Ouch! Bunion Surgery - and Blessing

I saw quite a few friends with bunion surgery for both feet.  I did my best to give up on wearing pumps at the office twenty some years ago.  I change to my pink sneakers as soon as I get to the office.  I also wear strap style open toe high heels to make sure my toes are happy but the bunions came anyways.  Slowly I noticed my toes bending in.   My Podiatrist says it's hereditary in my case. My mother was definitely against the surgery because of what her friends in her senior age group have experienced.  Mostly terrible results.   Despite the fear, I needed to find solution to my pain at the ball of the foot, swelling, pain to walk on, and extreme cramp episode I had been experiencing almost every night (while also taking HBP medication such as Norvasc, Lisinopril, HTCZ, Valsartan - causing muscle weakness and joint pain - for me.)  The pain under my feet and swelling changed my decision to find the root cause after my left knee surgery this year.   Most of my postings for this food blog have been left in draft waiting for me to complete for many months.  I did not video tape my bunion surgery like many people have done but I really appreciate the sharing of their experiences.  It helps me to know where I am at in the healing process.  While every person's experience is quite different based on their current health and age, I want to record mine as a photo journal.  As I am expecting to do my right foot as well.

My bunion surgery was five days ago on March 8th, 2016.   After trying the insole foot arch support to relieve pain for the ball of the foot, X-ray showed severe deformity of the toes bending inward.  The surgery, I thought went well.  But I didn't know I was given a second dose of anesthesia because I woke up too early during the surgery.   That made me sick to the stomach after leaving the surgical center.  I threw up as I was getting off the car.  I thought it would pass and went in the house.  The fiasco continued on three more times.  That's when I noticed the blood everywhere on the floor.   I asked my family member to grab a plastic bag, covered my foot, and the blood filled it immediately.   After returning to the surgical center - as I left the place 20 minutes ago, I opted not to go to the emergency room, as you or I know they want you to fill out forms and take number to wait if you did not arrive in an ambulance. The surgical center staff were bit confused with the procedure since they already released me earlier - to send me to emergency room or to send me to doctor's office.   They made an appreciative decision,  they took me inside.   They got all my information to work with.   They were deciding to send the doctor over or to ask me to go to his office.   I interjected immediately that my podiatrist office is on the 2nd floor, and that he does not have a wheel chair.   And as they saw how much blood was in the plastic bag, they decided to call my podiatrist back.   My doctor came and checked and redressed it, and he explained to me about the nausea experience due to side effects from anesthesia.  After everything is in control, I left for pharmacy to pick up the anti-nausea pills. Just with one pill, I felt better.  The pain killer medication is taken every four hours.   

Luckily I have this automated Polar Icing machine to keep my leg iced conveniently.  

My post-op appt was two days later.

 It was not a pretty sight.   As the podiatrist clean the area to remove the bandages,  I noticed how swollen my foot is and with lots of bruise color.  He applied antibiotic ointments.

It got it cleaned and got it  wrapped up again.  The doctor thought I could step down on my heel, but unfortunately my ankle is still so swollen, stepping down on my heel was impossible.  Doctor prescribed antibiotic Keflex to make sure that infection would not occur.  Since I am so allergic to all kinds of antibiotics, it was a difficult choice.

Fifth Day -  5th day after the surgery.
After brief light exercise I need for my left knee surgery and shower.  I don't know what is going on, but the iodine would not wash off.  It's like a coat of plastic and has become a part of the skin.  I applied warm water and kept the area moist.  After five minutes, I tried to wash it off with soap, but it would not wash off.  All I can do is to scrub them off - practically rubbing the thin layer of skin off.   I think I am allergic to iodine?  My skin feel so painful.   I removed the bandages afterwards to change the dressing.  I was a bit horrified from the way it looked.   I cleaned around it, took pictures, and sent them off to the doctor.  I called him, and he explained that what I see is normal after this surgery.
  Ouch!  Blisters???  Infection?  I am allergic the antibacterial ointment??

 All around, my skin looked raw.  And what!! the stitches opened up?  Maybe the butterfly tape should not have been taken off??  I was in shock and fear.  I let my foot air dry for good ten minutes before I dress it up lightly.  I just cannot handle the heat built up under the bandages and elastic band around my foot.   In the meantime, my podiatrist called and asked me to wrap it back and also wrap it with elastic wrap to keep pressure to keep the area from swelling. Take medicine.  Icing the back of the knee and keep it raised.
I hope it will becomes better by Monday.
Seventh Day - Monday.  When I got off the bed, the rush of blood flooded the foot. The pain was excruciating.  It was so painful that I was losing control of my emotion.  I wanted to cry.  The pain did not go away after massaging the ankle area or the calf.  The foot become feverish and ballooned up.  I was afraid that it is about to explode.  The ankle is double of its normal size.

