Today is much better, flare seems to have settled back down. Orthopedic doctor is pretty pleased with his progress. She wants to wait a few months before considering removing hardware, to give the nerves more time to settle down and prevent risk of a setback. Since his pain is usually pretty localized to the extensor tendons on top of his foot, she feels the screws in the front of his ankle may be irritating the tendons as he steps and they stretch over the screws.