Free at last!

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Free at Last!

Free of paster casts I mean of course  … anyone who has ever been in one  knows,  you are generally sick to death of  it within after day two of having it put on, so 10 weeks is mind-numbingly long even when common sense  (or in this case, Doctors) tell you it was necessary.

In case you’ve never seen one before, they use a small specialized oscillating saw to cut plaster casts off. It  rather defies logic by being capable of cutting hard materials but not soft ones,  and it does produce an unnerving buzzing sensation though which I can only best describe as semi ticklish. This sensation was at it’s worst when I still had the metal pins in… and whilst it’s not all together pleasant, luckily it doesn’t hurt.

The paster department people told me that it’s unusual that they have to do so many plaster changes on a patient for one injury but that’s simply because I managed to do some rare damage to myself.

Various hospital staff have asked if I would mind medical students and plaster technicians learning from my case (I didn’t mind), so there  have been lots of x-ray studies on computer monitors, and a heap of medical jargon that was the explanation to go with it as people learned something new, (so this stupid fall’s been good for something then! LOL)

Kiwi Daughter was very curious right from the beginning to know what was going on under the plaster works, where the pins were etc, so my pocket-sized point-and-shoot camera went with me to the hospital so that I oblige her curiosity… the plaster specialists were actually delighted by this and had a lot of fun getting into the photos, which helped to inject a little humour into (most) of the experience over the course of my visits.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Staff would ask when I came in if I had bought my camera and we documented progress.

On the desk where the plaster department  handle the administration, there was a wooden doll of the kid that artists use to practice figure drawing and getting proportion right. Their little model had different coloured plaster casts of various lengths all over it’s limbs. There was even one around it’s middle.

I have one of these wooden figures at home and jokingly told them that it needed a cast to match mine… they laughed and to my surprise said that this could be arranged. I needed to have x-rays done after my red cast was cut off, so whilst  I was away they decorated my artists dolly with a little reminder of their department. They even added an arm cast for fun too.

My kids thing it’s a riot that dolly now has coloured paster.

One thing that I didn’t expect is that my foot would be so swollen,  The Doctor said I’m supposed to walk with a pressure bandage for support and to keep my foot raised up at all other times so that the swelling can go down.  A good solid shoe for support is recommended as I start to walk with crutches, but I found when I got home that I can’t get into even my oldest shoes, and it’s hurting  far more than I anticipated so I’m back on maximum pain relief.

Luckily our physiotherapist is also a friend and she says it’s clear there is too much swelling at the moment, so a quiet weekend with my foot elevated is prescribed and she will come over on Monday to see what  the next step will be.

 

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Today’s pain is less than yesterdays so progress comes in small steps, but it’s a good start…

Just Hop’in-a-Long… Ensembles in Purple and Red.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

It’s week 10 and I’m still in plaster.

When Cast Number 5 was removed  in week 8 we had a little while to see how healing was progressing… things seem to me to be going well, so we wait for the Doctor to arrive with a verdict.

I had been talking myself into the idea that the fluorescent yellow cast would surely be the final one.

I mentioned this to the Doctor when he walked in and the look on his face and the fact that he laughed before looking at me to check that I was serious,  told me that I had definitely been wishful thinking.

Reality check.

That’s how I ended up in Cast Number 7.  A nice Purple little number,  thinner version of the previous ones and shorter too.  A rubber sole straps on underneath, and so I can practice standing and taking steps.

It’s always rather painful for at least 24 hours after a new cast is put on, so I wasn’t surprised when the Friday was not an easy day… but by the end of the day I know something wasn’t right and that was confirmed over the weekend as I had a band of intense pain around the back of my leg. The cast felt really tight and the skin there was really hurting.

I stuffed cotton wool balls  down the there with difficulty even though there  was not really any gap and whilst it alleviated the pressure for a while, once the cotton got flat the pain was back with a vengeance.

I couldn’t sleep much and poor Himself had me jiggling and turning every night trying to get comfy to no avail. I sat with my leg raised as high as possible an constant supply of ice-packs  against the plaster to relieve pain (yes, they work!) and waited for Monday morning.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

We phoned the hospital  Monday and were back in the plaster department soonest to fix the problem. They cut the purple cast off and it revealed an ugly red band of skin around the back of my leg,  it was clear that it had been too tight to take up the swelling that came every time I stood up.

Cast number 7 is again a short walking cast, this time in Fire Engine Red.

The colour seemed like a good idea at the time but now every time I look at it , it looks like I sneaked into Santa’s  wardrobe and thieved part of his ensemble.

I also got more padding around the back of the cast so the good news is that I have been standing an walking more and more and although short bursts go better than longer attempts, it is at least progress.

A suggested alternative to the rubber sole was that I might try on one of Himself’s shoes.. since for ladies, their men-folk’s bigger shoe size could accommodate the cast quite well and be more comfortable than the strap-on rubber sole.

Well we tried it, and giggled a lot before totally  and completely abandoning that idea.

Himself has abnormally massive feet, to match his overly tall length. Size 47′s  to be precise and even with a cast on, my size 38′s were swimming in his shoes. We tied the laces tight and there was still room everywhere inside LOL.

We agreed that attempting to walk  in loose small boats would be an unwise recipe for disaster,  so rubber sole it is.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

I go back to the hospital at the end of this week and will see the trauma surgeon who did the operation in November, and if he is happy with progress then maybe I can finally leave hospital without  plaster for the first time in months.

Please cross ya fingers and ya toes! …Here’s hoping!