Cast is Gone!

The cast is off and has been for 4 days now. But it left its mark. A nasty pressure sore to be exact, which explains why Day 6 and 7 of the two week casting period Oia was reluctant to walk and when she did she limped and often cried out. School even resorted to a wheechair on Day 7. The night time hours were the worst these two days. We followed doctor's orders though... to push on and see if the pain, or whatever the problem was, subsided. Which it did. Oia was walking with ease again by Day 8. The set back was a mystery for the remainder of the two weeks until the moment the back half of her cast was removed. The bloody heel inside the cast revealed a pressure sore on a fairly bright reddish-purple heel. Damn. Poor thing. Note to self for the next time when I won't be following doctor's orders.

The doctor said the tissue began to die at the site of the sore which created a hole in the blister's center. The area was dressed with a medicated bandage for a couple days after and it looks better with each passing day. The good news is that she doesn't seem bothered by it and the two weeks in the cast did what it was intended to do. Doctor said the stretch was more that he expected it would be, which is a pleasant surprise. Her stretched calf allows her to bring her heel closer to the ground (less high on toes) and as you can imagine, walking less high on ones toes has a positive impact on stability. We are hoping this nice stretch lasts for a long while. Oia seems happy about it, or maybe she's just happy the "boot" is off, but I'd like to think this stretch feels better for her. Despite the nasty sore, I'm filing this good stretch under "Success". I'm so thankful for these tiny interventions that keep our girl movin'.