One Month Out

As of today, I am officially one month into my recovery from having my friend the metal cage placed around my leg—one month of wheelchair, walker (but barely walking), Recovery Couch, chair in the corner, sleeping golden retrievers, less-than-great action movies I am beyond ready to be done with. There were some good parts, yes, but on the whole recovery has pretty conclusively proven itself to be, in three words, boring, boring, boring.
 
The good news: I am making definite strides towards towards leaving the land of recovery. While I missed another half-week of school, being sick on Tuesday and Wednesday, I also made it for the full day on Thursday and Friday (granted, that full day isn't particularly long, given that my free blocks allow me to leave literally hours early). I also ate out for the first time since Christmas, using the walker and not the wheelchair to navigate my way into the restaurant. As much as I enjoy eating at home, it was nice for the change of pace.

And perhaps best of all, I exited the land of the toe-touching faux walk and, earlier today, entered the promised land.

To translate the last sentence: I'm walking again.

As in, 100% weight-bearing.

This is…well, incredible, really. I've spent so long reliant on the wheelchair and being unable to put any weight on the foot that the fact that I can put weight on it without feeling any discomfort is truly amazing. Granted, the leg's stability has never been in question and weight-bearing has always been a matter of comfort.

I'm at that level of comfort now.

In the interest of full disclosure, I'm still using the walker, though I'm holding it elevated off the floor as a balancing tool, only looking somewhat ridiculous in the process. With the month of only using one leg (and the weight disparity from the frame), my balance is not yet 100% and my right leg (with the cage) does not feel as stable as the left leg. I can mostly walk without tripping, but I do need my safety net. I don't really know for how much longer, but still—

Dr. Sundberg said at the outset that I should be weight-bearing in about four weeks. He was right. He also said that I'd only need the frame for three to four months after the corrections had been made.

Hopefully he's right about that, too (well, either right or wrong by overestimating the amount of time I spend in this thing…).