A post for those who need the surgeons knife occasionally to keep them in the hills.

My left foot.

Thursday 12 December [Better than Friday 13th.] was scheduled for my toe operation.The plan was to remove bone around the left big toe joint [Cheilectomy  of  Left 1st MTP joint.] to make life less painful and hopefully get my foot back into those tight Red Chili rock shoes. All went to plan and I was back home with my foot up by mid-afternoon. Haven’t been far since!

My instructions are to keep the foot elevated as much as possible for a week or so, to avoid swelling or infection. I’ve been supplied with a  nifty shoe which takes all the pressure off the toes and a pair of elbow crutches. Was also given a bag of pain killers for when the anaesthesia wore off – forgive any spelling mistakes.

Ensconced in my bed with the foot duly raised on many pillows. I’m catching up with some book reading that has been neglected recently whilst away. Deep into Robert Macfarlane’s The Wild Places, an environmental study with vivid imagery. Despite being unable to walk I’m lying here being stimulated to roam in the night, climb some trees or find a local wilderness. Out with the bivi bag…. Getting a bit ahead of myself now – should have been content with the prize crossword in today’s paper.

My cat, Seth, can’t understand all the fuss.

Seth.