Cast Away!

That big hulking rock-hard polycarbonate albatross is gone, replaced by a stylish black removable brace that covers only a fraction of what my original cast once protected.

"You gotta be kidding me," I said to the technician when he put it on and told me that was all of it. It doesn't even cover my incision scars, still healing and still quite nasty looking in spots (which is why they're fuzzed out in the photo). Now I can add Aloe Vera and Vitamin E cream to the Citracal and supplements I'm already taking.

Because the brace comes off, I can also take a bath once again. No more plastic newspaper wrapper to cover up the cast in the shower. Let's soak and be merry.

In other developments:

* Bone continues to fill in nicely. My doctor pointed out the healing in fresh x-rays. I still see a lot of the wreckage, but I'm assured everything is moving in the right direction.

* I can curl my thumb a wee bit, but I still have significant numbness in the left part of my right hand. The doctor says it's because the muscle doesn't like the plate that's next to it. He gives it another month and a half or so.

* New ground rules: No contact sports (I don't consider historic dance to be a contact sport), no bicycling (what bicycling?), and no heavy lifting.

"How much weight is heavy lifting?" I asked.

"A gallon of milk is too much," he answered. "Half a gallon is fine."

So it appears I won't be able to pick up a musket for about the next six weeks, under doctors' advice. I haven't put a lot of weight on that arm, but what weight it has carried, it has handled very well. Now that the cast is off, though, I don't have as much support to back up my arm.

* Still no pain. Still no meds. My bicep is glad to be rid of the extra weight.

Thank you all so much for your continued prayers. Praise God! I never expected to be out of a cast so soon.

Realize it has been less than a month since the accident. The Forces Of Darkness knew just where to hit me the night of August 16 -- right at the height of my merriment, doing the thing I love the most. Never let anybody convince you there's not a spiritual battle going on out there. I was warned. But God's healing has been nothing short of Amazing. Amazing grace, truly.

And for the record, I have gone dancing three times since the break -- twice in the full Highland regalia.

HUZZAH!