"Education Is Never Free."

But this is ridiculous:

  This is Meg's Leg; very soon after the major reconstruction surgery.  It actually looks quite a lot better these days; but it's worth remembering where we started.  I'm hoping we'll eventually have the xrays we can show you- boy, they're impressive.  We could start our own scrap metal business.

  The red spot to the left of the top stitches is the hole left by the screw for the immobilizer rig.  I still don't understand why these wounds (4; penetrating skin and muscle and leaving screw holes in the bones) don't result in gangrene and death.  But they don't.  Sterile technique and intravenous antibiotics notwithstanding- I would think you couldn't keep them clean enough.  They're all closed tight now.

  Meg is still mostly in bed, until the end of February.  She is on track to start putting weight on the reconstructed knee then.  Stitches out weeks ago.  She did have to have another operating room procedure, to break scar tissue that was restricting movement, under general anesthesia.  That turned into a 4 day stay in the hospital; but she now has 120° of flex in the knee; and a good chance she'll recover more.  Also recovering torsion of the knee; she can't quite cross her legs and sit- but almost.

  Progress.  And, I've now managed to abbreviate the response when we get asked; "Ohmigosh; what did you DO??"  to: "Draft horse miscalculation."  That seems to communicate clearly.