New year, new experience

After the cast is on

Last weekend we had our first trip to the Emergency Room here in Doha. Lisa has been wanting to see Qatar's health care system in action and she got her wish -- at Simon's expense.

We were at the park playing a simple game of catch and Simon tripped into a ditch and fell down hard on his ankle. It swelled immediately and he cried in pain. We took him to one of the Emergency Rooms in town and were very pleased with our experience. In less than 2 hours we had received Emergency care, x ray, casting, two consults with a surgeon, and a followup appointment with the Orthopedic Clinic. The diagnosis was damage to the ligament on his right lateral foot.

Modified school uniform

We have been back to the Clinic to remove the temporary cast. The Orthopedic surgeon believes that another week in the cast will allow the ligament to heal enough that Simon can start physiotherapy exercises.

The challenge of the first week on crutches was coping with the size of the school. Simon came home with blisters on his hands and very sore arms. So Lisa borrowed a wheelchair from her Lab and now he is much more comfortable. And his friends fight over who gets to push him to the next class!

The challenge of this coming week will be to continue to miss Phys Ed classes and Basketball and Swim Team practices.