 I had to open it up to check.  At least the skin stopped looking like fish skin.  But the blister and tearing worried me.  Whole foot feels like it's been ran over by a truck.

I had to take the Hydroco. But it only made me sleepy without taking care of the pain.  But I was a bit calmer afterwards.    Wrapped it back up.  Applied longer icing period.
Sixth Day - Tuesday.  Appointment with my doctor.  After foot examination and X-ray result,  he diagnosed possibility of Gout attack around ankle, outer edge of the pinky toe, and top of foot.  He explained that when the foot goes into a trauma, in this case bunion surgery, it could trigger gout attack.  He ordered blood test.  He popped the blisters, cleaned, and applied dressing.

He prescribed medication for gout.
After reading the side-effect warning, I decided not to  take the medication
I kept the foot raised but without icing.
Seventh Day - Wednesday - The foot felt as painful when I stand up, but  I noticed the ankle is a bit less tender.  I removed the dressing because I notice the sterile pad applied is a sticky type and has been irritating my surround area.  Redressed.  Kept the foot up as much as I can.
Eighth Day - Thursday - Much better! my ankle is less swollen.   The stinging pain is still felt around the top of the foot at the base of the each toes. But there is a sign of improvement.
And it is the last day of my antibiotic - Keflex.  I am hoping the healing will continue.
I know many other people who have gone through bunion surgery have different experience.  Their dressing is not even taken off, etc.  But in my case, this is what happened.  So take care.  In the mean time this is happening, I cannot standup long enough to cook, except today, I was good enough to make French Toasts to for lunch.  And blessing of my sons to cook for me each BlueApron delivery I get.
Take good care of your feet young ladies.  Do not wear your feet out to conform to the shape of the shoes.  Happy Cooking!

Saturday - 3/19/16 - it's an improvement in first small step.  My leg okay'd me to put the protective boot on and touch my heel to the floor naturally, but not weigh down on it yet.  Ankle feels much better than five days ago.  Less swollen.  Allowing me to bend my foot slightly without effort.  Hives, however started to show up around my lower torso.   Had to take zyrtec to take care of them. The needle stinging pain has lessened as the day went into night.  My leg could not remain in regular sitting position too long.  My hip and knee would want to lock up.   Still needs a good few hours in inclined body position.  Hoping that it will be more comfortable by Monday.

It's been a month since my surgery.  I am still out, but with some good signs of recovery.  I can step into it somewhat but only for a moment and the rest with crutches.  It becomes very uncomfortable during sleep as though something becomes alive during sleep.  The area becomes very busy feeling with stinging pain and with sudden twitching.  All these are affecting my knee that had the surgery back in November, too.  My knee locks up often during sleep because I cannot move my leg freely into the position I want..  

It is just not a happy camper.  Pale toes ... No Blood Flow!!!  I am hoping for the best for the regrowth of new tissue to avoid skin graft.   

Update:  5/27/2016
It's past two and half months since my surgery. The scar tissue finally came off.  Regretfully, it was not easy.  My podiatrist surgeon had to scissor off the hardened scar tissue formation in order to grow new tissue.  He had to perform the procedure once at the end of April, then, again in May.  It was a traumatic experience.  The doctor did not numb the area before scissoring the tissue. I was in so much pain.  Nothing to calm the pain.
My foot continue to swell with stinging pain from time to time.  My leg has to be raised quite often.
I had to buy this non-prescription type wound gel called Granu-L8 after the first scissoring.  It is supposed to keep the open wound moist to allow micro growth of the new tissue.  After two weeks, the area did not seem to be improving.  After attending a local organic farm event and attending one of the natural herbalist's workshop, I learned that honey can aid in wound recovery.  I did some searching and found MediHoney (Amazon.com) for wound care.  After applying it for two days, I started to see much improvements.  The scar tissue also became loose enough for me to remove it manually.  Since then, there seems to be some growth of new tissue growing and covering the exposed toe tendon.  However, the swelling continues.  Finally, I got an appointment with Stanford's dermatologist appointment.  No more appointment with that podiatrist who has no idea what is going with my foot.  I am hoping at the dermatologist appointment that they would prescribe a better wound care medication.

  

Slowly, MediHoney helped with the healing process.  Daily Epsom salt bath cleansed and softened the scar tissue.  Tissues healing from inside out.  I was able to pull the dead scar tissue off.

