Thanks Wesley!

The pleasure is mine, Joe. Next year, steaks it will be!

What a shame that Joe and Megan did not meet. I suspect you are true kindred spirits. And Megan, I continue to relish your links, as well as those of others. I've never traveled outside the USA (rarely outside of the eastern part even here,) but should I ever have the opportunity, you have made the Orkney Islands a "must visit."

I'm to call the orthopaedist's nurse today to determine if I can return to work part time next week, before my next doctor visit. Worker's comp is pushing me to do so, but also pushing for 3 days a week going to an outpatient PT place. She is thinking that pool therapy plus the equipment available for me to work with would speed strengthening and weight bearing, and I agree. However, I have arthritis and other tendon/ligament/joint problems with my shoulders, wrists and hands. My concern is I still can't put more than 25-30% of my weight on the leg, which means using the walker puts considerable stress on those joints, etc. (The upper body muscles hold up pretty good. It's the joints and tendons, etc. that hurt and pop.) I need to use the walker as much as possible because weight bearing will promote bone healing. All the walking with walker involved with getting into and around the office at work 4 days a week plus getting into a PT place 3 times a week, in addition to taking care of ADL's risks me blowing out the upper body parts. I'd rather wait until I actually see the doctor and get more x-rays, and have a couple of weeks of the outpatient PT in the hope it will help me put more weight on the leg and less on my upper body parts before going back to work part time.

I don't advocate for myself very well with doctors and case managers and also am loathe to be misunderstood as being lazy or a shirker. So wish me luck and courage to speak up for what I think I need today when I talk with the doctor's office, and later with the work comp case manager.