He's Free

This morning was the much-anticipated removal of the cast. It went smoothly. Here is the photo documentation:

Isaac shows me his cast just before his appointment. I asked, "Are you ready to get your cast off?" "No, I want my cast," he answered. I'm guessing he was a little nervous, but didn't really show it.
The nurse turns on the buzz saw. You can see the slightly disturbed look on Isaac's face.
And cut through the hard outer shell of the cast. Then she used scissors to cut away at the underlayer.
She wrapped it right away in a bandage so that Isaac wouldn't see the pins sticking out of his elbow. Then the doctor pried the pins out through the gauze after x-rays were taken. Isaac's face contorted a bit during this part, but no crying or fussing at all! We got a hot chocolate afterward.

Adam thinks this is totally gross and wierd, but I asked to keep the pins for Isaac's baby book. (I also saved the metal staples from his head back in September. I think many other moms would have done the same.) In this photo, the pins turned out just a half inch or so bit smaller than they actually are - their length was greater than the width of Isaac's elbow since they went in at an angle.

Now, no more jumping or climbing for another few weeks, but at least the cast is off! We go back a few more times over the next year to monitor the bone growth. What an ordeal! But, it could have been worse, and I'm thankful that this most serious accident we've dealt with so far only involved an elbow, not a head.