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My short leg cast adventure has just begin. As of today, 02/23/98, I have yet to public, but I hope for the opportunity tomorrow. I'm still allowing the cast to dry. I hope to go 30 days total casted. This plaster slc should last me until Thursday 03/05, which happens to be my birthday. After class that day I will remove this cast. Because I am not sharing this adventure with my parents, I will have to celebrate my birthday uncasted that night. I expect that they will want to at least invite me to dinner my birthday night. Friday I will wear my camwalker to class with the excuse, "The doctor took off the cast to do some x-rays and put me in this", or something like that. When I put on the second cast that weekend, I will hopefully have the fiberglass I ordered from Grogan's. If not, I'll do a second plaster slc until the fiberglass comes. When casted again, I'll tell my classmates, if they ask, "Doctor thought I needed to go back into a cast."
I hope to be casted for 2-3 weeks in plaster and 2-3 weeks in fiberglass. If all goes well I should be casted for two, two weeks runs and one, one week run. I'm hoping for 5 weeks total, about 35 days. However, as Bob (Caster) told me, I may not want to remove the cast after 5 weeks. Six weeks sounds great to me right. After the cast adventure is over, I will wear my camwalker for 2 weeks as a "follow up" to the cast. I hope for as much realism as I can get. Look for more details of my adventure soon. Once I start back to class on 02/26 there will be no turning back.
Monday Feb. 23, Day 2: I've been crutching around the apartment for the first 2 days. I want this cast to be strong. I'm enjoying using the crutches a great deal. I even used the crutches to my mailbox. Having to go downstairs was a tedious thing to do but I enjoyed the challenge. If it weren’t for my lack of ability to get to class on crutches, i.e. if I drove, I would crutch at least for 3-4 weeks, maybe even the entire adventure. I'll crutch around the apartment as much as I can.
Tuesday Feb 24, Day 3: This is my first day to public day. I loved it! I had yesterday, today, and will have tomorrow off for Mardi Gras. So I had the opportunity to let the cast set. Today it was ready for showing off. The weather was perfect. I was able to wear shorts and walk all the to the bayou. As you can see above, I took my camera with me. I loved every minute of it, and although I didn't get any reactions on this day, I know I will as soon as I start back to class day after tomorrow. The only downside to this little excursion was the fact that I may have overdone it. I may have a blister on my heel. I'll take it easy tomorrow and see what follows.
Thursday Feb. 26, Day 5: First day of class casted! Well my dream is realized. I never thought I'd ever wear a cast that was anywhere near legitimate, at least in others' minds. I took the shuttle bus to class; I usually walk the 9/10 of a mile. Of course my "injury" prevented me from doing this, at least for 4-6 weeks. I didn't use one crutch like I wanted. I got to class early, sat down, and waited for the people to come in and inquire about the cast. My professor was the first to notice. She asked, "What in the world happened?". My classmates really didn't notice at first, but with this comment they started they're questions and sympathy.
Ever since I was a kid I always wanted a medical cast, but I was too shy to want people to notice. This has changed. When the door was opened by the question from my professor, I felt the adventure had truly begun. I explained the reason for the cast by saying my ankle was broken (a hairline fracture) playing a "friendly" game of basketball. I really didn't expect the reactions I got. Though none were shocking and no casters were discovered, the sympathy from my female classmates was nice. Now I must say that I didn't seek sympathy. I basically stated the "facts". I even used a little humor by stating it was "just a little break". But my female classmates showed considerable sympathy for my misfortune. They "ooh'd" and "aw'd" over how painful it must be and how much of a "bummer" it was. The one male classmate that questioned me in my next class only really wanted to know the facts about how it happened. It seemed to be just a matter of polite curiosity. Then only related cast story I got was by a woman who said her eight year old was in a cast (lac) for a broken arm. I didn't quiz her too much about it so I wouldn't seem to weird. If it had been the woman who had been casted, I would've continued. With the casted being a young girl, and her daughter, I decided not to do so. The woman mentioned, however that her daughter didn't want to be in a cast anymore because of the pain. I assumed the itching would be hard on a little kid too. My first day casted was very satisfying. It was as good an experience as I could've hoped for.
