Broken Foot – AGAIN!
Fate was once again against me.
On January 1st, I tripped and fell at home. What should have been a minor annoyance turned into major aggravation. That night, laying bed, I knew. I knew I had broken my foot, again.
It didn’t hurt as much as last time, so I figured it was a hairline fracture. Since I have my crutches from last time, I decided to wait until Monday to go to a doctor.
The X-ray confirmed my suspicion. In the X-ray below you can see a fracture, not all the way through, in the 5th metatarsal of my left foot. I drew an arrow to guide you to the break.
My left foot
The doctor laughed when I pulled my “old” cast out of my backpack. I had hoped that the old adage, “if you have it with you, you won’t need it,” would hold true, but alas…
Since then, some people have asked about my old cast, and why I could still use it and how it works. So, I’ve taken a few photos to help explain my cast to you.
The cast consists of four (4) main components: the outer boot, sock, “butterfly” pellet liner, and pump. The first three components are depicted below.
The outer boot
The washable sock
The "butterfly" pellet liner
Like Russian dolls, everything stacks inside of each other. The “butterfly” liner goes inside the washable sock, which has a zipper along the back and a compartment for the liner. My foot goes inside the sock with the liner.
My foot in the sock
This then gets placed inside the outer boot and strapped in.
The cast attached to the pump
Once I’m strapped in, I then use the pump, not to put air into the cast like the term “air cast” might imply, but to remove it. Creating a vacuum makes the pellets expand slightly and become firm and cast-like.
This type of cast has several huge advantages: it can be re-used (as this latest break shows); I can remove it, so I can take a bath without the cast (and thus wash my foot); the sock can be washed, so it (and my foot) doesn’t stink; and I can “walk” on it.
I hope this little tour into the life of my broken foot has helped you better understand.
After all most 5 weeks in a cast, I am once again standing on my own two feet!
