It has been exactly one week since my surgery and I am not going to lie. I did not expect to feel this way.
On March 30, 2026, I had complex foot and ankle reconstruction. Subtalar joint fusion, first TMT joint fusion, hardware removal, and Achilles tendon lengthening. It was a long time coming. Years of progressive damage from Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease had been building toward this moment, and when the day finally came I went in knowing it would be hard.
What I did not know was how supported I would feel on the other side of it.
Tomorrow I feel like I could go back to work. I am not saying I am going to. My surgeon and my body will have the final word on that. But the fact that I am sitting here one week post surgery feeling clear-headed, rested, and genuinely strong in my upper body is something I want to talk about. Because I do not think it happened by accident.
What CMT Means for Recovery
For anyone who does not know, Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease is a hereditary neurological condition that affects the peripheral nerves. It causes progressive muscle weakness, foot deformities, balance issues, and sensory loss. I was diagnosed in 2001. My mom was diagnosed after I was, which is how CMT tends to work. It moves quietly through families until someone connects the dots.
CMT is the reason my surgery was as complex as it was. Years of nerve-related muscle imbalance reshaped my foot in ways that eventually required surgical correction. And CMT is also the reason recovery carries extra stakes for me. Muscle loss during immobility is a risk for anyone. For someone with a condition that already compromises the nerves that feed those muscles, it is a more urgent concern.
So I went into this recovery with a plan.
The Make Wellness Stack That Has Carried Me Through Week One
Every single morning this week I have woken up and the first thing I have done is mix my FIT packet into water. Before coffee. Before anything.
FIT contains Bioactive Precision Peptides built around PeptiStrong Plus, a fava bean peptide blend studied for its role in muscle protein synthesis and preservation. For someone with CMT who cannot do much physical activity right now, taking something that signals my body to hold onto muscle rather than break it down felt like the most important thing I could do for myself every morning. And this week my upper body strength has genuinely held. I have been doing seated resistance work three days a week and I feel capable in a way I was not sure I would.
LEAN follows FIT before my first meal. Between the pain medication schedule, limited movement, and the psychological weight of recovery, food noise was something I was bracing for. LEAN has kept my cravings quiet and my appetite regulated in a way that has made eating intentionally feel manageable rather than like a battle.
HYDRATE has been my midday anchor. Healing tissue needs hydration. Surgical sites need circulation. And the peptide products work better when your cells are primed to receive them. I have been consistent with it every day and I genuinely believe it is part of why I feel as clear as I do.
What CALM and RESTORED Have Done for My Nights
This is the part I was not prepared for.
I expected the days to be hard. I did not expect the nights to be where so much of the healing happened.
Every evening I dissolve a CALM stick pack on my tongue about thirty minutes before bed. The ashwagandha, GABA, and L-theanine bring my nervous system down from whatever level of tension the day has built up. Pain management, limited mobility, the mental load of being away from work and normal life. CALM quiets all of that without making me foggy or drowsy.
Then RESTORED at bedtime. This is not melatonin. It does not force sleep. It works with your body's cortisol rhythm to deepen the sleep you naturally fall into. This week my deep sleep has been longer and more restorative than I expected given everything my body is managing. I have been waking up feeling like I actually slept rather than just survived the night.
Sleep is where tissue repairs. Sleep is where bone remodels. Sleep is where the body does the work that we cannot do consciously. CALM and RESTORED together have made my nights genuinely healing rather than just a gap between doses of pain medication.
The Blood Pressure Thing I Have to Mention
Before I started using Make Wellness consistently my blood pressure readings at my doctor's office were running around 180/120. For context that is hypertensive crisis territory. It was something I was monitoring and aware of.
This week, one week post major surgery, my in office readings are around 122/90. I am sharing this as my personal experience and not as a medical claim. Make Wellness products are not intended to treat or cure any condition and I am not a doctor. But I believe that better sleep through RESTORED, reduced cortisol through CALM, and consistent hydration through HYDRATE have contributed to what my body is doing right now. The numbers are real. The change is real. And I think it deserves to be said out loud.
One Week Out and Feeling Like Myself
I did not expect to feel ready. I expected to feel depleted, foggy, frustrated, and behind. Instead I feel present. I feel like my body is doing what it is supposed to do. I feel like the plan I put in place before surgery, the nutrition, the supplements, the intentional sleep routine, actually worked.
Tomorrow I feel like I could walk back into my life. Maybe not literally walk. But show up. Be present. Do the work.
That feeling one week after complex foot and ankle reconstruction surgery is not something I take for granted. It is something I want to share with every person managing CMT who wonders whether intentional recovery support can actually make a difference.
It can. This week proved it to me.
If you want to explore the Make Wellness products I use every day, find them at my Make Wellness link. And if the opportunity to build a wellness business alongside your own healing journey interests you, that link is there too.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Make Wellness products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Results may vary. Always consult your healthcare provider before starting any new supplement regimen.
Jenny Fraze is a reseller, CMT advocate, and Make Wellness affiliate based in Dayton, Ohio.
```