Ankle Update and Sub-Talar Fusion Surgery

About a month ago I had my 1 year check up for my right ankle replacement, and my 18 month check up for my left replacement. My surgeon says that the replacements have healed nicely and are doing great. Of course, this doesn't explain why I still can't be on my feet for longer than 10-15 minutes without being in an incredible amount of pain. My orthotics have helped some, but not to the extent that I was hoping for. I told him that my goal for the ankle replacement surgery was to go grocery shopping again. Something as simple as walking around the store for 40 minutes or so and coming back home and unloading my groceries isn't too much to ask. I really thought that the replacements would give me the ability to do this...that never happened. 

Apparently I have too much arthritis in my feet joints and bones (there are a lot of them in there!), and this is what's causing all the rest of the pain. The sub-talar joint is one of the large ones, and by fusing this, there is the hope that most of the pain I'm experiencing will be relieved. I'm very skeptical, mostly since I thought that the ankle replacements would be the solution to all my foot/ankle pain. Oh well, let's just all pray that this surgery isn't too hard on my body and that it really does help. I'm not asking to run marathons...I just want to go grocery shopping! God, I'm so easy to please :)

The biggest question (other than, “will this really work?”) was, “how much movement will I lose from the fusion?” Doc says that the sub-talar joint allows minimal movement in the foot and that any movement that I did have is probably gone due to the arthritis. Oh, goody. He said that I shouldn't notice a change in my gait or my walking, and, if anything, my walking should improve since I will have less pain. As it is now, I really feel like I start limping a bit on my right foot when the weather is bad or when I've been on my feet for about 10 minutes...pretty much whenever it hurts...which is often.

The surgery itself is a 20 minutes surgery, and isn't as invasive as my replacements were. That's the good news. The bad news is that I have to be nwb (non-weight bearing) for 6 weeks while in a cast, and then in a walking cast for another 6 weeks after that. Fuck my life. I hate being nwb. And I hate casts. And this is only for my right foot. And I'll eventually have to do this again for my left. Fuckshitpiss

Mini-rant over.

My son says I need an exo-suit. An exo-suit is an exoskeleton suit that allows people to move and have superior strength powers. Sadly, these are only available in the virtual world of video games! However, I think he has a great idea with this...medical community, ARE YOU HEARING ME? I NEED AN EXO-SUIT FOR THE REAL WORLD!

If anyone has any other questions that I haven't addressed, please comment down below. I have a public blog, so don't ever feel like you are prying. I want to get as much information out there in hopes that it will be helpful to someone someday!

Wish me luck, send me some good vibes, and keep me in your prayers!