Do these look normal to you?  It's very frightening and traumatic. To my surprise, the dermatologist did not prescribe new medication.  She recommended to continue the use of MediHoney.  I was very surprised that it was a good choice.  Little by little with my dermatologist monitoring the care, the area started to close.  I also switched to Stanford's Podiatrist to continue with the care and also met with Wound Care physician.  They assured me that however awfully it looks, it is healing from inside out.  Another few months past.  All the way till late spring, I was wearing orthopedic shoes.  And finally started to wear size 10 men's wide toe shoes.

 After a few days, drying up.

 At the office, I had to keep my feet raised for almost entire year from 2016 - 2018

Alsatian Spiced Chicken Dish from BlueApron

We love the flavor of quatre espices seasonings for the chicken.  Warm cabbage salad with tingling sweet and tart flavor dressing complimented the chicken well.  Mashed potato and cabbage salad remind me of saurkraut with sausage.

Making Meat Bao Adventure 1

It's funny that we continue to try our quest in steaming perfect Chinese meat baos.  Many people have posted their success in the YouTube and in their blogs, but that's the way it goes in anyone's kitchen who enjoy the challenge in successfully present beautifully prepared food - more cooking.  This reminds me of my early years when trying to make the ultimate southern biscuits where I dumped 3 dozens of biscuits or more before getting the right one.  Finding that ultimate formula that would work in your kitchen keeps our mind sharp and family cooking together interesting. This is one of my mom's many trials in making Chinese meat bao in her extra large aluminum steamer.  There was nothing to it when she used to make them in bamboo steamers in her early years.   After enjoying the retirements for many years she wants to get back to making them again. But she noticed the diminishing of  her memory of the "how to" beside her physical strength.  So while she reads off the formula from collections of cookbooks and notes she had been collecting for years, I get to work. 

She wanted to try this formula in one of very old Pei Mei's cookbook:
Ingredients:
Flour - 3-1/2 C
Sugar - 1Tbsp
Yeast - 2 tsp
1-1/2 C Warm water

Mix all together and knead 7-8 minutes.  Cover and rise for 3--4 hours.
Next, add to risen dough:
Baking Powder - 2 tsp dissolved in Cold water 1/2 Tbsp.
Add into risen dough and knead again. 

Meat Filling:

Ground Pork - 1 lb

Shredded Cabbage - 1 lb - shredded and liquid squeezed out

Green Onions chopped - 1/2 bunch

Fresh Ginger minced - 2 Tbsp 

Salt - 1 tsp

Cooking Wine - 1 Tbsp

Sugar - 1 Tbsp

White or Black Pepper 1/2 tsp

Soy Sauce - 1Tbsp

Mix all ingredients together, cover, and set aside.

Vegetable Filling:
Shred 1lb green cabbage
Black Mushroom chopped - 3 Tbsp
Scallion chopped - 1 T
Salt - 2 tsp
1 tsp Sesame oil
1 T Soy sauce
Mix all ingredients together, cover, and set aside.

When dough is doubled in size, remove from the bowl and knead 10 times.  Depending on the size of your work surface, divide the dough into halves.  Keep the other halves covered while working with the other.  Roll the cut halves into a long rope enough to slice and form 9 rounds.  (Total of 18.)

Leave some flour on a corner of the work surface.  You will dip the bottom of the round dough with flour that you are holding on with fingers of one hand each time you roll out its edge with the other hand. 
Coat the sliced side of the dough with some flour to prevent sticking onto work surface. 
Press down the cut side of the dough round facing up with the palm of your hand.
Start rolling the dough rounds with straight 1 or 1-1/2 inch rolling pin that you can buy at the Asian market as follows:
Coat the bottom of the round dough with flour as you roll the edge of the dough 'inward' then back to the edge, then turn the dough 1/8 of an inch at the same time its bottom is coated with flour and brought back to where you would roll with the other hand that is holding the rolling pin.   Continue with this motion - coat, roll, turn, coat, roll.. until a full circle is complete.   

Fill the center of rolled dough with meat mixtures. 

