Cast Call
The last six weeks have been frustrating. There have been some upsides: everyone is very helpful, I've had Colonels and Chief Master Sergeants hold doors for me, I didn't have to drive to Baltimore. But, overall, it's just aggravating to wear a cast. The most mundane tasks become trials. Just walking upstairs is almost exhausting. Grabbing a Pepsi and taking it to the couch or my desk was a testimony to my ingenuity.
It's not over, but I'm in a new phase of recovery. No more cast (yay!), but still using crutches because my ankle is too weak (boo!). My foot has more freedom, but it has more pain (because of the ankle, not the break).
I learned a few things over the past week. If anyone gets a foot cast in the future, heed these warnings!
1. Always wear a sock or other protective garment on your other foot - at least with the fiberglass-bandage style cast. You will continually bump your good ankle with the cast. If you don't protect it, it will break the skin eventually.
2. Even though they'll suggest putting a bag over it when you shower, just take a bath with it propped up on the edge. The cast is abrasive enough to put little bitty holes in the bag while resting on the bottom of the shower. Then, you get a little water in the cast and it adheres to your foot for the next 4 weeks.
3. Wear clothes with big pockets whenever possible. You'd be surprised how much stuff you carry around without thinking about it...until you don't have the hands free to carry it (like the aforementioned Pepsi).
4. Wear a sock over the tip of your cast. It not only hides the toes (that may not be at their most photogenic) and mutes the funk, it also provides a little traction for that foot when you're standing on a non-carpeted surface.
5. Watch out for wet surfaces - like the kitchen and bathroom floors with a little bit of water. Crutches lose ALL traction on a wet kitchen floor. That leads to smacking your foot down to catch your balance. That tends to hurt a little.
I hope you never have need of these tips, but if you do, I hope you find them useful.
It's not over, but I'm in a new phase of recovery. No more cast (yay!), but still using crutches because my ankle is too weak (boo!). My foot has more freedom, but it has more pain (because of the ankle, not the break).
I learned a few things over the past week. If anyone gets a foot cast in the future, heed these warnings!
1. Always wear a sock or other protective garment on your other foot - at least with the fiberglass-bandage style cast. You will continually bump your good ankle with the cast. If you don't protect it, it will break the skin eventually.
2. Even though they'll suggest putting a bag over it when you shower, just take a bath with it propped up on the edge. The cast is abrasive enough to put little bitty holes in the bag while resting on the bottom of the shower. Then, you get a little water in the cast and it adheres to your foot for the next 4 weeks.
3. Wear clothes with big pockets whenever possible. You'd be surprised how much stuff you carry around without thinking about it...until you don't have the hands free to carry it (like the aforementioned Pepsi).
4. Wear a sock over the tip of your cast. It not only hides the toes (that may not be at their most photogenic) and mutes the funk, it also provides a little traction for that foot when you're standing on a non-carpeted surface.
5. Watch out for wet surfaces - like the kitchen and bathroom floors with a little bit of water. Crutches lose ALL traction on a wet kitchen floor. That leads to smacking your foot down to catch your balance. That tends to hurt a little.
I hope you never have need of these tips, but if you do, I hope you find them useful.
Labels: Medical, Observations
posted by Beav @ 8:25 AM
2 Comments:
At 8:54 AM,
Soo Mi said…
Poor guy. Life's lessons are often learned the hard way. Wish I could be there to make you laugh.
At 1:11 PM,
Anonymous said…
Your blog keeps getting better and better! Your older articles are not as good as newer ones you have a lot more creativity and originality now keep it up!
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