Finally the hopeful day came (July 6th) for the Cast to come off and stay off. It had been about 2 1/2 weeks and he was ready but also a little nervous!! 
Dr. Stateva said that the ankle and scaring looked really good so she took the stitches out...notice the scissors in her right hand as she examines his sergical site...
So here is his next stage...the BIG BLACK BOOT. He noticed right away that it was as heavy if not heavier than the cast had been. He was told that he could only put weight on his heel and was still supposed to be very careful and use the walker or crutches for a few more weeks. Still wasnt' full weight bearing. He had to keep his foot elevated too but now he could shower without the rubber vaccuum sealed boot and actually wash his foot and ankle. Ahhhh! that shower felt so good, to be able to wash and rub where the itching had been, but he still was sitting on his shower chair. I gave him foot massages and put lotion on his foot and ankle. He went to work from home on our home computer about 4 hours a day. He said that felt good too.
Now we got to go to Physical therapy that started slowly at first until he had more strength and mobility in his ankle. It was up to his Dr. how fast the PT would progress. He progressed pretty well. In this picture above you see Jay Hamon, who I've known for many years because he used to work at Safeway with me but now he is a very good Physical Therapist, massaging Richard's ankle. Richard always started out with that to increase the mobility so he could do the other exercises.
Now he has gotten a resistance band that helps to strengthen his ankle movement. Jay put him through a series of different exercises each week adding and removing some as Richard progressed. It was fun to compare the ones he did with those I did when I was recovering from my broken ankle. I am grateful I didn't have the tendon injury as Richard got a greater variety of stuff to do, some the same, some different; some hard and some easier. That's what progress is all about.
He reached a point where he needed to practice on his balance so what do they give him to do...play a game on the Wii!! Who would have ever thought I'd see him doing that?? What do you think, Grandkids?? Pretty cool, huh?
Well, now that he was more mobile, he was going to church, going slowly up and down the stairs several times a day. He was finally free from being upstairs so much and he was able to get out. Here he is out at Mark and Kathleen's when the Philpott's came to visit in July. This is his new look of a goatee beard too and one of his new Luau shirts I got him for Father's day. He's become "Mr. Casual". I like it!
Finally he had had enough of the mustache so off it came. Here he is with just the chin beard. I really like that. Look how handsome he looks! Today he is biking on our exercise bike (as I type), working 6+ hours at work so he is driving because the BOOT is off and shoes are on, and he is not using any walking assistance, even the cane has gone back to the closet. His ankle feels much better than before the surgery and he is still going to PT to continue to strengthen everything. He will probably be released by his Dr. at his appointment next week to go back to work full time. His only real problem now is his heel hurts but that will get better too. We missed BYU Ed week because of all of this but we are determined to go next year and he will be able to walk all over campus and enjoy it...hopefully ankle pain free.Good work, Sweetheart!!
