My wife’s foot has (had) a horn. It protrudes like a giant barnacle off her left foot, just next to her big toe. This type of protrusion arrives with a cost, not one of magic ability, at the expense of something else; the cost is pain. The prominence that exists there is better known as a bunion, and she’s to the point that it must go.

The bunion, not to be confused with Paul Bunyan, is a kind of thorn that, as it presses into her shoes and hiking boots, is pushing against other foot bones, making things wonky. While Willy might enjoy things being Wonka(y), my wife is serious about walking, and being able to do so into the future means her foot parasite must be sacrificed to the surgeon gods.

So today (that having been August 4th), before the sun rises and after an anti-bacterial body wash, without food, coffee, or aspirin, we arrived at the surgery center at 5:30 a.m. for the moment the evil will be extricated, a piece of metal in the form of a screw will merge with her bones, and her 4 to 6 weeks of healing will all begin. To add some drama, a monsoon storm made an appearance and it was raining as we three (Jessica had come over from San Diego) pulled up to the facility entrance.

Of course, this means we are sacrificing no less than a couple of journeys that had been on the itinerary, but hopefully, by early September, even if it means we must go slow or use a knee-scooter, we’ll be back on the road. And if this all goes well, we’ll opt for her to have the right foot exorcised of its demon bunion while we’re still in the same insurance calendar year in order to save money for make-up adventures we’ll be denied while Caroline is an invalid.

Regarding recovery, a lap table was ordered last week, and I’ve given her a small handbell to summon me when her needs requires assistance because that’s just the kind of husband I am. I can only hope she doesn’t milk my generosity any more than is absolutely necessary. And about this poor-quality x-ray, we wanted a digital copy but had to photograph the doctor’s monitor in order to see what the bunion looked like pre-op.

Well, that was then, and this is now here on a Sunday afternoon three days after the surgery. Everything is great, at least in our view. Only one hydrocodone tablet was taken, and that was very late on Thursday evening; other than that, the discomfort has been absolutely manageable. Tomorrow, before lunch, we have a post-op appointment with her doctor, who will unwrap the bandages to inspect how things are progressing. So far, so good, and the little bell I supplied her never had to be rung once as I’ve been here for all of her major needs…except when I’m off at the coffee shop writing.