My New Cast

I went to the surgeon's office this afternoon for a check up. The cast and sutures were removed, and an X-ray was taken. The incision looks good, and the X-ray shows a nicely healing fracture with the plate and screws. The bone is aligned, and there is a good and even space for the joint. All around good news. 

The plan is to go back on July 31st to have the cast removed and to be fitted with a boot. General rejoicing was heard when I received that news. I will be driving and walking then, I hope. 

Leon put a new cast on, and I was out the door on my scooter. 

It feels pretty good!  And it looks awesome, yes?

The Boots

Romaniac wanted to know what type of boot I was wearing. Here they are:

They are Sidi Adventure boots, among the top adventure boots on the market. See the heel counter? There is a gap between the counter and the hinged armor piece above it. That is where the bike struck the back of my leg, snapping the top of the fibula forward and away from the bottom of the fibula. 

The surgery, done two weeks ago tomorrow, reduced the fracture and secured it with a plate and some screws. It was all doing well until I fell last Saturday and the broken ankle was trapped and was twisted again. It hurt like I had broken it all over again. It is better, and now the only discomfort I'm noticing is a sore place where the cast is rubbing and what feels like might be the incision. 

The next doctor appointment is Monday, July 20, and I hope to get a walking cast then. 

Some Pictures From Osh

The city sits astride the Ak-Burra River, dominated by Sulayman Rock.  Sulayman Rock is an ancient holy place, and also not a bad spot from which to look for the bad guys.  Regardless, it is seemingly always visible above the city as a reference point.

Down along the river is the Bazaar, and it is a teeming place with all types of goods available, from satellite TV receivers and dishes to hand made sickles for harvesting grains and grasses.  It once was an important trading place along the Silk Road.  There are also other bazaars around town, some of which specialize in certain areas - like electronics.  For instance, I wouldn't walk down the aisles and lanes in the Kelechek Bazaar unless all my credit cards were in RFID proof wallets, I had the bluetooth feature on my electronic devices turned off, and had the electronics in an inside pocket.  Perhaps a Faraday Cage is a little overkill, but not by much.  You can buy anything electronic there, get anything electronic repaired there, and the overall atmosphere in the "repair" area is one of "all your data belongs to us."

So here are some street scenes.

These large block apartment buildings apparently remain from the Soviet Era, and are jammed fairly close together.  Nonetheless, the residents plant gardens with both flowers and vegetables in the little space between the buildings and the alleys.

Even some grape vines . . .

Along the alleys are these little sheds.  Some house chicken coops, some house automobiles, and I don't want to know what is in the rest of them.

Tucked away are many, many little shops, selling all kinds of things, from sundries to vegetables like potatoes and onions, to vodka (cheap!) and beer.  They are usually run by older women, who are hilarious.

This orange and blue building contains some restaurants and bars catering to the "wealthier" citizens, or as one guy described them, "the mafia."  I saw the longest white Hummer Limo I have ever seen outside it one night.

This is the law school.  They have a Lady Justice, too (that is her in white on the blue diamond background).

Just some more street scenes, both from the center of the city, and towards the outer areas of town.

These cows almost got me killed!  A car had to brake and swerve to miss them, and almost hit me.  Livestock on roadways is going to get me if I don't watch out. . .

Electrical substation infrastructure.

Some of the front yard areas are really overgrown.

Sidewalk on M41.  All the trees and posts are painted white for about the lower four feet.

The residents often build little shops on the front of the apartment buildings.

On the way to the Bazaar, with Sulayman Rock in the background

The Ak Burra River flowing through the Bazaar area.

 There are scores upon scores of these little stands with people selling cold drinks from their coolers.  The same glasses are usually used over and over, so I didn't ever try any, but they make 10 -15 cents a glass.

The Bazaar Gate.  You descend down into the Bazaar, covered in awnings, thronged with people, and the heavenly smell of fresh spices occasionally overcoming some of the other less pleasant odors.

Downtown Osh.

 Near the market Bazaar.

Near the market, an upstairs restaurant, not yet open for lunch.

Feeling A Little Better

I'm feeling a little better, so I think I should start feeding a little info to the blog'o'sphere.

