Nyel's Right Foot
Being the ‘strong silent type’ is not necessarily a good thing. In combination with having a high pain threshold, it can be a formula for Trouble with a capital T, especially when it comes to health issues. As the spouse of an individual having those two traits, I’ve come to look for subtle signs of distress rather than waiting for full blown complaints regarding pain and distress.
About a year and a half ago, Nyel began limping. His right foot was bothering him he said. Soon, he began using a cane. Finally (after more than a little encouragement – some would call it nagging – from me), he went to the doctor, got a referral to a ‘specialist’ and agreed to a rather complicated sounding surgery. It involved shaving the bone on the ball of his foot and correcting a toe problem by breaking and realigning it.
He wore an orthopedic boot for six weeks or so and sported a pin sticking out of his toe which made him look like a Martian with a misplaced antenna. His follow-up appointments seemed to go well but complete recovery, said the doctor, could take up to a year. The pain continued unabated and Nyel finally asked our primary care doctor for a referral to a different specialist.
So, yesterday, off we went to Vancouver. The first thing the doctor ordered was an X-ray of Nyel’s right foot. And that was our introduction to “a mature non-union.”
“Sounds like some marriages I know,” I said rather flippantly. And then we were shown the X-ray. Oh! My! God! There was Nyel’s fourth toe, broken in two with the pieces totally separated and mis-aligned. It hurt me just to look at the picture of it.
I couldn’t help asking if it was standard procedure to take an X-ray during a follow-up visit after the type of surgery Nyel had undergone a year ago. Neither Nyel nor I remember any follow-up X-rays. (I mean don’t you think that someone would have mentioned that the toe wasn’t healing??) The answer from this new doctor was cautious, as one would expect – more along the lines of a what-he-would-do answer than a criticism of someone else’s method. Properly professional.
We discussed current options at length. This new doctor (who we both liked) talked about another surgery, a graft from bone taken from Nye’s heel, plus a metal plate, two months on crutches, plus another month in a boot. It did not sound like an adventure to look forward to.
Ironically, in the last week or ten days while waiting for this appointment, Nyel’s pain has abated – the old by-the-time-you-take-your-car-into-the-mechanic-the-rattle-has-stopped syndrome. The doctor seemed to think that the pain will come and go. For right now, Nyel is in a wait-and-see mode and no doubt hoping that I’ll not blather on about “sue his socks off!” “After all,” my strong, silent husband points out – “it’s not as though I had a tap-dancing career in the offing.”
If Nyle can edure it, perhaps another surgery in the Fall or winter would be the most convienent option, if it can be thought of as that. It would be a shame to have him laid up for the Spring and Summer. I don’t suppose you have recourse with the other doctor?