Footloose

Max had his appointment with the orthopedic surgery folks up at the hospital today and I'm happy to report that he is now cast free! He was supposed to be in the cast from 4-6 weeks -- they wanted us to come back in four weeks for x-rays to see if the fracture had healed. As it turned out, when I called to make an appointment, the only openings they had were either three days before his four weeks were up or five days after. We opted to chance the earlier appointment in the hope that Max could, once again, buck the odds (not to mention the sense of panic and despair that came over us at the thought of an extra five days in the cast).

So, Mom, Dad, Max, and Molly trucked on up to the hospital with our fingers (and toes) crossed. We must have made a funny procession, what with the two babies, the wheelchair, the stroller, the diaper bag, and a very friendly two year old who waved and said "hewwo" to everyone we passed. We ended up running all over the hospital during the hour and a half we were there -- we had to check in at orthopedic surgery, then trot upstairs to radiology for the x-rays, then run back down to orthopedic surgery to meet with the doctor. Max was NOT happy about the x-rays and howled the whole time. We carried the x-rays back downstairs, having no idea what the results of the x-rays were. When they called our name and wheeled us into the "cast room" (where all the tables and saws were), we took that as a good sign.

The doctor was very pleased with how well the fracture had healed and asked us if we were ready for the cast to come off. Max did not want to be put on the table and cried the whole time the cast was getting cut off, poor guy. He was happy when Mama could pick him up and hold him until he felt a little better. The cast was a little on smelly side (you could see where we had a couple of diaper leaks during those first couple of days, before we figured out a diapering system), but Max's leg and skin actually looked just fine. He looks littler and skinnier without the cast -- it's hard to say if he lost weight while he was in the cast or if he just seems smaller without a ton of fiberglass wrapped around him. The doctor said his hip and knee would be really sore and that he probably wouldn't be walking around for a couple of days. It could take up for a month for him to get back to normal and be able to walk without a limp. But, Max is cleared to move around as much as he wants to, as long as he doesn't do any crazy stuff for a couple of days.

Max seemed a little unsure of himself after he got the cast off -- it looked like his hip/knee were pretty painful. When we got home he got to sit in his booster chair and eat a meal for the first time in a month -- since he ate a better lunch than he has for a while, he must have been happy about it. I gave him a nice, warm bath shortly after we got home. He was a little scared when I first put him in the tub -- I think because his balance and flexibility are still off. After a few minutes in the tub, he was having a grand old time. I think the warm water helped loosen up his joints and he just had a blast splashing in the water and playing with his toys. He didn't want to come out, but once I got him out and dressed, he started doing more and more moving and crawling around. By the end of the evening, he was crawling around like crazy, playing with balls and toys and acting more like his regular old self. He crawled right into the kitchen while we were making dinner, pulled open the oven storage drawer, and started dragging out racks and pans, just like always.

Watch out world, Max is back in action!