I'm off crutches! I got the clearance this morning during my visit to the orthopedist. He said my Achilles looked very good: greater range of motion than he anticipated at this point, little swelling, and structurally sound. So, he adjusted my ROM-CAM Walker 8003 Series to increase the amount of tension on my Achilles and told me I could start walking with out crutches. Freedom!During the next couple of weeks, just by walking on it, I'll begin to strengthen the muscles in my foot and ankle (right now my left foot looks like it could belong to a body pulled from the Milwaukee River). Then I can shed the boot and start walking in a shoe (with heel lift inserts, of course). It's a long road to recovery, but at least I'm moving along it.
Cori and I spent a couple hours today going through the medical/health supplies we're bringing to Ghana. Antiseptics, antihistamine, decongestants, anti-diarrheals, antibiotics, malarial prophylaxis, and the list goes on and on. But going through all of it, removing a lot of the packaging, and taking inventory of what we have and still need to pick up was very helpful.
When you start putting things in suitcases and backpacks, it begins to feel very real.
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