And Now For Today’s Shower

No the plumbing isn’t playing up but …

Somehow, when I encased my foot in its big red Santa boot in a green City Council recycling bag this morning I either (a) didn’t seal it properly around the leg or (b) ripped it somehow.  Because … when I got out of the shower my foot in its boot was swimming in water.  Well that’s a slight exaggeration.  There was water in the bottom of the bag.

This of course, is very uncomfortable when said foot is encased in said red Santa boot.  So a call to the hospital orthopedic department at the hospital followed.  I spoke to a delightful (young) woman who told me that a nurse would call back and give me a time to come into the clinic.  A couple of hours passed with no phone call. I then made another call working on the assumption that the squeaky wheel gets the oil, to be told by the same (young) woman that the nurses were (a) very busy, (b) had been given the message and (c) would call me back “if they could” today.  Whereupon I told her that the foot was wet, the plaster was wet etc, etc and that I needed to speak to somebody TODAY!

Some two hours later I received a call from the supervising nurse who said that they couldn’t fit me in today but she suggested that if somebody else were around, I get them to direct the heat from a hairdryer on low, down into the space between the foot and the cast.  I did point out to her that in the pages of literature I had been given about caring for a cast, directing heat from a hairdryer was a definite NO.

She countered this by saying that I was a sensible woman and would know if I was damaging the cast with the heat.  How?  She also said that if this didn’t work I should call her in the morning and make a time to come back to the clinic to have this fibreglass cast removed and replaced with a full plaster cast.
As I have only 7 more sleeps before the cast comes off I asked why they wouldn’t replace it with another fibreglass cast.  The response?  Because of the type of fracture I have the bone could have moved and they would want to be sure that it stayed in place for another week.

That makes absolutely no sense to me.  She also commented that if the bone had moved they might have to perform surgery – my response to that is NO WAY.  If surgery was to be performed why didn’t they do it five weeks ago at the time of the accident?

So my ever patient friend has just sat with me directing a stream of heat down into the cast.  I don’t know just how I can repay him for the care and attention that has been lavished on me over the past five weeks.  And I don’t know if applying the heat has worked but it certainly feels better than it did before the hairdryer was applied to it.

Boy will I be glad to see the end of this cast.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo -Agnieszka Pastuszak – Maksim | Dreamstime.com

Hooray – only seven more sleeps until it comes off.

Related articles

• Today’s Shower (growingyoungereachday.wordpress.com)
• Casting problems ? (bradyszabo.com)