The Foot Book

image via

Mr M finally got his foot looked at by a specialist. We ended up having to wait a couple weeks after he returned home because we had to wait for the paperwork that would make sure everything was paid for by the military. Our insurance would take care of it, but we'd still have co-pays and such. The paperwork ensures we don't have to pay anything.

The specialist took a bunch of x-rays (more than the last doc took), and said that the joint looks fine. No bone shards, healing fine. No surgery needed, come back in a month for a follow-up.

Wait, what?

That was not what we were expecting after his last doctor appointment where he was told he needed surgery and wasn't going to be deploying.

No surgery needed is good news, but it does raise some questions.

Is his unit going to want him to do the deployment after all? This was my main initial concern, but Mr M says that won't happen- he's completely off this one.

Since his unit won't make him do the deployment, does that mean we can finally move forward with transferring to a more local unit? We thought we'd have to wait a few more months to make the move. We've been losing money every drill period since we moved here five years ago. Plane tickets, hotel reservations, and rental car fees cost more than he makes for each drill period, even when they give him a travel stipend, which has only happened over the last year or so and doesn't come close to covering the costs. Transferring to a more local unit would save us so much money, and hopefully hassle. Dealing with issues with his unit from across the country is not super effective.

While we do have questions and have to wait to see what happens, we are very happy that he's home and will be here when the baby's born.

It also means we can move forward with the job hunt without worrying about surgery and recuperation interfering with the process, which is definitely a good thing. On the other hand, it means we don't have a lot of time to find a good job. We thought we'd have till next spring to find a job, now we have to find one right away. We never stopped looking, but have stepped things up since Mr M returned home.