It is also a walking cast. The top of the toes were cut out this time so I can see and tend to them. It is actually useful: I can judge my toe color now and decide if the foot has been down too long. I wish the previous cast had this.
The cast comes with a little boot, and I am sort of able to hobble around putting full weight on it. There have been no shooting pains or aches, and I am increasingly confident about it. My instructions were to place 40 pounds of weight on the foot for the first two weeks, and then work up to full weight. Forty pounds is much better than no weight. It adds vast stability to previously precarious perches.
It is strange to crutch around while sort of walking. The pace and feel is a little different, and I have had to lengthen the crutches and remove the chafing rubber things at the top. The walking cast isn't that good for walking. It supports the foot well, but makes a lousy shoe. It is easy to stub a crutch, and hard to go around on tippy-crutch.
I get winded fairly easily: this is no surprise given the hard work of moving around and eight weeks of enforced living on the couch. I am also able to sit up for a few hours at a time before the foot complains. I was able to drive for an hour and a half last week without problems. It is definitely getting easier.
Here's one side of the foot and a closeup. We asked a variety of questions about the prognosis, and about my ability to move around. I had basically canceled all travel until January, but the Labs has invited my to China in October, four months post-op. Would I be able to go? I'd be in the removable cast, and just starting therapy. He said yes. He also said that I would be running on the beach by January, though he didn't specify which beach. (Actually, it will be Hilton Head, and I'll walk, not run.)
We couldn't pin him down on probabilities for the other foot, or future operations, or elaborations on the prognosis. The operation is too new.
It's entirely unclear how mobile I will be at that point. I may be able to float in the pool, without kicking. At present I am stuck in the air conditioning for the summer.
I've been able to work full-time for several weeks. Of course, if I were a roofer or cop, I'd be on disability for many more months.
Of course, the bills are starting to trickle in. My wife and I have a bet on the total cost of this. I am guessing $40,000, she is guessing around $100,000. we have the indemnity plan, which is handled by Prudential. So far, they have paid $16 for my $60 crutches. I guess they reimbursed me for a stick found in the woods.
