Freedom!

A quick kid update.

L had her cast taken off this morning. Everything looked great. No swelling, no pain. The doctor said the incision and tendon anchor in her foot all seemed fine. When he had her rotate her foot inward, an action that triggered her pain pre-surgery, she could do so without limitation or pain.

She will be in a boot for the next six weeks and can finally put weight on it again. He wants her to keep the crutches handy for now, but she can transition away from them as she feels comfortable. She can take the boot off and get in the pool next week if she wants.

Biggest of all, she can take normal showers again! For the past five weeks she’s had to put a waterproof covering over her cast, then sit on a stool and be assisted by S to clean up. And, of course, her left leg hasn’t been cleaned since the morning of her surgery. When the cast came off today, she made a face from the odor. Not sure how the nurse kept a straight face. I ignored her invitation to come over and take a whiff.[1]

She’ll begin physical therapy soon after we return from spring break. There will be at least six weeks of that. The doc said that assuming she progresses as he expects, she’ll be able to start non-contact activities in early June.

The kid has been through a lot the last five months. With a few understandable meltdowns excepted, she’s done terrific dealing with it all. Better things are ahead, fingers crossed.

Also, Monday was the CHS basketball banquet. It’s a pretty chill affair. The team and families gather at school and there is cake and cookies, a slide show from the season, and the coaches talk. There were also awards, three selected by coaches, two voted on by players. Last year L won the Rising Irish award as best underclassman, selected by the coaches. Monday she won the Team Choice award for being a great teammate and leader, respecting coaches/referees/opponents, and for upholding Holy Cross values. Basically normal L stuff. Her teammates voted on this one, so I thought it was great that they recognized how she did her best to still be part of the team even when she was unable to play.

I am obviously hoping that she can return to form and be a contributing player next season. But stuff like this, which reflects more who she is as a person than an athlete, makes me prouder than anything she does on the court.