Then I developed strep throat. I went in to the doctor the Monday before the holiday and got a shot of penicillin to help me get better. I hadn't been eating much while I was sick, but the doctor said the shot would help me feel better so that by Thanksgiving I would actually feel like eating. Which was good news to me b/c I love the food we eat at Thanksgiving!
Two days later, I went to the American Fork Hospital and had surgery on my foot. For those of you who don't know, I have flat feet and [had] an extra bone in my right foot. Both conditions made wearing shoes kind of uncomfortable and my feet were usually just tired by the end of each day. I finally went in to see a podiatrist to see what could be done. My options: orthotics or surgery. Since orthotics aren't covered by my insurane and you can only wear them with close-toed shoes, I decided to go with the surgery. (Plus, only the surgical removal of that extra bone helped in that area!)
X-ray of my right foot with the rod in place. The long skinny thing is just the guide wire they used to put in the rod.
So, they cut my right foot in two places- on the inside of my foot to split the tendon, remove the bone, and tighten the tendon to help pull up my new arch; and the outside of my foot so they could stick a rod in my foot that will keep my arch from falling and not coming back up as I step, thus giving me an arch. They stuck me in a cast (I chose a green one, duh!), which I will have on for about 4 weeks or so. I actually go in on December 17 so the doc can check out my foot to see if it is ready to come out!
The girls like my cast. I let them "sign" it, which they thought was fun!So, a few side notes about pre-surgery. The surgery itself took place around 12:30 or so, but I hadn't been allowed to eat anything since midnight and I was starving! And, maybe even a touch dehydrated (no water allowed either!) so finding a vein for the IV was...well, let's just say I was more worried about the IV than the actual surgery. (I don't like needles!) The nurse wanted to stick it in my hand, but I told her when I had had apendicitis, they tried to put the IV in my hand twice and it didn't work. They left 2 distince holes and my entire backhand was a giant bruise. Didn't like that! So, the nurse tried in my right elbow. Couldn't get it in. So she moved to my left forearm and couldn't get it in there either. Two is her limit, so she got someone else to do it. He went for my right hand and got it in no problem, but it hurt like crazy! My hand is a little bruised from it, but not like last time, thank goodness!
Morian had to leave in the middle of surgery, but Kayley was there to take care of me when I woke up. I was quite groggy when I finally did wake up. I apparantly told her the same story 3 times, right in a row. (It was about how the doctor drew on my foot to tell me how they were gonna cut me and what they were gonna do. And he wrote 'yes' so they would make sure to cut the right (and correct!) foot. hehe! Since I was supposed to be in the care of an adult for 24 hours after the surgey, Kayley took me to my grandparents' house, where I was very much taken care of. It was kinda nice!
So, now on to Thanksgiving Day! We ate with Morian's family up in Logan. Since that is a 2 our or so drive from Provo, I was told by the nurse at the hospital to sit reclining in the backseat with my foot up. So, that was nice! We stopped off at my parents' home in Layton on the way to see them and let them know in person how I was doing. It was nice to see Morian's extended family again; we hadn't seen most of them since the summer right after we were married last year. The food was delicious and the company fun! After everyone was done eating, Grandma Black wanted to take family pictures. We went outside for a big group shot and that was entertaining b/c of difficulties with the camera's self-timer. But, we evetually got it, after we were all frozen! Just kidding! Then, back inside we proceeded to take individual family pictures. When it was your turn, it was like the papparazzi, so many cameras going off at once! After all that excitement, I had to lay down for a while, with my foot up and an ice pack on it (It actually helps, believe it or not, through the cast!) and then most of the adults (me and Morian included) played a card game called Rage. It's a lot of fun! I ended up the loser though! Bummer! So, that's that! I went back to work this past Monday and that's been interesting. 
