Probably bad news...

There's a gaping hole in my leg.

It's not terribly large, but it really shouldn't be there. It's near where a stitch was removed and at one point there was a scab there. There isn't any bleeding, but there certainly shouldn't be a hole.

I put a band-aid on it. That should do it, right?

Best. Boss. Ever.

Seriously. I have the best boss ever.

A normal boss would be grumpy that an employee was just transferred and broke her ankle literally two days before she was supposed to start the new job. That hypothetical grumpy boss would be irritated that it takes three months for a stupid ankle to heal. Also, when the employee returned to work, said boss would not go easy on him/her. In fact, a terribly mean boss might even be a bit hard on them, since they just had three months "off".

My boss is not that boss. My boss is a kickass woman who is totally understanding of my plight. My boss has marked each of my surgeries on her calendar and called me after each to see how I was. After the first surgery when I was still in the hospital she even called my parents' house to ask them how I was. My boss has been really nice about me not being at work, and has not once made me feel bad about all the extra work they have to do. In fact, my boss has made sure that I am allowed to take all my accumulated vacation and personal days before they expire at the beginning of the year, arranging for me to come back to work and immediately take a week of personal days so I can be back on full pay while still recuperating. In fact, she is fitting in all my 9 earned vacation days during the last three weeks of the year. That's generous AND amazing.

So that's the plan, kids. I'm finally getting a plan to go back to work. I officially go back on light duty 12/13 (I work Tuesday-Saturday ... creepers no creeping!) and will use five personal days before starting to actually go to work the following week. I'll get to spread out my four vacation days through the end of the year to give the 'ole ankle a break every now and again.

Can we go back to Thanksgiving so I can mention how thankful I am for my awesome job and my awesome boss?

ps- This is not sucking up because she doesn't read this. I'm just glad this is going to work out.

The good, the bad, and the hideous.

The good:
- I am currently wearing a Clifford the Big Red Dog Band-Aid on my thumb
- I am starting to "walk" a little more. I put that in quotations because, let's be honest, what I'm doing doesn't look all that much like walking. Unless I'm going fast, it's more of a clumsy gait. I start off okay (heel to toe, heel to toe) with my left heel down. I then move my weight to that side. It's pretty difficult not to lean on the crutches, though, so I do use my arms a significant amount. This is when it gets interesting- the painful part is when the weight is more on the ball of my foot. So I end up limping hard onto my right leg at about mid-stride, which looks ridiculous.
- We have lowered my crutches a notch so that I'm not leaning on my armpits as much (yay!) and I'm putting more weight on the ankle
- The other day I walked around several stores, including Home Depot (we had a specific in-store destination) and Best Buy (they have nice chairs to rest in).
- I get the stitches out tomorrow.

The bad:
- I needed a Band-Aid on my thumb
- I still have to use a wheelchair to get around big places. Also, there's rarely anywhere to store the wheelchair once we get somewhere I can walk. So, I'm stuck in the damn thing.
-Strangers have been more and more inclined to tell me about their injuries at the most inopportune moments. It's one thing when someone holds the door and says "Oh, crutches are such a pain!" or "I remember what that was like!" That's camaraderie. I guess. But the sales agent at P.C. Richard and Sons telling me all about how he hurt his ankle worse than I did (I never even told him what I did!) when he fell through his staircase was just awkward. We're shopping for a dishwasher, man. I have limited standing time and you're using it up telling me how much worse off you are than I. Also, we are just looking, thanks.

The hideous:
- A slovenly man with long, stringy hair that orbited the shiny bald crown of his head walked up to us at a NYC holiday market. He was wearing a t-shirt that was too short in front and showed the bottom of his belly and dirty, baggy jeans. On his left foot was a dingy boot, shorter than mine, with a few of the velco straps undone and flying in the wind. He did not walk with imediment. He said, "I'm like you!" while pointing to the boot.

Are those my people now??!?!?