Hi Billye:

I know exactly what you mean by not getting too confident. I'm afraid he'll fall if he tries to do anything on the crutches without me next to him. He doesn't do this. This is how we communicate. I have a very long apartment. My living room dining room alone is 30 feet. So if I'm in the back of my apartment doing something on the computer or just cleaning up in the bathroom, how can he call me??

I gave him my cell phone. He calls the landline phone, I see it's him, I say "what's up tootsie" and he goes, "can you come and put in this cassette tape for me". I go inside and bop him on the head. We laugh.

I really don't mind because as soon as he's well, he's taking me around the corner for a nice Japanese dinner.

Next week I'm taking down the wheelchair and putting it down the stairs. Then he'll shimmy down and get into it. Then we'll access-a-ride down to the Doc's office. Don't know if they will take the cast off. Anybody have a clue??

Also, it's a hard cast. So here's my question. And underneath by the heel area, it's hard there too. So the cast is a hard cast everywhere (and the toes peek out). So what would be the bad thing if, let's say Alan wants to wheel himself ove to the bathroom, and then take one crutch, and put down his right foot (the one with the cast), and just gingerly puts the heel on the floor.??? Isn't that what a hard cast is for. To allow you to step on it for a moment so you can transfer from one object to another??

Like getting out of bed and just taking two steps to the wheelchair, or getting out of the wheelchair and taking two steps to the bathroom.

He really isn't supposed to put his cast on the floor at all??

Believe me, all the instructions say is to elevate the right foot at heart level.

They tried to show him how to walk with the crutches, but when I saw the hard cast was under the heel, the first thing I thought of was "can't he just put his heel down for a moment???"

I'm thinking, "maybe it has something to do with the muscle calf thingee??" I mean, maybe he is not supposed to do any walking on this hard cast because of the calf part of the operation?? I didn't know that it was a hard cast by the heel or I would have asked the doctor, and now it's too late to call anybody.

If he puts any weight on the heel, it's not going to disturb the ulcer because the heel is in the hard cast.

anyone know???

mel