"The Cast"

Here I am returning from an afternoon stroll in my Herman Munster boot. (Yes, those are pj bottoms!) The weather has been beautiful the past few days, and being outside has been a pleasure even if the walk is less so. I'm going into the office on Monday via bus for a full day, so I'm trying to build up my stamina. I hope to cover some more ground over the next few days.

My appointment with Dr. Healey went well, when we finally saw him. He was running four hours behind, and when we left at 9:15 p.m., he still had 10 patients to see. Despite his overcrowded schedule, he continued to give us all the time we needed and answered all of my questions.

I will have to wear this lovely cast for the next four weeks whenever I go out, but around the house and at night, I have an aircast that runs under my heel and up each side of my ankle. I have to wear it with a sneaker or lace-up shoe, and currently I'm sporting one of Ed's size 10 sneakers. Tonight we are headed out to try to find a pair of women's sneakers that will fit over my swollen foot, which I will donate once my foot fits in my regular sneaker. (Any bets on when that will be?!) I can get around in the aircast, although I'm walking quite flat-footed. It's going to take some work to get my foot to flex properly, and I'm sure it's not going to happen without some discomfort. It is a joy to get that cast off my leg, though. I was even able to weigh myself this morning!

I go back to see Dr. Healey in a month and have an MRI done on my ankle prior to my appointment. He indicated that with all the swelling, it may be difficult to see exactly what's going on in there, but it will provide a baseline for future scans. The chance of a new tumor occuring in my knee, hip or bone in my leg is slim, according to him, but there is always the chance of a tumor recurring near where the original tumor was removed. We will have to keep on top of it with periodic scans.

In the meantime, I'll keep working toward walking like I used to do. I've been very lucky so far to experience little discomfort. Ibuprofen and a good night's sleep seem to do away with the aches and pains. I hope that continues. I'm really looking forward to taking a walk on a Florida beach.