying home all the time and watching movies all day!
• You don't get as hot walking around on crutches (maybe its just me but walking with them makes me never feel cold)
• By the time summer comes your feet will be all new and ready to be shown!

Negatives

• Clothing as I said above, especially if you have to go somewhere kind of dressy... there really isn't much you can wear.
• I found my foot had more pain in winter, because the metal goes straight into the bone when its cold your insides are cold! I found my muscles cramped more and it just hurt more.
• I had to cut socks in an attempt to keep my toes warm, it helped a little but they were still pretty cold and "corpse looking"

I hope this helped you a little in your decision to have the corrective surgery! If your doubly unlucky like me and have it on both feet, just know there are positives and negatives for both, and just keep a positive mind!

N

Post Op.

Hey,
So I started writing this blog and then stopped feeling like no one would read it, until I saw someone had posted a comment and lead me to a page of numerous people just like me sharing their experience.

I am undergoing the external fixation method, rather than the one stage lengthening process. This means that for approximately 10-15 weeks I will have an external fixation device sticking out of my foot, and it is non-weight bearing.
Below is a picture of my left foot the day after the operation.

It has been 35 weeks since my left foot was operated on and 20 weeks since the external fixation was removed. I was made to wear a boot for 2 weeks and then runners for approximately 5 weeks. after that time I was allowed to walk bare foot or wear other shoes, however, after a couple of hours my foot was in quite a bit of bearable pain. I still experience pain when wearing certain shoes, or when my foot gets cold.
The first photo is the day before my 2nd operation. I had my 2nd and 3rd toe shortened on my right foot, and my 2nd toe shortened and 4th extended on my right foot.

It has been 13 weeks since my right foots operation and the external fixator is still attached. I was supposed to have to off 2 weeks ago but sadly there was a fracture in the new bone and I was told to keep it on for an extra 4 weeks. These past 2 weeks have been hard, I think mainly because I had been soo excited about getting it off that the news was devastating.

Below is an updated photo of my left foot, the shorted toes are still recovering, however I am so happy with the result and cannot wait to show my feet off in summer!

 My right foot kind of looks like a corpse (as my sister called it) but will get there in the end. I stopped turning it approximately 6 weeks ago, and even though it still looks short, should stretch out like the left foot and become normal.

Despite knowing how great I will feel after the recovery is over, spending close the 4 months on crutches, being unable to do simple daily tasks takes a massive toll on your emotions. At first you are always tired due to the medication, but after that wears off, boredom and agitation can take over. And the fact that I had to have both feet done, totalling 9 months in my room, depression can come too. I have tried hard not to take it out on others, but I have always been a person who tries to do everything by myself, and with that not always being an option now, I have found my mood swings are quite bad. If you consider this operation, know that the days will not all be easy, and you definitely need to find a hobby to keep you going, instead of just watching movies and tv series like I did the first 4 months. In saying this, I know I will not regret my decision to have the surgery and I am so grateful for both my parents for supporting me during this time.

I hope whoever is reading this is doing well and I would love to hear your stories!

Living with brachymetatarsia

Hey everyone,

I decided because I have so much time on my hands, that I should write a blog to help those who are struggling with Brachymetatarsia. I found with my research, that there wasn't that many entries out there telling people what it is like to live with it, and what the surgery is like.


For the past nine years I have had to deal with a deformity called Brachymetatarsia. For those of you that don't know, it is a condition where a metatarsal bone doesn't develop in (most commonly) the 4th toe, making it shorter than the 5th. This deformity is fairly uncommon, and correcting it is a difficult process. People with this deformity generally develop psychological problems, as it begins to become noticeable around the age of 8-9, when kids have a tendency to tease those who are different. Because of this, we force ourselves to hide our feet, restructuring our personalities to become someone we are not.

This is my story...

I was happy as a kid, always outdoors swimming, I loved swimming, and my feet were the last thing I cared about. One day someone else pointed out that my feet looked weird and started talking about it behind my back. I became self-concious and developed anxiety, refusing to enter any activity that would reveal my feet. This consisted of lies upon lies and eventually the reoccurrence of reasons why I couldn’t come over, or go swimming, lead to my friends giving up on me, moving on and finding new people to spend their time with. I did little to prevent this isolation, I only saw it as preserving what was left of my inner strength, rather than an opportunity to share my insecurities and move on. 

I didn't allow myself to wear nice clothes, creating a false image of who I was, because the only shoes I would allow myself to wear were converse or closed toe, which had to cover a specific amount of my foot. Summer was hell but winters made me feel more comfortable and I would start acting more myself around others.

My parents took me to see numerous doctors, all refusing to perform any form of "cosmetic surgery", they said that my feet weren't doing any harm so they wouldn't touch it, however, the psychological pain was horrific. We had found doctors in America that performed the surgery, but the duration of recovery was too much to consider getting it done. I had lost hope and my depression became worse. Then one day my mum found a surgeon in Sydney, that did this surgery, we arranged an appointment and I am currently on my recovery for my second foot, and would like to share my experience with people struggling to deal with this just like me.

I would like everyone to know that I didn't get this operation done just because of how my feet looked. I experienced an immense amount of pain from just walking, and found almost every shoe uncomfortable. I would get blisters on top of blisters and shooting pains in my feet. This became unbearable because I loved to exercise and couldn't because of the pain.

I have attached some images of my feet before the operation.
 The top view shows the odd appearance.

  

The side view shows how the toe is pushed above the others, this makes it prone to blisters which hurt sooo much. I also noticed that after any form of exercise I felt pain in my foot, because my toe would be pushed up so much all the muscles and bones readjusted.

.