Tuesday, April 12, 2011

I think Spring might be on its way... wait..no, never mind

And what a winter it was. I spent my days lounging on the couch, listening to the hum of the washing machine every Monday and Thursday, and the yammering of daytime tv the rest of the week. It's been fun. Not really. Just when I thought, "Man I wish I could just take a break for goodness sake!!" I got one. A really long one. From November to February, and beyond! On February twenty-something, I had arthroscopic surgery on my knee. It was so much fun! I got to wear a cute purple gown, some snazzy TED stockings for compression, cuz' goodness knows, they weren't for fashion! Oh, and I got some really adorable purple socks to keep my feet warm and fuzzy--not that my feet are normally fuzzy....never mind. The socks matched the gown! I remember being wheeled into the operating room and meeting the surgical nurse. I don't remember her name because as she greeted me she put a shot of some lovely liquid into my I.V. The next thing I know, I'm hearing a very strange conversation about gender reassignment surgery on one side of me and another about Kadafi across the room. Weird! I was waking up and I let them know I was waking up! Hellooo! My knee was wrapped as big as a football. Or at least it felt that way. It hurt at level 5. On the pain level scale, ya know? As the vicodin kicked in, I felt blissfully happy. I mean BLISS-fully! You know that part on "Look Who's Talking" where Kirstie Alley says, "I love you really much!" THAT is exactly how I felt. Right then and there I vowed to get off that stuff ASAP! No one should be that happy. Ever. Recovery went as well as could be expected. I had ANGELS bring me food! I'm so grateful for that! My days were full of ice, Advil, cheesy movies, and warm snugly blankets. And then, I just wanted to get up and GO! I still do. In time, I suppose. It's been almost seven weeks now and after a minor set back, I feel pretty good, thank you very much! That set back was a nasty run in with the bathtub. As I was stepping into said tub, my foot slipped and my operated knee slammed into the side of the tub. I may have said some colorful words, but there were no witnesses so I can't be sure. All I know, was that I was sure that at any moment there was going to be a tunnel with a light emanating from the end of it and some beloved ancestors were going to be waiting for me very soon. ouch. After a week of mostly mild pain, I'm feeling great! Still a bit stiff and not super strong yet. But I am getting there!

Thursday, January 20, 2011

The January that lasted for months...

Everett and I were reflecting on the weeks that have passed since Christmas. We agreed that it seems like months ago that we celebrated Christmas. School started on the 4th, I think. It was SO long ago, I can't remember! Everett had his first orthodontic appointment, a week later, his second, and voila', now he has braces! Several days were spent in a fair amount of pain for him. Advil is a wonder drug, I'm tellin' ya'! He ate lots of pudding for three days or so. Not too rough!

I had an MRI on my knee which I injured doing something healthy back in August. I stopped going to Crossfit in July. I loved it! It worked! In a lapse of judgement, I decided to stop going. I'd been going for over a year! Instead I started running/walking and doing some other stuff to keep active. Well, one day I thought I'd do some squats after a run--not unusual for me. This particular day I did them too fast and felt/heard a snap in my knee. It didn't hurt at all. I just thought it popped, no big deal. The next day it hurt. A LOT. And for several days thereafter. It was swollen, I iced it, took Advil (Ahhhh!). I felt 'better' and started doing my thing again. Well, four months later (Dec) I went to the doctor because it still hurt, still does a month later. He said, "You either have arthritis, or a torn meniscus." Great. A chronic condition or something that may need surgery. Fast forward...Got the MRI (wow those things are NOISY) and today will go back to see the doctor for the results. I just want to run!!!! Did I just say that? I must be crazy! What are the side effects of Advil overdose??