Diana had surgery today to correct a bunion, which I recently learned was not a growth or tumor or anything like that, but rather the result of the big toe growing out in an abnormal way. Not only did the doctor do some magic on that toe, but he shortened the second one as well so everything aligns correctly. There's no narrative here, but I do have a brain dump on all kinds of things related to this.
- You can see how it's done in computer animation. If you want something more graphic, check out some actual surgery. It's not as disturbing as I thought it would be, though saws and bones don't seem like compatible objects.
- This is the second surgery Diana has had in the not-quite-seven years I've known her. The previous surgery was the C-section she had for Simon, ordered largely because of risk associated with previous hernias. She was awake for that, and the amount of blood and fluids was astounding.
- If you needed more reason to think that the job-insurance-healthcare associations are fucked up and broken, consider this. She couldn't have the surgery at the foot clinic because insurance would only cover it at the hospital. If that weren't enough, the doctor warned that if he needed to use more than one screw for each toe (he used a second one on the second toe), insurance might not cover it. You know, because an insurance company knows better than the doctor.
- The amount of paperwork generated for any medical procedure is staggering. I can only imagine how that alone can drive up the cost. It's insane. Granted, it seemed that the Cleveland Clinic was better in that sense, as we saw much less paper when dealing with them. The hospitals here and in Seattle, not so much.
- The pain meds to me are almost as scary as surgery. Diana doesn't seem loopy on the hydrocodone-acetaminophen, but when I took it a few years ago for a ridiculous and painful sinus infection that made swallowing feel like eating glass, it f'd me up. Not a fan of that feeling.
- Getting Simon to understand that Mommy has a serious boo-boo is not easy. That he's eager to be so rough and physical lately doesn't help.
- Diana had a hard time getting her nose ring back in after just six hours, despite the piercing being almost a year old. I thought noses were one of the more easily healing varieties, but I suppose everyone is different.
- Downtown Orlando intrigues me. A relatively new city like this isn't going to be a center for culture and the arts, but parts of it remind me of Seattle, believe it or not. We need to spend some time out there.
- After dropping off Simon at school this morning, we stopped at the grocery store early. I kind of enjoyed being there. Sometimes I wouldn't mind swapping jobs with Diana, for a week or two.
- Simon is going to have to take the bus tomorrow. I'm a little worried that he's going to freak out. Until Diana is in much better shape, she won't be able to drop him off.
- I'm stressed about having to miss more work than I originally thought, but I hate to talk about it, and it's nobody's fault. It is what it is.
- The surgery all came up in a hurry. Originally, the plan was that today would be the last day of four that we took my mom to Disney World. She's lived here 8 years and has only spent a day in the parks. We figured it would be a great opportunity for her to spend time with her only grandson. Today, she watched him at home instead of going out.
- Speaking of timing, it was a perfect storm. Diana's foot pain has been very gradually increasing over the years, so this surgery was inevitable. The younger you can have it, the better. We met our insurance deductible for the year, and we have to change it by January anyway, so this was as good as it was going to get in terms of cost.
- Diana likes to be a caregiver, so it's weird for her to receive care. She's usually in charge, and I get out of the way.