So I had an appointment with an orthopedist today (technically, the doc's an orthopedic surgeon), as a follow-up to the emergency clinic visit last week. Had some additional x-rays taken, as the good doctor wanted different angles than the three which were shot at the clinic. He's concerned by what appears to be a separation between the Cuboid and the Third cuneiform, at the base of my first and second metatarsal bones. We shot a reference x-ray of my right foot, and when comparing the two, you can certainly see there's more of this separation on the injured left foot. Now, it could be nothing; it could simply be the way I'm built on that foot. But it could be indicative of this injury, and the severity of it would determine the remedy, up to and including surgery. Since the x-rays are inconclusive, I'm going in on Wednesday morning for a CT scan and 3D imaging. This will give the doc a better look at the intricate bits, see if it's just ligament damage, or if there are bone flakes getting in the way. Then I'm back in his office on Thursday morning for the results. Worse-case scenario: I have to have surgery on the foot to clean up any messy bits, and possibly have a screw installed to hold things together while the ligaments heal. This is okay by me, because the worst-case scenario is that if things are really bad and I don't have the surgery, my arch could eventually weaken to the point of collapse. And we don't want that, do we? So Wednesday should be interesting. I've never had a CT scan before!

Earlier this evening, I set about installing a ceiling fan and light kit in one of the bedrooms. It's the room the little phisch is going to be moving in to, and for this week, we have a temporary addition to the family in the form of a one year-old, and he's sleeping in this particular room. Because of this little man, we put up one of our kiddie gates at the bottom of the stairs. I did as much as I could with the ceiling fan, including learning that I'd picked out the wrong light kit. At least I could get the fan done. However, I ran in to a problem with the wiring, and my good friend and neighbor, Drew, was kind enough to come over and help. (Drew did a lot of contracting work growing up and during his college years, so he's handy that way.) Thank God he did. On my way down the stairs, to go to the garage and hit the circuit in the breaker box for that particular bedroom, I didn't quite make it all the way over the baby gate. As I was stepping over it with my left leg, my foot/shoe became entangled in the gate, and proceeded to turn in to a fulcrum. Great pain ensued as my foot twisted ways it shouldn't, and I went down, taking the gate with me. The cry that erupted from my throat, along with the noise of my crash, proceeded to bring Drew running from the second floor, my wife from the kitchen, and greatly upset the little phisch. The thought which immediately ran through my head was that I'd managed to break my ankle, which would give me something of a matched set. (Eight years ago I fractured my right ankle.) I crawled to the love seat and Drew helped me up off the floor. My wife got an ice pack out of the freezer while Drew got my foot elevated. After about twenty minutes, we made the decision that it would be better to be safe than sorry, and off to an after-hours clinic Drew and I went. The good news is no broken bones. The bad news is that it's a really severe sprain, the tearing of ligaments and tendons and whatnot. I've got on a boot, and will have to do the crutches thing as well. And I've been typing this whole blog post loaded up with some Demorol, so if it seems a little off, it's because I'm on the good stuff. In the mean time, I thank our Father in Heaven for friends like Drew.