Halfway there.

The purple cast. 

My nieces went to town on it last night. It's good. It was a bit boring before Jay got a hold of it Friday night, and the girls took it on last night to add their decorations. 

Today marks three weeks since the surgery. Tomorrow there will be three weeks remaining before the cast comes off, to be replaced by a walking boot. Then comes re-learning to walk, then re-learning to run. 

There has been little to no pain lately; it feels like I'm past that and into bone growth and fusion. The cast padding is packing down, getting harder and creating more room inside. I would guess the edema in my sausage of a foot is down some, also opening the gap between the cast and my foot, ankle, and leg. I can occasionally feel the ends of the main incision, as the cast rubs and irritates. The main point of annoyance is still at the edge of the "knob" on the inside of my ankle. There is a quarter-sized scar there from the original injury which has always been sensitive. Now, there is also a small incision where hardware was either placed or removed. The cast rubs and bounces mercilessly on the scar and incision point, mostly when I try to find a comfortable sleeping position. Lying on my right side works, but I have a hard time staying that way all night. I work and rework my position, and occasionally spend some time at night on the couch so Laura can sleep. Bless her.

This too shall pass; in a few weeks I'll have a boot I can remove at night. I will be able to lie more comfortably, without tweaking my right knee around the bulk of the cast. It's all about moving forward, and it will happen. 

Jay still finds ways to make the most of the situation. When I rest my crutches against the couch, he straddles them and slides down at amazing speed, given he's only moving about 30 inches or so. He loves the "bump" when he hits the floor. I think he's going to LOVE contact sports. He also likes writing on the cast, and seems to enjoy some ownership in it. It was a great move by the tech to get him involved in making it.

He has enjoyed having daddy in the back seat of the van with him when we travel. On Saturday we were heading into Glens Falls, and he was eating a peanut butter sandwich. One of his favorite songs came on, an he shouted and signed (we taught him a few signs before he could talk), simultaneously, "ALL DONE!!!"

He practically threw the remnants of the sandwich at me, thrust his hands into the air, and began a nightclub-worthy dance from his car seat. "Dance, Daddy, DANCE!"

So we did. Over, and over. 

After a few rounds, he reached to me and asked, "Huggy?" I said we needed to stay buckled up so we would be safe. He became pretty adamant. I warned Laura, unbuckled, and climbed over my crutches. He grabbed on hard and said, "I love you daddy. Huggy." We embraced for a full minute. He then scolded me for being up. 

"Go back your seat!!!"

Yes, Jay. That's a good idea. 

We rolled along for a few more minutes, in post-huggy afterglow. He turned and smiled at me.

"Daddy?"

"Yes, Jay?"

"I want a RED cloud."