Before & After

BEFORE...(photo by Austin Megilligan)
Four weeks is a long time to live with a four-year-old with a cast on her ankle. I know many people have it much worse, but it was still an adjustment to make--especially as spring showed up and we were ready to do a lot of outside things. We were able to borrow some strollers and get around a lot easier that way, and that was very helpful, but we just couldn't WAIT to get that cast off Lindsey's leg.

Finally the day came. Last Tuesday, Lindsey went to the doctor and had her cast removed. The initial excitement was short-lived as she could not bring herself to walk on her healing foot. Probably her tendons were still tight and a little sore and so she feared she wasn't all better--so for the next five long days she refused to walk. She wouldn't even put any weight on her foot. We tried every bribe we could think of, tried to help her by holding her hands, moving her feet ourselves, etc., etc.

Nothing worked.

We took the kids to the beach (future post coming on that), and still she would not try to walk a bit in the sand. We took the kids to the Y pool and she kicked and swam normally, just "walked" on her knees in the water. Then I stuck her on her bicycle. She loved it. Peddled and peddled. Clearly her leg/foot was fine--everything was mental.

Then Sunday morning, something happened between when she went to Sunday School and came home. She got the courage to try to take some steps. She held on to me or Janet or the wall or something, and limped gingerly on her little toes.

We were all ready to make an appointment with her on Monday for physical therapy. But now she's making sudden and real progress! So here we are, with Lindsey limping, but walking without holding on to anything, looking a bit like a pirate as she limps along, but happy and excited to be off the floor. So are mommy and daddy.

...AFTER