Enclose the dough by pulling the edge and folding them in Fan style and pinch close each fan seam to the previous.
Place on slightly floured surface that you can cover with floured plastic wrap and towel to complete the final rise before steaming.   Or place individual bao on top of a cut parchment paper square for each bao.
Rest for 20 minutes in hot air-conditioned kitchen or cover and rest for minimum 30 to 40 minutes. 
Start boiling water in steamer at low temp first while waiting for the bao to complete the final rise. 
Turn to high to bring to full boil.
Line the bottom of steam basket with moistened cheesecloth. Transfer first 9 baos that you filled first to the lined steamer basket.
Cover and steam at high but one notch down for 15 minutes.
NEVER open the lid.
At 15th minutes, without opening the lid, place a wooden spoon or an object under one side of the lid to allow cooking with released steam.  Steam 5 more minutes.
Without opening the lid or removing the wooden spoon, turn off the heat.  Do not remove from the stove or from the bottom steamer pot.  Cool for 5 minutes.
Without opening the lid or removing the wooden spoon, remove just the basket with cracked open lid to a heat safe work surface.  Cool for 5 minutes.
At the end of 5 minutes, remove the lid quickly and  away from baos to prevent steam droplets to rain on steamed baos.
Serve on bamboo lined placemat to prevent moisture condensation at the bottom to cause soggy bottom.  Or prop steamed bao sideways to cool in the steamer basket.  
Check the steamer's hot boiling water level.  Refill with hot water and bring to full boil.  Steam the next round the same methods.

Making Yo-u Shu SAOBIEN with my Mom

This is another fun adventure in making our favorite Chinese breakfast food.  Normally, some of the food are so much easier to enjoy if you could just buy from the street vendors.  But getting to the nitty gritty of the details to produce this Saobien is quite satisfying when you can't get hold of it in your neighborhood Asian grocery stores - the way you like it.   Saobien is baked flaky flat bread usually topped with sesame.  Our first experience was during our vacation in Taiwan.  My parents were delighted to come across it as they missed it since they left mainland China.    One early morning our family friend took us to go buy breakfast.  They took us down into an alley filled with vendors selling soybean milk, "Yo-u Tiao" - Chinese fried bread stick, Saobien with braised beef with cilantro, Zou - porridge, etc.  The flaky flat breads are baked in a large drum can style charcoal oven.  They are quickly wrapped and we took them home to enjoy with everyone.  

My mother studied the formula and was contemplating to make it or not. But at her age, the long time standing in the kitchen cooking is not her favorite pass time anymore. But her curiosity lingers on to wonder how it would turn out.   It gave her the motivation to test it.  Hopefully it will be less painful then our previous Dim Sum adventure we had in making the 'Ho Fan' filled with shrimps. 

First part of the process is to make the browned Roux.  This is the key ingredients to produce layers in the Saobien. 

Making YO-u Shu - fried/browned Roux:

Method 1:  2/3 cup oil, 1 cup flour.  Bring oil to high heat.  Add flour.  Stir fry 5 minutes.  Transfer to oven proof dish. Bake in 300'F for 30 minutes till brown. 

Let cool before use.   

Method 2:  1-1/2 cup oil, 3 cup flour. Bring oil to high heat.  Add  flour gradually and stir fry till brown over low heat for 10 minutes. 

Let cool before use.  

DOUGH:

6 cup flour, add 1-1/2 cup boiling water.  Mix; then add 1/2 cup tap water.  Knead for 7-8 minutes till smooth. Earlobe softness.  Cover and rest for an hour.  Rub some cooking oil on work surface.  Divide the dough into halves or Roll out  into 40x45 inch wide.  

Cover the other while you work with the other.   

Roll one of the divided dough out to 20x20.25 inches wide or 1/6 in thick. Sprinkle with some salt, spread Yo-u Shu, sprinkle 1 Tbsp of flour.  Roll into long cigar.  Cut equally into 10 pieces.  Press the dough down a bit with fingers to elongate the cut dough.  (Repeat all these steps for the other halves also.)

Roll up with sliced end on top and bottom.  

Place rolling pin 2/3 from the top and roll upward. Press the bottom unrolled end of the dough to flatten a bit with fingers and fold the dough 2/3 way up and gold the top down.  

Press the dough to elongate slightly with fingers. Repeat the 2/3 roll with rolling pin. 

Roll it the second time with ends of fold at top and bottom. 

Fold into thirds and dip smooth side in sesame seeds.  Place in baking sheet with sesame seeded side down. Rest at least 30 min - uncovered is okay.  

Preheat oven to 400'F.  

(Start rolling the rested dough out to 5x3 inch.  Place sesame down on baking she

Bake in Center oven rack. Bake for 5 min or till it puffs up, then turn them over and bake till slight hint of tan color - about 5 minutes but no longer.  Unless it is still "white" like raw dough.  I preferred mine bit more browning, but my mother said that will cause it to be tough when it cools down. 

Serve hot with braised beef Chinese style; luncheon meat or any spicy deli meat, fried eggs, etc, etc, will work as well.  Toast in toaster the next day to enjoy.