It's Easy Being Green

I got a new cast today. It is, as the subject line suggests, green (at the request of Her Booness).

Boo had decorated the pink cast with kitties, sunshine, a flamingo and family portraits. I made sure to take pictures, because I was pretty sure the cast would be too unsanitary to keep around. As it turns out, though, the unsanitary inner layers of gauze and stockinette could be peeled away and discarded, allowing me to preserve the fiberglass part. If I can find my camera cable, I'll try to post the pictures.

They did more x-rays, and everything still seems to be in place. The doctor says I'll be in this cast for three more weeks, then in a splint for two weeks, then I'll have one more surgery to take the pins out. The pin removal is apparently miles simpler and less painful than the first surgery, and I should be ready for physical therapy within a couple of weeks. Physical therapy should take six months to a year, so in the shortest-case scenario I'll be finishing up my recovery a little over a year after I first fell. Next time, I'm landing on my head.

I actually had to have two casts put on today. The first time, I felt like the bottom of the cast was too tight, and they had to wait for the fiberglass to harden at bit, then cut off the cast they'd just put on and start over. I felt silly, especially since I could stick my whole finger between my arm and the bottom of the cast and run it all the way around, but I couldn't convince myself that it wasn't cutting off my circulation. My doctor was very patient and kind about it, when in all likelihood it was just me panicking because I (apparently) have an aversion to anything on my body that feels too tight. He made sure he didn't pull the bandage at all when he was wrapping the second cast, and it feels fine. Probably the danger now will be it falling off.

I'm still dropping back on the painkillers, although today has been a "take lots" day because of all the moving around between casts. My pinkie continues to be very sore, and the doctor was a bit surprised when I mentioned it, because apparently it's not a typical symptom. It doesn't impair me much, and I can even type with it now, but I have to be careful when I'm gripping or when I'm rubbing lotion on my hands. I'm not too worried about it, considering all the rearrangement that's gone on inside my hand.

Onward and upward. :) I feel that I can do everything that's really important (well, okay, almost everything :)). I certainly can find plenty of ways to be occupied and happy. The good things are getting better, and the bad things are diminishing. Can't ask for more than that.