One foot up

[ppfuf]

An update on my foot, because I know ya'll have been waiting.
I went to the specialist on Wednesday, with the apparently unreasonable expectation they'd put me in a walking cast and I'd be good to go. Instead, I got a fiberglass cast, instructions to put no weight on my left foot for six weeks. At the end of six weeks (August 13th, which is 41 full days from now, not counting today or the 13th itself, in case you were wondering) I get to go back at which time the specialist will take off the cast, x-ray me again and decide if I get a walking cast or surgery. Using the crutches was surprisingly painful for my wrists and hands, so I bought a knee-rollie thing from a guy on craigslist (because my insurance company thinks the cheap crutches from the emergency room is luxury enough) which also has the side benefit of leaving me with a free hand. It fits fine in the car, but I'm not sure how I'm going to get it up and down the front steps. Fortunately, HP has a prety good work-from home policy, and my manager is not a jerk, so I'll be home for a while.

Comments

[zoccolaro.livejournal.com]

Let me know if you need me to help build you a ramp or something - GM might be able to do something similar though =)

[ppfuf.livejournal.com]

With a little finagling I mananged to get down into the garage and back up to the kitchen today. So I don't think I need a ramp. I do think I'll ask Matt to install a handrail on both sets of steps.

[cvirtue.livejournal.com]

Bummer.

But the knee caddy looks very useful.

[ppfuf.livejournal.com]

The knee caddy is totally worth the price. Scooting around has a learning curve, but I'm not dreading moving around the house like I was yesterday.
My terminally nervous cat is not happy with, however.

[cvirtue.livejournal.com]

In looking at it again, I am uncertain how one uses it. Do you stand or sit?

[ppfuf.livejournal.com]

Stand. The width of the black cushion is about my finger-tip to wrist (much smaller than my butt). I put my knee on the cushion, hang my injured foot off the back, and use my other foot to paddle along like I'm on a *big* mutant skateboard.

[cvirtue.livejournal.com]

Ah, ok. Somehow I had a wrong idea about the size of your cast (not reading for comprehension!)

I wonder if something like this would have worked for my father -- he could never get the hang of his lower leg prosthesis, so he used a wheelchair. Guess we'll never know!

[ppfuf.livejournal.com]

I'm trying very hard to be good. Putting any weight on it results in shooting pain, so the feedback is training me *very* fast.

[callistotoni.livejournal.com]

OMG! Take it easy, it will heal faster if you do what they say. :-/ Let us know if we can do anything. Food delivery? Grocery shopping?

[ppfuf.livejournal.com]

O gosh, I'm going to need some help shoppng the week after next, but I'll try to lean on somebody closer to home. Thanks for the offer, and I'll call you if I can't find a "volunteer" on this side of the bay.

[aastg.livejournal.com]

Yay for knee-support technology, boo for six weeks of it. I hope you heal fast!

[evil-macaroni.livejournal.com]

:-( I'm sorry to hear of your foot woes. May the cast time pass quickly & may you graduate to the walking cast next month as planned!

Your break sounds a lot worse than mine was.

[dame-cordelia.livejournal.com]

The cartilage and bone separated (the end near the heel). They pushed things back in place, wrapped my foot with an Ace bandage, and gave me one of those shoe-things to wear for 8 weeks.

How'd mine happen? On a Sunday morning I stepped out of a handicapped privy and my right heel landed in a gopher hole. Breaking camp and driving home was an interesting challenge that afternoon.

I learned to drive with my left foot on the gas pedal, and happily never got stopped by a policeman.

Re: Your break sounds a lot worse than mine was.

[ppfuf.livejournal.com]

I think my break is just harder to heal, due to the location and blood flow. Everything I've heard about heel-problems would make be belive they are more painful than what I've got.
One thing for me to be thankful for is, it's my left foot, and one of our cars is an automatic. I don't think I'd want to drive very far, but I can get to work and the doctors as needed.