For years a bone spur in my left foot would sometimes be so painful I would have to stop wherever I was and take off my shoe. It was a pain like a knife. It didn't last long, but it was bad when it hit.

    I also have hallux rigidus in the left foot, the arthritic condition I had surgery to correct in my right foot last year. (See posts on December 9 and 23, 2022.) Recovery from that surgery was three fairly difficult months—non-weight-bearing, no walking, no driving.  

    So this time, when the doctor suggested an easier surgery, just to get rid of the bone spur—one-month recovery, walk (in a boot), and drive—I said yes, yes, yes. I would put up with continued pain from hallux rigidus in exchange for a shorter, easier surgery and no bone spur.

    Surgery was last Wednesday at the Grants Pass Surgical Center. Everyone is so nice there they make the whole experience not exactly fun but certainly pleasant. The woman at the entrance desk greets patients with a broad smile and says, "Thank you; I appreciate that" every time you answer a question. The prep nurse chatted pleasantly and asked if I wanted something from Netflix on the TV screen, and when I said I didn't want to start a movie I couldn't finish, she found a wonderful video about mating dances among tropical birds that kept me entertained and my mind off what was going to be happening very shortly.

    The anesthesiologist remembered me from last year. He and the nurses joked about my age as they wheeled me into the operating room. "The form says she is 79, but I think there was a mistake," he said. "She can't be almost 80." The operating room nurse asked me what I was going to do for my 80th birthday. I remember saying I would be hiking 800 miles on 80 different trails. That was the last thing I remember.

    My friend who had taken me to the surgical center took me home again. Another friend came up to visit shortly after I got home and brought home-made tomato soup and pumpkin pie for my dinner. This weekend, my friend Bryan, who is an excellent cook, is bringing me dinner. Ibuprofen and Tylenol are keeping the pain under control. I'm doing fine.

    Just one month. Then no more bone spur pain. I can't wait for my next hike.