The last of 'The One-Armed Granny' and the story of the broken wrist

This is the final column of a three-part series.

Finally everything has settled down at Ironquill. It has been almost six weeks since I broke my wrist. I would like to digress one more time and that will bring me up to the present time.

During the three weeks that I had my cast on, my one aim in life was to get it off. Finally the day arrived and as we were heading to the clinic, I casually asked Bob, "Just how do they take the cast off?"

He just as casually said "Well, they have a saw they do it with, they will zip up one side and down the other in nothing flat."

My eyes got big and he knew he had me hooked. All of you that know me, know that I am very gullible and believe anything that anyone tells me.

I said, "I don't think I am in any hurry to get it off."

He said, "Really it is set to stop after a certain distance, nothing to it." Oh yeah, I thought. Sure, it's my arm, not yours.

We arrived at the clinic and I got registered in the Orthopedic Department. When they finally called my name and ushered me back to the cast room, the fella came in that had put on the cast. I said how relieved I was that I would be getting the cast off, to which he replied, "It's just been three weeks since your operation and it takes at least six weeks for it to heal so after the x-ray they will probably put on another one."

He then came over to me with, you guessed it, a thing a ma-bob that looked suspiciously like a saw. He lifted up my cast and by golly, just like Bob said he zipped up one side and down the other, and the cast fell off. My next stop was for the x-ray to see how I was progressing.

Back to the cast room to wait for the doctor to read the x-rays and let me know if I would be getting another cast. It was quite some time before he came in. I was really in a deep funk thinking I might have to get another cast. Now that it was off, I sure as thunder didn't want it back on.

He looked at the x-rays and said, "It is healing fine. We will just put on a Velcro splint for two weeks and if all goes well, we will take that off."

Hip, hip hurray! Now I could take a shower and not just a spit bath. I could hardly wait to get home and take a long, hot shower. My arm and wrist were all shriveled up and still black and blue and very weak. I held it up to the shower head and just let it soak in the hot water. There wasn't any pain, just very stiff and sore.

Finally last Thursday, I went in and he said it was completely healed and I didn't even need to come back unless I was having some trouble. I asked what restrictions there would be and he said none. I couldn't believe it, I could write, use the computer, drive a car (heaven forbid) and anything else I wanted to do. No more shirking my duties now. I tried ironing and had no trouble whatsoever. So ... guess Bob is done with ironing. Gosh that was such a good deal. And that folks, hopefully, is the last you will hear of the "One-armed granny."

I almost forgot: Bob said to tell you that it was my Aloe Vera plant that I used faithfully every day that made it heal so fast.