New cast and a step forward!

Got my new, apple-green cast today. The wound looked great–no swelling and no sign of infection. I waved hello to the poor, flabby calf before it went back into hiding.

I have to give my surgeon props here: not only did he come in on the Fourth of July holiday to compensate for the office being so busy, but he was the only person in the office aside from the receptionist. Without the PA there, he did the bandaging myself and then spent a ton of time with me answering questions about fixed vs. hinged boots and about our future protocol. Our consultations had been so brief before. I heard a little more about his background in sports medicine–it turns out he actually started as a physical therapist (and made some helpful adjustments to my crutches and crutching style).

I asked about Vaco vs Bledsoe. He said that he was the first in his practice to try the vacuum boots and did so while his partners were still using the other kind. After a couple of years, they reconnoitered and felt that it didn’t make any difference in recovery time. There may be some difference in patient comfort, which is an individual thing. FWIW.

He also said my injury/recovery was very "best-case scenario" for a full rupture so far, so that made me feel good. And the cast went on at much closer to a 90-degree angle than the brace had been–he worked with me to find a comfortable but "ambitious" point–so I feel like I’m moving ahead! Now for the 600-mile drive!

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