Toe to Finger Transfer, Take Two

The Monday before Thanksgiving, Zeke had an appointment at Mayo to remove his cast.  This followed the revision done on his new finger since it was healing incorrectly and had to be repositioned and then recast.  Just like before, the x rays said it was healed and aligned well.  But this time, Mayo make Zeke a custom splint from orthoplast to help protect the new finger during recess and rough play as well as during sleep.  We're now a few weeks past the cast removal and so far, so good.  He seems to have more mobility in it than he did last time.  He's still pretty limited in it's function but he's had a few "aha" type moments.  At Walmart last week, he had his hands in his pockets and as we were walking down the aisle, he suddenly exclaimed, "Hey!  My thumb just touched my new finger!"  (It's hard for him to make them come all the way together on their own, without some extra help from his other hand so this was a spontaneous event, where they touched all on their own.)  Then at snacktime the other day, I encouraged him to try to use his finger while eating his pretzels.  He didn't pinch the finger to his thumb to grip, but kind of used the new finger to "help" the other fingers as he ate.  That was probably the first time where he saw his new finger as a functional part of his body.  His body still has a lot to do in terms of healing and nerve regeneration.  I would feel a whole lot better if I knew for sure that this new digit were working 100%.  (Already called the hand surgeon once for a "talk me down from the edge" type call.  An x ray said all was well.)  So wait, and wait, and wait some more, I guess.