Bunions in Vegas

My mother has a large, flat panel HDTV and with it she got digital channels. It is a lot of stations and even stations that play just music. She got it so that she could get NHK, a Japanese station. She is very happy with it as now she can see news and shows of her homeland.

One of her favorite shows to watch, which we just caught the tail end of, was a show that just goes around Japan interviewing people that are 100 years or older. They show what they do and eat and get their opinion on longevity. My mother wants to live to 100. And she does what she believes will lead her on that path. She eats lots of vegetables, no meat, only fish, yogurt, and flavor of the year vitamin/supplement. She did, in the 90’s take shark cartilage, when it was thought that that would keep one healthy. Currently, she drinks water with salt, takes egg yolk supplements, cooks rice with seaweed and charcoal. She does yoga and would like to get back to Social Dancing. Hence the reason I am here.

Today she went into surgery to have her second bunion removed. The first one, 3 cm, was removed a few years ago on her left foot. This one, 2 cm, is on her right foot. It causes her pain after walking. She has never been able to find shoes that fit or are comfortable. We had talked about this on her last visit. I asked her when she was going to get the other one done. She said that the post-op was sooo painful, that she wasn’t going to do it. I encouraged her to reconsider. Stating that this is currently compromising her quality of life and will only continue to do so. As she gets older and wants to walk for exercise, she won’t be able to.

After thinking about it for a bit she could see that overall, the timing would work out well, plus her insurance is great now. 10 to 20 years in the future if she wants to have the surgery, her out of pocket expenses could be much more and her recovery may not be as quick.

The more she thought about it, the more she realized that she had to do this now. She talked about how painful it was and just all around hard as she was by herself last time and just couldn’t be upright for very long. I offered to be here for her recovery. She said the first few days are the worse.

A few months ago, she told me that I didn’t have to come down that her friend/neighbor [who has an 8 year old and a husband and a lover on the side] would take her in for the first few days, so as not to inconvenience me. I told her she was insane and that she would hate that. She wouldn’t be in her own bed, concerned about how she looked and how dirty she was making the sheets. She thought about it and agreed. I told her I still planned on coming to help her out.

And here I am.

Narrow, high heels, her whole life, caused her bunions. My mother has them as does my paternal grandmother. So far, none for me. My brother and I have baby toes that lie down a bit. On long hikes, it rubs enough to cause blisters. But it isn’t anything that moleskin doesn’t help. My brother affectionately refers to them as his 'shrimp toes'.

I once went to a Podiatrist, explaining my family history, and to have them look at my feet and suggest preventative measures. They don’t have any. They just don’t think like that. They laughed as I walked out, saying to come back and see them when I had a problem. Fat chance. Some things, like not caring enough about your industry to prevent future pain, cannot be rewarded.

Las Vegas Surgical Center is next to an Urgent Care Facility.
In a Strip Mall.
I kid you not.
After my mom went in, I walked to lunch.
My choices:
Starbucks… c’mon… what’s a strip mall these days without one? But they don’t really serve food.
Bagel Bakery with bagel sandwiches. Did you know that one bagel is equal to 5 slices of bread? Pass.
Pizza by the slice place, which was packed!
Taco Joint.
There was even Smith’s Supermarket, where I was tempted to get a rotisserie chicken and eat it with my bare hands, but it was noon and there was only one chicken left. There is something sad about the last chicken left. Is it left from last night, as I looked over and saw a bunch of chickens on spits turning, cooking, preparing to be placed out today? Was it the last one because these were the best chickens in two counties? Was is the last one because it was the smallest or ugliest? Pass.
Last choice, Thai. It was ok. I tried not to think about the chicken.

My mother. She came out for DJ’s birth. She assisted with the birth and stayed for 2 weeks afterwards. She cleaned and cooked. She brought me food. That allowed me to stay in bed and rest, recover and just ‘be’ with DJ. She was there as I went through the pain of initial latching-on during breastfeeding and a bout of mastitis, more breast pain in the form of a clogged milk duct. She was quietly supportive and encouraging.

When it came time for her to leave, it struck me, the magnitude of what she had done and I was overwhelmed with gratitude. I asked her how I would ever repay her. She smiled and said that one day when I have a daughter, I can be there for her when she gives birth.

While I never went on to have another child, let alone a daughter, I know what she means. It’s love that gives, because that is what love does.

As my mom was going in, we were talking about what clothes she wants for afterwards and I said something, addressing her as ‘mom’. The nurse said, “ This is your mother??!! I thought this was your friend by the way you guys are joking and talking to each other” THIS [dramatic pause] made my mothers day. She hugged the nurse. She loves being mistaken for younger than she really is. I mean she really loves it. She was smiling. Beaming really, and slightly skipping as she walked down the hallway to her surgery.

A few hours later, it was over and I took her home. She was alert and in a very good mood. She kept comparing this experience to the last. Major difference is that she is not groggy nor in any pain, like last time. We went home and she ate quite a bit of food. No painkiller yet. She’s hanging out watching TV. We are watching the Japanese channel. A show, to educate older men, what to do if their wife falls ill. Such as how to hold a knife to chop vegetables and cook, mend clothes, and do laundry, etc. For a fairly traditional-roled, chauvinistic society, they are helping to get the idea across that these behaviors are OK for a man to perform. My mom waits for sumo. The pain will eventually kick in, but overall, I think her recovery will be much easier than the last time.


