Day Three - Post #10

The third day of my stay begins with a moment of the old deja vu. Somewhat a kin to what Bill Murray experienced in his blockbuster "Ground Hog Day'. I was peacefully floating in a dreamscape above a cumulonimbus cloud when the shutters are thrown back, blades of sunlight stab the room and the larger than life shadow of the black and white hippo that is Mrs. Doubtfire, settles upon me. "Mr. Dufus. Will we be having a bath today"?

Now I had spent a substantial amount of time, during some of my more lucid moments between injections, contemplating yesterdays question as posed. As such, I was prepared. I'm ready, I'm feeling sharp and I got this one. Without out skipping a beat, I reply with a "Not today mam, but thank you just the same". A Medusa like stare. Silence. She departs.

And then the doctor came in. Not stinking of gin. And not proceeding to lie on the table. He say's "Dufus you met your match". I say's "Doc it's only a scratch. And I'll be better, I'll be better Doc, just as soon as I am able". So the doctor tells me the swelling has deflated enough to set the bone. And we will be doing that later today. The 'we' in that statement I understand fully. Exit the doctor to return later today.

The setting of the bone was the simplest I had ever witnessed. He shows up with a techie of some sort who is preceded into the room by a mobile cart he's steering, filled with what appears to be art supplies. While the techie starts unwrapping packages of gauze, cotton mesh and popping tubs of Plaster o' Paris, the doctor is staring at my left foot. When the techie is all set to go, the doctor leans in, and with his extended middle finger on his right hand, he ever so gently touches the underside of my foot and begins to push the foot towards me. I can't feel a thing. Yea morphine! When he has reached the optimal angle he stops pushing and holds. He turns to the techie and says "Go". The tech lays a piece of wet fiber glass stripping along the back side of my calf, down my leg, around the heal and up the underside of my foot. Every one freezes for about five minutes for the fiber to set. And that was essentially that. They had to add a few more layers and wrap it all up followed by your standard, everyday, common type cast to the right foot and I was 'good to go'!

Many years later, I came to understand that the angle he set my foot at that day, was to make a huge difference in my ability to recover and walk somewhat normally once again. The angle he chose, without scopes or diagrams or charts or pictures, (I guess he had already reviewed those prior), was more conducive to walking up an incline, as opposed to walking down. My left foot would never again have the typical rotational characteristics you'd expect from a healthy ankle. That was understood. But the ability to walk up hill or climb stairs, was what he was going for. Down hill would always be aided by gravity and therefore not todays priority. Brilliant in it's simplicity. And given the significant amount of controversy surrounding the possible varied treatments for this injury, I am so grateful to that doctor to this day, that he decided to proceed as he did.