Cast is off………Quartzsite Trip is on!!

Last Friday, I went to the Doctor’s office for my second checkup since my foot surgery.  It had been only 16 days since the surgery, and she originally told me to expect the cast to stay on for 4 weeks.   At the first checkup, she said that things went really well, and that she might take the cast off earlier.  I went with my hopes up!!

Sure enough, they took x-rays, and decided that the cast could come off to inspect the wounds.  Once off, the incisions looked good, and they removed the stitches and got me fitted for an after-surgery walking boot.  I was really pleased.

I only have a picture of me in the ‘cast removal’ chair, and all of the cast removal is on video. 

The exposed area of my foot was starting to look pretty nasty, and I was not sure that my toes would not fall off, if hit!!  Once the cast was off, it really looked bad

They said the nasty looking scaly white stuff was from not being bathed for over two weeks, since I could not get the cast wet.  If this looks “good”, I don’t think I want to see “bad'”….. at least not on my foot!

In a previous post, I posted a picture of what “my view” was for most of the day with the cast on the foot, and laying on the bed watching TV or using my Laptop.  Here is the new view……… not much different except for the boot instead of the cast………

Although I was excited to get the cast off, and the ‘walking’ boot put in it’s place, the euphoria quickly evaporated when I found out that the term, ‘walking’, was a great big lie.  The boot is only a substitute for the cast, and must stay on 24 hours a day…… even while sleeping! 

Not being someone who follows rules that I don’t like, I sorta’ kept the boot off a lot during Saturday, while laying on the bed, and even went to sleep without it under strong objections from my in-house doctor, Patsy,

I woke up about 2:00AM on Sunday morning, and the foot hurt like HELL, and Patsy also told me that it was quite swollen. We consulted and decided that the swelling was probably the cause of the pain.  We put the boot back on, and I took a dose of the narcotic pain killers that the other doctor gave me for after the surgery.  Except for my shower this morning, the boot has not been off since early this morning, and the foot feels pretty good. 

It looks like I will have to use a rolling walker or a cane to get around in Quartzsite, but we are STILL GOING.  We leave on the afternoon of Thursday, Jan 10.

I have one more doctor’s appointment for Jan 8, just to make sure that all is well, and we can leave town.  My next post will probably be while on the way to Quartzsite.

Later……..