Tuesday

The hospital visit today was largely taken up with Daniel having castings of his lower leg and foot made. From these thin moulds they will produce orthotics designed to fit Daniel's feet closely, in order to keep them in an ideal position, and also to provide good ankle support. He will wear these during the daytime after the second operation at the end of the month. For a number of weeks Daniel will wear the full orthotics around his feet and upper calf muscles, and this will be followed by weeks with the top section of each orthotic removed down to the ankle.
There was a choice of colours and Daniel quickly decided on a Scooby-Doo design.
Daniel has always struggled with the orthotics back home as they have tended to cause blisters within minutes, and he has had infections due to the broken skin. Hopefully the type used in St. Louis will suit him a lot better and if so it will be $350 well spent.
There was still time at the end of the session for a few periods of walking on the treadmill and Daniel kept up the good work there. It is possible to see his style improving over a couple of minutes as he gets in to the groove.
Daniel is continuously having painkillers still but he is getting more comfortable all the time and he is tolerating time in his wheelchair increasingly.