On Frame-Wearing

So.

This is a shorter entry to address two frame-related concepts.

At the moment I have what looks like a weekend hardware project bolted to my leg. One of my friends, whose mother recently spent three months in the company of a frame, dubbed these things "Frankenstein devices." That's a fairly apt description, though I do mostly think of it as "hardware device."

Heading into the procedure, my parents and I briefly talked about giving the frame a name. Some suggestions were offered. None took. Don't get me wrong—there was a definite appeal in trying to name my Taylor Spatial Frame (and, no, Taylor would be too unoriginal a name). Humanizing the machine, offering a dash of humor to an otherwise somewhat-dull period of months…there was promise in there.

At which point I saw the frame.

In case you'd forgotten what the frame looks like…(from the hospital)

For the more squeamish, the frame in sweatpants.

 And then I realized: this is a piece of metal. This is a piece of metal which appears to have been designed solely so it appears to be completely devoid of anything resembling a soul. It is a medical device which exists to hold my leg together for the time being (and to correct the deformity, mustn't forget about that). What am I doing naming it?


Which is to say, if anybody has naming suggestions, feel free to post them in the comments.

The honest truth of the matter is, I'm going to be living with this thing for the next three months, until corrections are complete, according to this schedule:

The numbers represent the length of the struts on the frame (if you scroll up to the top image in this post, you can see the struts as the adjustable metal pieces which hold the two rings of the frame together (technicality: the top ring is actually only a 2/3 ring so I can bend the leg; the bottom ring goes all the way around)) in millimeters. At the end, all the struts will be 172 mm long. As of now, we are on day 10 according to this schedule. Clearly, my ability to post photos anywhere near when they are actually taken is questionable…

And then, after corrections are complete, the frame stays on until my bones fill in the bone cuts made during surgery. I'm getting x-rays on Friday and will try and post pictures then. Also, since the leg will be one day of adjustments away from being fully corrected, I'll get to post before/after pictures regarding leg alignment. Which makes me happy (much more happy than the fact that I'll be standing up for one of these x-rays, which will be interesting, given the frame).

As I've said again and again on this blog, the pain from this procedure really hasn't been that bad. I don't enjoy the fatigue and I hate being limited to the couch, but the knowledge that my leg is almost straight is worth all of it and more.

Incidentally, on Saturday, when corrections ought to be done, I'll be doing my best to party (while, of course, acting in an age-responsible way and acknowledging the fact that I will be a whopping two and a half weeks post-op). Just saying.

Also, I'll try and post more up-to-date photos of the frame before too long because there really is a difference between what it looks like now and what it looked like then as far as alignment goes.