Today I had another visit with my orthopedist. New x-rays were taken, and my foot was poked and prodded. The bad news: not yet time for surgery to have the screw removed. The good news: I can ditch the walking boot for regular shoes, though I did have to go buy an insert for my left shoes that has a hardened plastic bottom to help support the joints where my injury took place. (An aside: Kudos to the manager of our local Walgreen's (I got it wrong when I said CVS in my tweet) for not trying to sell me a product I couldn't really use, and instead, sending me to the neighborhood pharmacy down the street. This pharmacy had a lot more specialty items to choose from, including the very insert I needed. My thanks to both pharmacies and their respective staffs.) I've only been in the regular shoe, with the insert, for a few minutes, but I can already tell that my ankle and calf will be aching by the end of the day, as they have not been exercised in a normal walking fashion for a few months now. I go back in six weeks (sigh) for my next visit. The doc is hopeful that at that time everything will be back to where it's supposed to be, and we can then schedule the surgery for me to get "unscrewed". Oh, and I still have to walk with the cane. At any rate, thank the Lord I'm out of that boot, and hurray for progress!