On Monday I got a second cast made for what will likely be my permanent prosthetic. I took pictures of the process and added them to the text describing the first casting.
On the Monday before Thanksgiving I got word from my prosthetist that I could start walking unassisted. Immediately after hanging up the phone I walked across the parking lot to my surgeon's office. It felt great! I was beaming, but my surgeon was nonplussed. "Oh, I see you got your prosthetic. Good." He said.
Two days later I spent an evening with Michael, Elise, and Eric. I drove and had my magical handicap placard, so we parked in a handicap spot right next to some bicycle cops. One of them came around to my door and said, "excuse me, sir. We aren't traffic cops, but my boss is a real stickler for handicap spots..." Before he could finish the sentence I pulled up my pant leg to reveal my aluminum ankle. He swallowed and said, "we'll take that any day, sir. Have a good night."
My gait has gotten smoother since then, and passersby don't notice anything strange about my legs. It feels like my life is finally returning to (what passes for) normal. Last week I even went to the gym for the first time since July.