July 17, 2004	Bunions in Vegas My mother has a large, flat panel HDTV and with it she got digital channels. It is a lot of stations and even stations that play just music. She got it so that she could get NHK, a Japanese station. She is very happy with it as now she can see news and shows of her homeland. One of her favorite shows to watch, which we just caught the tail end of, was a show that just goes around Japan interviewing people that are 100 years or older. They show what they do and eat and get their opinion on longevity. My mother wants to live to 100. And she does what she believes will lead her on that path. She eats lots of vegetables, no meat, only fish, yogurt, and flavor of the year vitamin/supplement. She did, in the 90’s take shark cartilage, when it was thought that that would keep one healthy. Currently, she drinks water with salt, takes egg yolk supplements, cooks rice with seaweed and charcoal. She does yoga and would like to get back to Social Dancing. Hence the reason I am here. Today she went into surgery to have her second bunion removed. The first one, 3 cm, was removed a few years ago on her left foot. This one, 2 cm, is on her right foot. It causes her pain after walking. She has never been able to find shoes that fit or are comfortable. We had talked about this on her last visit. I asked her when she was going to get the other one done. She said that the post-op was sooo painful, that she wasn’t going to do it. I encouraged her to reconsider. Stating that this is currently compromising her quality of life and will only continue to do so. As she gets older and wants to walk for exercise, she won’t be able to. After thinking about it for a bit she could see that overall, the timing would work out well, plus her insurance is great now. 10 to 20 years in the future if she wants to have the surgery, her out of pocket expenses could be much more and her recovery may not be as quick. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that she had to do this now. She talked about how painful it was and just all around hard as she was by herself last time and just couldn’t be upright for very long. I offered to be here for her recovery. She said the first few days are the worse. A few months ago, she told me that I didn’t have to come down that her friend/neighbor [who has an 8 year old and a husband and a lover on the side] would take her in for the first few days, so as not to inconvenience me. I told her she was insane and that she would hate that. She wouldn’t be in her own bed, concerned about how she looked and how dirty she was making the sheets. She thought about it and agreed. I told her I still planned on coming to help her out. And here I am. Narrow, high heels, her whole life, caused her bunions. My mother has them as does my paternal grandmother. So far, none for me. My brother and I have baby toes that lie down a bit. On long hikes, it rubs enough to cause blisters. But it isn’t anything that moleskin doesn’t help. My brother affectionately refers to them as his 'shrimp toes'. I once went to a Podiatrist, explaining my family history, and to have them look at my feet and suggest preventative measures. They don’t have any. They just don’t think like that. They laughed as I walked out, saying to come back and see them when I had a problem. Fat chance. Some things, like not caring enough about your industry to prevent future pain, cannot be rewarded. Las Vegas Surgical Center is next to an Urgent Care Facility. In a Strip Mall. I kid you not. After my mom went in, I walked to lunch. My choices: Starbucks… c’mon… what’s a strip mall these days without one? But they don’t really serve food. Bagel Bakery with bagel sandwiches. Did you know that one bagel is equal to 5 slices of bread? Pass. Pizza by the slice place, which was packed! Taco Joint. There was even Smith’s Supermarket, where I was tempted to get a rotisserie chicken and eat it with my bare hands, but it was noon and there was only one chicken left. There is something sad about the last chicken left. Is it left from last night, as I looked over and saw a bunch of chickens on spits turning, cooking, preparing to be placed out today? Was it the last one because these were the best chickens in two counties? Was is the last one because it was the smallest or ugliest? Pass. Last choice, Thai. It was ok. I tried not to think about the chicken. My mother. She came out for DJ’s birth. She assisted with the birth and stayed for 2 weeks afterwards. She cleaned and cooked. She brought me food. That allowed me to stay in bed and rest, recover and just ‘be’ with DJ. She was there as I went through the pain of initial latching-on during breastfeeding and a bout of mastitis, more breast pain in the form of a clogged milk duct. She was quietly supportive and encouraging. When it came time for her to leave, it struck me, the magnitude of what she had done and I was overwhelmed with gratitude. I asked her how I would ever repay her. She smiled and said that one day when I have a daughter, I can be there for her when she gives birth. While I never went on to have another child, let alone a daughter, I know what she means. It’s love that gives, because that is what love does. As my mom was going in, we were talking about what clothes she wants for afterwards and I said something, addressing her as ‘mom’. The nurse said, “ This is your mother??!! I thought this was your friend by the way you guys are joking and talking to each other” THIS [dramatic pause] made my mothers day. She hugged the nurse. She loves being mistaken for younger than she really is. I mean she really loves it. She was smiling. Beaming really, and slightly skipping as she walked down the hallway to her surgery. A few hours later, it was over and I took her home. She was alert and in a very good mood. She kept comparing this experience to the last. Major difference is that she is not groggy nor in any pain, like last time. We went home and she ate quite a bit of food. No painkiller yet. She’s hanging out watching TV. We are watching the Japanese channel. A show, to educate older men, what to do if their wife falls ill. Such as how to hold a knife to chop vegetables and cook, mend clothes, and do laundry, etc. For a fairly traditional-roled, chauvinistic society, they are helping to get the idea across that these behaviors are OK for a man to perform. My mom waits for sumo. The pain will eventually kick in, but overall, I think her recovery will be much easier than the last time.
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