Cast-off!
by Tommy
The cast is off. Admittedly I should be wearing it for another two days but for a couple of reasons, I’m not.
A few weeks ago, we spotted specks of blood on the cast. We hastily removed the cast with a scissors and fixed the problem (cast was rubbing the skin off my kneecap so we removed the offending bit of the plaster). Since then, we’ve been wearing it normally, secured with a length of gauze but taking it off to shower and go to RENT rehearsals.
The decision to take off the cast early won’t damage anything – the surgeon who did the original cortisone injections said that ‘it doesn’t need to be exactly six weeks; five-and-a-half weeks wouldn’t harm it’.
Certainly, the cortisone and the cast have done their duty. I’ve been completely pain free for about 3 weeks now; for the first time in roughly 5 months. It’s a phenomenal feeling but it borders on creepy – something that’s been such a big part of your life is gone just like that… I’ve been sleeping normally, less tired and even been off my cocktail of painkillers (my liver will thank me in 70+ years), all of which are fantastic things.
The leg though is quite stiff. While climbing stairs, I’ll get halfway up and my leg will begin to get weak and once or twice it’s even given out from underneath me. Going down is easier except for when I put my weight on the bended knee, at which time I get a really bad spasm of pain. More general things include having to use my hand to physically lift it onto a chair or my bed instead of it being able to do so itself.
RENT has been wonderful in giving me a concrete goal to work towards from the perspective of recovery. There’s a big weekend pencilled out next month – the deadline that I have to be in peak physical fitness. The fact that the character of Mark is one of the leads which means lots of moving around onstage that I need to be able for. The fact that it’s RENT means that jumping on tables will be required at more than one point and I want my knee to limit me in the least amount possible.
So all in all, Tommy’s a happy bunny – looking forward to going swimming tomorrow, I think! :)