Outsmarting Max

After many sleepless nights, bruises, aches, pains, itches, and general discomfort, I have finally figured out how to get the better of my new ankle stabilizer. At first I just tried putting an old cloth diaper around my foot - wasn't big enough. Then I put a receiving blanket around my ankle and leg - that didn't solve the problem, either. I tried icing it until it was numb before bed, ibuprofen, lying on my back, on my left side, right side - you name it, I tried it. All of these things were planned and executed without achieving the desired results. Most of the irritation was coming from the edging surrounding the air pockets in the boot. The air pockets are there to allow for greater stabilization of the joint. I didn't really need that feature, so I haven't been using it. Until, that is, a thought struck me yesterday: if I inflated the air pockets, that would push the tubing away from my ankle. Ta da! I didn't get to excited about my new plan, just on the off-chance it didn't work. But it did work. I only woke up three times last night due to discomfort, but only needed to make minor adjustments. Fingers crossed it wasn't a weird fluke and that I now can be friends with Max. :-)