I’ve got a good amount of hardware in me now. You would think it would feel different: your back with five vertebrae fused together, pegs sticking every which way on the x-ray; your thumb with a plate as big as the bone. These films at the doctor’s look foreign but everything moves familiar.

The latest enhancement is my new set of braces. For practicing walking, my left leg needs the ankle stabilized. My right, which I still can’t lock at the knee, requires an exoskeleton-type contraption. It locks straight as I stand up and has a bar at the back of the knee I can hit to release the lock. This is my version of being upright, for now. I’m happy with how stable I feel with these on.

Somehow I got into a discussion with the orthotist about outfits and he gave me some advice on how to wear these with skirts. Their utility as fashion statements aside, I’m happy to have these replace the mess of ace bandages and knee braces I was using. Right now I can walk for about 40 minutes using the parallel bars at my house. Or 15 minutes with crutches. I am going to work to increase my endurance.