Power Boot

Got a new boot the other day. Any other time of my life, new shoes or boots would be so cool. I love shopping for shoes. I have a lot of shoes...Most of them are extremely practical, low-heeled, comfortable, useful for standing in all day. So, I'm a shoe shopper. However, the medical supply store doesn't carry cute shoes. Actually, I hope to never need most of the things the medical supply store carries! Here's what we came home with:



I'm calling it the RoboCop boot. It is going to replace this foot accessory that I'm currently sporting:

This is the fiberglass cast. In this photo, I have it wrapped with the cooling pad that is held on with a Velcro stretchy strap. When I'm lying down, this device is then plugged into a little condenser that pumps cool water through the whole pad and keeps my foot at a steady 43 degrees. You can see one of the valves poking up behind my toes. It is so much more convenient than ice packs--less messy, more consistent. I don't even think about it when I'm lying there on my futon bed reading the paper, napping, watching ridiculous fashion shows or those shows about people who have hoarding problems. I'm at the point where I rarely need pain meds anymore, so the T.V. is going to be off a lot more. I can read books!

Anyway, on Monday I go to the doctor to have the fiberglass cast removed, the wounds checked, staples removed, and then I'll leave in the RoboCop boot. I'm still not going to be allowed to put my weight on the foot, as I understand it. But, I will be able to lay in the sun on the patio without the boot for an hour in the morning and start tanning my legs---hope, hope, hope. I know he's said that I'm to wear the boot always, but, hey--one hour? I'll ask. Here's the poor ortho boot I have worn out in the last year. You can see the Storm Trooper boot has been through a lot. One of the straps tore off last month, so I pinned it back on.



There are inflatable plastic bladders on either side of the interior so that you can use a little hand pump (provided) to fill them up and hold your ankle snuggly so that it doesn't flop around inside of this contraption. However, one of the bladders is no longer able to inflate, so the boot fits oddly now when I wear it. Well, wore it during February and March before the surgery. The cover is put in place using Velcro and you can see how I've shredded it.



This boot is going to the trash, but I wanted to show you that, with enough persistence, one person can destroy a modern medical device designed to be tough and long-lasting.