Tips for preparing for the bunion surgery

I had a bunion surgery in January 2023. Below are the things that I learned throughout the recovery period. I hope they are helpful and will make your recovery journey more manageable.

Prepare loads of meals in advance and keep them in the freezer especially if you are on your own. 

Put some Ice packs in the freezer and use them to ease the swelling and pain.

Wear support tight on your good leg during the day when you sit down a lot in the first few weeks to help circulation. But I think you shouldn’t wear it in bed when asleep.

If at all possible, leave a chair in the bathroom or kitchen so that you can sit down if needed.  I found having a chair in the bathroom invaluable during my recovery. As my wash hand basin is next to the toilet, I actually left the toilet seat down so that I can rest my operated foot on there while I was sitting down brushing my teeth. That helped a lot with easing the pressure and pain.

Put in place cushions or pillows for popping your foot up where you sit during the day and in bed and leave them there for as long as you need them. When you are in pain and using both crutches, the last thing you want is moving things around. Especially it may be useful to use some light cushions to support under your thigh so that your leg is gradually elevated to minimise the pain in your back.

Arrange some loose socks to keep your foot warm when in bed during the winter. You won’t be able to cover your foot with the duvet as it will be too heavy on the foot.

Stock up the painkillers. I was advised to take paracetamol after the first dose of strong painkillers I was given for the first week.  I was told it’s better to take Paracetamol than ibuprofen. For the first 8 weeks, I took paracetamol regularly and daily. I took advice from other people to take the painkillers before I experienced pain so that I was always ahead of the pain rather than catching up. It seemed to work for me. 

Keep some water and pain killers by your bedside in case you need it at night.

Keep some books, magazine or may be mobile devices near you so that you can access them easily. 

Exercise your legs wherever  possible. I followed these exercises found on YouTube:

The Art of Living

I have recently read an article from Flow Magazine Issue 9. It was an interview  of a writer and philosopher Damon Young.  What Damon said was a coincident resonance  of what I have been thinking in the last couple of years.

I have been thinking a lot about life in recent years. Maybe it’s something natural  when you get older. I have been thinking that time is running out faster than I would have liked so it has made me more aware of how I should spend my life and what I want to achieve in life. Damon said “life is not just something you receive; you have to work on it”.  This statement is spot on for me.  At the end of the day we only live once. It will be really sad if we don’t have control over it.  Life is full of choices and we have to make choices for ourselves.  We are the only one who can detemine what is right for us.  Whilst we are doing it, we have to of course think about people around us and how our life will affect them. Damon rightly points out that getting the right balance between our dreams and people around us is important. To be able to do this we need to continually evaluate ourselves and our lives as circumstances can change at any time. What mattered most for us last year may not be the same now.

I like the garden metaphor that Demonstrates used but as I am not a gardener I find my creative project gives me the same effect as a garden does because when you create something you have to give it time to cultivate and have the patience to finish it. It requires constant evaluation to see if it needs any adjustment.

I have never before considered distraction as an escape but now that Demon mentioned it I think there is a lot of truth in that.

Once you know what you want in life and continually evaluate it and be aware of what is stopping you from pursuing them then life will be much easier to manage and you are more likely to live a fulfiling life.