Yesterday February 3rd the external fixator came off. Or rather the "ex-fix" came off! Dr. Black informed Debby that she could put at much weight on that leg as she could tolerate.  This came as a relief because nurses had led Debby to believe that she would not be able to put any weight on that leg for some substantial period of time.  In recovery she learned that she could and promptly got up and with the assistance of another nurse and a walker shuffled down to the rest room.  She still is fighting pain but is walking in the house as I type this. Her previously punctured right leg is wrapped and she has a pressure stocking on the other league.  When I asked about the stocking we were told it was to prevent blood clots. 

We traveled to Kadlec on Tuesday Feb 1st where Dr. Black showed us the CT scan and noted that her tibia was healing nicely enough that he scheduled an operation to remove the ex-fix for Thursday.  But there was an open spot, a cavity, that if it didn't close completely he would need to do a procedure which would fill the space with a short metal rod. She is to follow up with him in a couple of weeks to determine whether this is necessary.

So good news - the ex-fix is off.  Debby is walking slowly with a walker.  Maybe she's not done yet.