GOOD NEWS FOR PEOPLE WHO LOVE GOOD NEWS

Well, this is a first. My doctor's appointment today could not have gone better. After staring at my xrays for way too long and driving me crazy in the process, my doctor announced that my leg was ready to be fixator-free! He pulled out a little wrench (the same one I used to do the lengthening) and took my fixator apart right there in his office!

He then re-assembled my fixator and kept it in case I do re-break my leg and he has to put it back on. I didn't think to ask him to hold it to see how much it weighed, and I'm now thinking that I'm probably not going to see it again if all goes well, but that's okay. I'm now without fixator!

Here's a picture of my leg without the fixator:



And here's a picture of my leg with Lamar for perspective:



The surgery to remove the four pins and two screws still in my leg will be on October 24th. He said the surgery takes about half an hour. Until then, he told me to be very careful with my leg. Walking is fine, but any side to side movement should be avoided. He said I might want to bring my crutches around with me for support, so I think I will do that.

I'm sure he'll give me more specific instructions after my surgery (one thing I have learned about my doctor, he does not like to look very far into the future), but it sounds like the six weeks of crutches following surgery will not be so bad, more like just having them there for support and taking it easy.

He also told me that, all in all, I did pretty well with this whole thing. Thanks jerkface!

Now I can begin the final countdown.

Days until complete fixator removal: 14