Max is stout, but short, black, and kinda fuzzy. He's a pest, a bother, and a pain. I don't like him at all. He is superior to Fred and Albert, however, because he allows me to be separated from him for short periods of time. His hold on me is somewhat more relaxed. I still don't like him, though.
Max is a "boot," or a walking cast. It weights approximately twice as much as Albert did. This isn't a problem for the average patient, who acquires this cast when they are able to walk. This little patient isn't quite so lucky. The doc allowed me to have Max so that I might be able to shower properly, but under the strict understanding that I would behave, i.e. not walk or put any weight on it whatsoever. However, Max is not designed to be lugged around in this fashion and he tends to slide down my leg. My heel then ends up hanging out, unsupported, which is rather painful. He also applies uneven and often uncomfortable pressure to various parts of my feet. I am much like the Princess in the story about the pea... I'm very delicate and sensitive.
I acquired him yesterday morning. My day was rather adventurous. My appointment was at 8:30 in the morning and it's an hour away. So after dragging myself out of bed a bit earlier than usual, we scooted out the door. The cast man cut Albert off from around my leg and then the doctor looked at it. He decided that my stitches could be removed. Mum had warned me that it felt weird. She said I should lie down (advice that I didn't take) because I would experience a weird "pulling" sensation. I later learned that she just didn't want to scare me.
The cast man started pulling out my stitches. Ow. The world then started to spin, fade out, and all the sound went away. I then woke up, lying on my back on the exam table. I was sweating and shivering and feeling very strange. I looked over at the doctor and my mother and the cast guy... no one had noticed. Despite the fact that I fainted, there are two sources of consolation: the first is that I'm subtle when I faint and the second is that I've always thought it would be rather interesting to pass out due to pain/stress/being overwrought. All of the elegant females of old literature do it... I guess I do too. So, I'm either an old-fashioned elegant female or a modern wuss.
We went home after assembling and attaching Albert to my leg. By the time I got home, I was in immense amounts of pain. My foot was tingling and cold and it hurt, like someone was stepping on it. So we drove back. This is where I feel like an idiot. The cast guy just un-velcro-ed it, adjusted my foot's position, and strapped it back up. It had just slid out due to the aforementioned excessive weight. Mum and I wasted two hours driving around for nothing. To stay comfortable, I have to adjust Max several times a day, at different intervals, dependent upon how much I'm moving around.
Oh, Max... I must learn to love you since I'm stuck living with you for three weeks.
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