FOUR WEEK UPDATE

Four weeks after the Catastrophe on K Street, which was immediately followed by the Major Urban Trauma Center 5-Day Meltdown, Cranky is back in the 'burbs and slowly on the road to recovery. One thing he is learning is that a wide variety of opinions exist in the Orthopedics community about the pace and process of rehab for a ruptured quad tendon. Should the leg brace be on for 4, 6, or 8 weeks? Should knee flexing start at 2, 4, 6, or 8 weeks? Is sneaking the brace off while you sleep a minor transgression or a mortal sin?

Cranky has also learned that the brace he left the Major Urban Trauma Center (MUTC) with was not quite state-of-the art. When Cranky went for a consult at another Orthopedics facility, the brace, pictured above on the left, aroused a few snickers and several snide remarks such as "war surplus" and "Smithsonian donation material." Still, the actual medical procedure performed on Cranky's leg at the MUTC was apparently top notch. So hopefully in a few months he will be in as good a condition as any 71-year old, which means he will be waiting for the next body part to reach its expiration date.