Friday Feb. 27, Day 6: I decided to remove the first cast on this day. I took a small break and decided to recast that night. The second plaster cast was the most comfortable cast I've done. I heavily padded the heel area to protect a beginning blister. The downside to this cast was restriction. It wasn't snug enough. I like immobilization, and this cast just didn't do that as much as I would have liked. The comfort was a relief. I wore this cast until Wednesday, March 5.
Wednesday March 5, Day 11: I will count this day, but not the days following until Sunday, March 8. I wasn't casted these days, until that Sunday. I could perhaps count these days because I did go to class in a camwalker. Surprisingly no one asked why I was not casted. I guess they just didn't think of questioning a medical treatment. A camwalker does look like a serious orthopedic device. I won't count these days without a cast as part of my "cast" adventure.
Sunday March 8, Day 12: My first fiberglass cast! I didn't know what to expect from fiberglass. I had only used plaster until now. I was a bit nervous about messing up the cast. The cost is so great that messing the cast up would be tragic. I did fine. The application was so easy I couldn't believe it. No mess at all! I dipped the rolls into cold water for 10 seconds in order to slow down the drying so I would have plenty of time to apply it. This was a great idea (thanks _dragon). I had plenty of time to apply the fiber. I used five rolls of 4", white. I used three rolls on the ankle and two on the calf. I started at the ankle and went to the toes and back to the ankle with the first roll. I took the second roll and did the same. I took the third and started at the ankle where I ended the second. I wrapped that roll to below the knee and went back down to the ankle (or almost to the ankle). The forth roll I continued where I left off and wrapped the ankle again, to the toes and back up to the ankle. The fifth started at the ankle and went up to below the knee again. The ankle was quite thick enough and strong enough, and the calf was as well. For my first experience with fiberglass, I think I did a decent job. I was up and walking on the cast in an hour, though I could've walked on it about 20 minutes after application. I may never go back to plaster again! More on my fiberglass days coming soon!
03/12/98
Day 16, March 12: Just a Thought
This cast, after 16 days, has kind of become a part of me. I feel like I am the "casted one" in class. It's no particular comments are behavior but an inner feeling. For 40 days I'm playing a role and even though I'm not really injured, I have taken on some traits of an "injury".
I'm supposed to have an injured ankle. Although I've sprained my ankle before and know the pain and discomfort involved, I can't possibly know what a broken ankle is like. However, I somehow have acted in a way that creates an illusion of being a gimp. Of course the restriction of the cast causes me to limp a bit by default, I think perhaps I exaggerate this limp. I now enjoy the attention and questions if and when they come. I don't feel any guilt for deceiving my classmates. First, I don't know them well, and second, I think that a little role playing is is alright. I NEED to do this for myself. Now that I am doing it, I feel a spark in me. Realizing a dream, no matter what, is a very enlightening and freeing experience. My first cast was the beginning of a dream or desire come true. I feel this adventure is, and will be, even more powerful.
Sunday Feb. 22, Day 1: This day was only the application of the first plaster cast. I did an o.k. job, but I could have done better. The padding may not be thick enough and the stockinet is a little off so that some plaster is sticking out and may irritate the foot. We'll see. I will walk on it in 2 days.
Well, it's day 26 of my adventure. The change of color was interesting. It sort of renewed interest in the cast. Several noticed the color change and were curious about why and how the color changed. "So, new cast I see. Very fashionable", one woman in my class said. I never thought I'd enjoy color other than white, but I really do. I may go for blue at some point.
This cast is my best so far. The last fiber cast was great but it came up short on the foot. I made this one closer to the toes, almost covering the little toe. I feel this is a better way of wearing a short leg cast. It seems to restrict movement in the foot better. If anyone hasn't tried fiber yet and can afford it, please try it. Your casts will improve greatly.
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