Saw the prosthetist today

My mom and I went to see the prosthetist today. I thought he would just look at my stump, and decide that it wasn't ready to mold it for the prosthesis. But, the head guy (Dick) was there, and they did mold my leg for the socket. That is the "suction" part of the prosthesis, that goes over the stump. The pylon (which is like a pole) attaches to the socket and also to the foot. From a booklet he gave my mom, it looks like they can put some sort of foam covering over the whole thing, to make look more natural.

Dick told us that from now on, until the time I stop growing, I could go through 4 prostheses. He kept saying that he is excited about my prosthesis, and thinks I will do very well. Because I've never been as active as I've wanted to be, it will take some time getting used to it, but I'm likely to wear them out quickly, just from being so active.

It should take about two weeks for them to make the prosthesis. When I go back in, they will have me walking on it, while I hold onto these bars. When I'm at home, Dick told me that I need to take it easy at first. I will have to get used to the pressure points in the socket. They can adjust the length of the pylon, to make my legs even. When I put my prosthesis on, it will be the first time in my life that one leg won't be shorter than the other!

I took pictures of my leg before my surgery, and I will take some now, and then in the prosthesis. I will look into what it takes to put load them into the blog. Then you can all see what I'm talking about.

I don't have much pain anymore during the day, but I still have some pain at night. I don't really have the spasms anymore. I do need to do exercises to stretch out the muscles in the back of my knee. Otherwise the muscles will tighten up, and I will have trouble walking.

I can't wait to get my new leg! I'll write more in a couple of weeks.