Letting Go of the Rod!

I'm free, I'm free at last. . . or at least that what I'd thought I'd be saying! OK, Janie, I have to admit it hurt when the rod came out! No, the dr. didn't really lie to me that it wouldn't hurt, but somehow the rod got bent and that's what made it hurt! (Doesn't it give you a stomach ache just to think about?) Anyway, it's out and so are the stitches. My question, "Now can I take a shower?" Not yet. :( :( Major frowns from me. So besides a very ugly toe and a hole on the top of my foot, now it's wrapped in a "soft cast." It was really cold going on and will take until tomorrow to "harden." And I still can't get it wet. I return to the dr. on March 12 and then the soft cast will be taken off and I'll be able to wear my clunky shoes during parts of the day, but the ugly shoe the rest of the time. So a total of 6 weeks from surgery date before my foot will be almost healed. I'm counting on it 'cause Art and I are going to Albuquerque, NM, to see the petroglyphs there and I'll need to be able to walk a dusty path to the caves. If I can figure out how to attach a photo, I'll put a photo of my ugly toe - there are actually two - one from 2/23 and one from today. But I want to embed the photos so you don't have to look at that ugly thing unless you want to! :) Oh, the other thing I noticed is that this soft cast is heavy! Regarding the pain issue I've discussed in the past, the dr. said that as the nerves heal they will send a pulse of pain or discomfort. It doesn't last long, but sometimes it hurts so hard it takes your breath away, so to be perfectly honest, I can't say there is no pain. Any surgery is gonna hurt, but compared to my knee surgery last summer, this is nothing and I can handle it most of the time!