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I should really have called this article "atrophy" but I couldn't find a translation for that word into Chinese. Atrophied legs is what Min Yi and I had in common last week. But, atrophied or not, Li and I were extremely happy to see Min Yi's legs again last week Tuesday. Finally, after three months, her cast was off!

The "de-spicafication" was a horrible experience for Min Yi. They use a "cast saw" to take the cast off, which means a lot of noise and vibration in an uncomfortable position (lying down on your back and then belly with your legs up a bit). I think it took only less than five minutes, but Min Yi was really upset. And she looked so fragile when she came out! Those legs, that butt, too skinny for a kid her age, all tiny and wobbly. It's hard to describe the feeling of holding her again without the cast. Feeling a complete body against my own was such a contrast with holding her in the waiting room. Even though I had thought of Min Yi's legs a lot it was a world of difference to actually experience them. The end of an era indeed!

Min Yi now needs to wear braces 24 hours a day for the next three months. Her hips look good so far, and her next check-up will be beginning of February. We'll see what happens then. But for now, having a kid in braces is a big improvement over a cast. From a practical point of view anyway of course; Min Yi is still our same cute daughter. But at least now we can take the braces off when we change her and when we bathe her.

When Min Yi came out of the cast she had a few scrapes here and there, so we waited a bit for her skin to heal. After about a week she was good enough and we bathed her. Min Yi enjoyed it; she looked a little bit surprised but not scared or anything. We'd kind of prepared for the worst, considering she really hated water in the first month. I think Min Yi's life has also, in some ways, become easier. She can now sit properly, where she couldn't before because of the cast. Also, being on her belly is much much easier and she absolutely loves it. She hasn't figured out how to move forward yet, so she's kind of cruising through the room backwards. It doesn't matter to her though!

So far so good. In fact... so good that we haven't taken any pictures yet. We've been too busy enjoying Min Yi. Unfortunately, I still can't use my left heel (more on how that went, later), so I cannot carry her around and I really miss that. Also, that means Li is doing most of the caretaking, and that's really tiring. I'll say it once more: she's the real trouper in this household.