Here are a few photos to help cheer you up.

First, this is a typical restroom at a gas station on the road from Kazarman to Jalalabad.

The observant among you will notice immediately (a) the absence of tissues, etc., for cleansing oneself, and (b) lots of empty bottle type containers.  Others of you will note that Kyrgyz lack the same anatomical aiming device that is absent from the Western world.  

So how does one cleanse one's self?  By carrying water in a container, washing, then leaving the empty container behind.  Simple, really.

But not all is ugly along this road.  Here are some views of Jalalabad showing off the lovely flowers.

Well, you get the idea.  They are planting the roses along the sides of the roads and in the medians as well.

I think the pain killers may be having an effect in addition to the alleviation of pain.  For instance, I can not, for the life of me find all the pictures of flowers I know I took.  I must take another break and find the photos and get better organized.  And maybe take a nap.

Surgery today

The visit with Dr. Chang yesterday resulted in a little surgery this morning. Open reduction with internal fixation. Or, in redneck speak, hose clamp with duct tape. 

Having just returned home, it feels very comfortable. I'm sure that will change soon. In the meantime, Dino's Donuts takes care of and "residual pain."

Quick Update

I made it back home to Anchorage, Alaska just before noon today. Most of the afternoon was spent at Orthopedic Physicians of Anchorage. OPA has a weekend walk-in clinic open on Sunday, so I "walked in" on my new €23.40 crutches. 

The foot is very swollen. After removing the cast and getting a new X-Ray, the physician's assistant told me it looks like there is another, smaller break. The original break is a little more open than shown on the first film. That is due to my failure to keep weight off the foot. 

The ankle was splinted for now because the foot and ankle are so swollen. They look angry, all puffy and red with large purple bruises on both sides of the foot, up the shin, and across the base of my toes. The concern is that if the swelling doesn't go down there may be some skin and soft tissue damage. I will make another visit this week for further evaluation, and a cast when appropriate. 

The rest of the plan is to keep the fracture immobile with splint/cast for three to four weeks and no weight bearing for six to eight weeks. I received quite a lecture on that point. Also a verbal beat down on keeping the foot elevated. 

With all of that, I should have time to post the pictures of the one and a half day motorcycle ride of 2015!!  Back with more tomorrow. 

Halfway There

After ten hours of flying and taxiing around airports, I am resting in Frankfurt.  No flight left on time today, although the flight between Osh and Istanbul did land at the time scheduled for us to be at the gate.  However, after we landed, we taxied for twenty minutes. And when we left Istanbul, the tug pushed us back and we sat there for seven (timed) minutes until we started moving again.  After that, it took fifteen minutes to get to the threshold.  Landing in Frankfurt was worse, as we landed in a rain, thunder, and lightning storm, with wind-shear and micro-bursts just before we reached the runway. Kind of a bouncy landing, too. It was hard to tell in the heavy rain where we were going, but after a three hour flight, we taxied for almost thirty minutes.  So, I guess you could say that Turkish Airlines gave us 110% today . . .

My foot is just a mess, red and swollen with brushing at the base of the toes.  The rough plaster on the inside of the cast has created sores that hurt worse then the ankle.  I am really looking forward both lie-flat seats on Condor tomorrow.  I am gonna get me some horizontal tomorrow.  In the meantime, I found crutches at the pharmacy at the airport here.  only 23 euros!  Now I am unsafe at a slightly higher speed.

People are often wonderful, offering to help and helping.  This injury may turn some of my curmudgeonly ways around if I don't watch myself.  And while the men want to know what happened to cause the injury, women actually help move a bag, or pause so they don't run over me (I am moving like an inch worm, very slowly).

Both Istanbul and Frankfurt are great places to observe people, as both are international hubs.  But I think Istanbul has the edge.  I mean, where else are you going to run into men dressed like John The Baptist (but with an ID card on a lanyard around their neck)?  I should further note that the the rough woven robes worn by these men are actually too clean to be like John, as they are all a very white shade of white  But for that (and the ID cards on lanyards,and the eyeglasses), the me look like stylites before they climbed the pole . . .