X-Ray Vision

Here is a detail my first x-ray, taken on October 17:

If you look at the base of the last metatarsal on the right, you can see a pretty messy crack going all the way across it. If you have one of those, it means your foot is broken.

Last Friday (November 14th) I went back for another round of x-rays:

This picture is not as good (I took it up against the light in my kitchen - you can see the circle), but you can see that the crack looks a lot cleaner and the fracture only goes about half-way across the bone now.

My doctor said that I should be able to ditch the walking boot in about 3 more weeks. I got a second opinion on Sunday confirming that diagnosis from my friend Stephanie Rhodes' dad, a podiatrist who coincidentally works at the same clinic as my mom in Salt Lake. When I first broke it, my Mom went down to the podiatry department to ask them some questions about the type of break I had incurred, and neither one knew at the time that Stephanie and I knew each other. Their conversation went something like this:

My Mom: My son broke his foot.
Stephanie's Dad: That's too bad.
My Mom: He's in Michigan.
Stephanie's' Dad: So is my daughter.
My Mom: He studies music.
Stephanie's' Dad: So does my daughter.
(Light bulbs appear above both of their heads)

I obviously missed my calling as a playwright. After that, Dr. Rhodes told me that he would be out here in Michigan for Stephanie's recital, and he coincidentally arrived here the day I got my new x-rays. So he spent some time with me looking over my x-rays and answering my questions, which was really awesome of him. He told me that the break was not a Jones Fracture as the doctor had previously told me, which usually requires surgery and a 6 months or so to heal, but that it was something a lot less severe. If I had to break my foot, he said, I pretty much picked the most desirable place to break it.

So hooray for getting out of the boot in three-ish weeks. I don't feel any pain in my foot any more and my boot-less morning routine (walking from the bed to the bathroom, taking a shower, walking back to the bed to put my boot on) is getting easier and less limpy. I'm really glad that I won't be in the boot for Christmas. You might even say it's a Christmas Miracle! (Cue heavenly choir)

Now if Deron Williams' foot can just heal...

P.S. - A special shout-out to Sister Connett, my bishop's wife, for sewing me up a fleece booty to go over my sock. It was starting to get really cold with my toes all exposed like that.