Best Foot Forward.

The recovery nobody documents.

An honest, structured log of my second foot reconstruction (osteotomies, FDL transfer, spring ligament repair). The stuff I couldn't find when I searched for it myself.

Surgery
June 30, 2026
Currently
Day 75
Phase
Walking & PT
Entries
58

Latest entries

A meme x-ray captioned 'Am I still ok to run?', showing the bones of a spindly bird-like leg beside a small splayed foot, gently poking fun at whether it's wise to go running.
Day 75Walking & PT

Runnin' Down a Dream

I have fallen behind on writing here, and I could not be happier about the reason: I have been too busy being active. Things are going SO WELL. I have been…

Pain 1/10 FWB check-in · x-rays · brace
A tabby cat sitting in the driver's seat of a car, both front paws gripping the steering wheel, staring intently at the road as scenery blurs past the window.
Day 63Walking & PT

Life Is a Highway

I started driving again this past weekend and I'd like to take a moment and recognize how freeing it is to be able to get behind the wheel of my own car, and…

Pain 2/10 FWB driving · brace · pt
Two elderly women in the front seats of a car. On the left, a grey-haired woman in sunglasses and a pearl necklace grips the steering wheel and laughs; on the right, her friend in glasses and a white blouse turns to look at her. Still from the classic MiWay Insurance 'Muriel' ad.
Day 57Walking & PT

Slow Ride

Got up early today with a simple plan: Uber up to Maryland to meet my new physical therapist. Reader, the Uber app routed my poor driver out of DC and into…

Pain 0/10 FWB pt · first-pt-visit · flexibility
A grainy retro music video still of a line dance in a honky-tonk, dancers in plaid shirts stepping in unison, with the title 'Boot Scootin' Boogie' overlaid in white script.
Day 54Boot / Transition

Boot Scootin' Boogie

And a whole week went by just like that! Clearly things are going well when I don't have a lot to blog about, because life is just trucking on. This past week…

Pain 0/10 FWB boot · brace · gear
A meme from the movie What About Bob?: Bill Murray in an orange life vest, lashed to the mast of a sailboat with rope, captioned above 'The journey of a thousand miles' and below 'begins with baby steps.'
Day 48Boot / Transition

These Boots Are Made for Walkin'

I am free of the bitchsticks! Or at least, mostly. The weekend errand and breakfast run still required them, but I'm able to hobble around the house without…

Pain 2/10 PWB crutches · boot · walking
A black-and-white meme: a bare foot resting on top of a dense bed of long, upright metal nails, captioned across the top, 'What walking feels like when your foot is asleep.'
Day 45Boot / Transition

Free Bird

Ohhhhh, what a day it's been for my foot. First, let me clear up the great myth: when the doctor and the internet swore that pulling the pins out of my toe…

Pain 5/10 PWB pin-removal · pain · advil
A reaction meme: a man in a shirt and loosened tie in a kitchen, hands raised and mouth open in pure delight, under bold white all-caps text reading 'OMG I'M SO EXCITED!!'
Day 44Boot / Transition

I'm So Excited

The day has arrived!! And it's AWESOME! Now I know I promised a video of the [ahem] "pin extraction," but I want to save that since it's long, and I need to…

Pain 2/10 PWB pin-removal · weight-bearing · pwb
A book-cover-style cartoon of a sunny cartoon farm - red barn, green hills, pigs, cows, roosters, a small US flag, and a farmer throwing his hands up in the middle of the path - under big drop-shadowed text reading 'Everything I Want to Do Is Illegal.'
Day 43Boot / Transition

Illegal

Okay, back into one of those grey areas (oooo, see what I did there). That's right: we're talking peptides again. And this one feels important to share. I've…

Pain 3/10 NWB peptides · diabetes · mody