Knee update:

This morning I went to York to get an X-ray of my knee. It has been giving me fits off and on since Thanksgiving, and it has been over a year since the accident.

The difference between and X-ray and a cat-scan is that an Xray takes a small area and looks at it, but a cat-scan is one's whole body.
The difference between an X-ray and an MRI is that the X-ray sees calcium, but an MRI can see ligaments and other internal organs.

All the X-rays looked fine, but for some reason the kneecap seems to ride slightly off center. Pulls, maneuvering, and muscle contortions did not hurt me, so the Doctor thought it might be something that Physical Therapy could handle. If three months of PT doesn't help me out, I will be going back for an MRI to see if anything is REALLY wrong with my knee.

I am going to the PT center nearby on Thursday.

WE shall see.

One Year

I honestly can't remember what I was thinking of or doing. All I know is that I was NOT really concentrating on the slope or my speed.

Suddenly, the hill dropped away and I was falling....rolling.The rest....is history!

Since the accident, I have learned a lot of things, and it really opened up a whole new phase of life for me.
Some excerpts from my mental notepad on this occasion:

1) I have a lot of things to be thankful for. The rest of me works most of the time, and I have a pretty continual reminder to pray when it starts to hurt.

2) I am saved from being addicted to movies. I know this sounds funny, bu whenever I see actors and actresses gallivanting around the screen and jumping, rappelling, running, climbing...I wait to see if they will land wrong and break their ACL. I cannot get rid of the premonition. Once burned, forever shy, I guess.

3) People are forgetful and sinful. (Maybe a better title would be "Forgiveness") I have lost track of the amount of times that people have forgotten about it (it isn't very obvious like a missing limb would be...) and have asked me to do things, or expected me to respond or come swiftly and I do not (cannot!) deliver. What is worse is that even after I remind them about my knee they rarely show remorse for being forgetful and unreasonable. (They are more annoyed than ever, what really gets to me is many people say I'm just "trying to get out of work".)

4) Constant reminder of my own frailty and mortality. Yes, constant. Even when it does not specifically pain me, it reminds me of it's condition. I am decaying. Some day I will be able to run and not grow weary.

5) On the topic of running, I actually tried it a couple days ago. (Well, I guess it depends on your definition.) My little hop-trot for the first time in a year felt like running! I really didn't miss it...

6) God always presents new challenges when you grow stagnant. The "leg incident" changed a lot of things that I thought "normal", and because of it I was given a gift that I treasure above all.
It has been one year. A year of change and pain, filled with new heights of wonder, joy, peace and knowledge.

You will show me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Verse for the day:

Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees....(Heb. 12)

Yeah...so I forgot to take medicine again today!
I went to bed after 3 am (I don't know exactly) and woke up again to visit an elderly widowed neighbor lady who enjoys talking to someone (Anyone, really...I am just more available). I set my phone alarm for 12 noon, because I figured 2 hours was all I could spare.

When the alarm rang, she decided it was lunch time, and enjoyed detailing her fiasco with a dumb cop and PenDot, and how she was going to have her license taken away unless she took a repeat physical, and tests, etc. Before I knew it it was 1pm.

I basically drove home as fast as I could, and then I had to get ready for Square Dance (last practice before Dress Rehersal) in less than 20 minutes. Of course I forgot to take my meds!

SO....I was doing mostly ok, until the 5th dance (which I won't be dancing, but Mr. Prosser wants us to be fluent in all the dances and calls, and to help set and example for the younger kids.

There I was, the dance was almost over....and as I am twirling around to promenade I step on the edge of the guy's foot (with my left foot) and land on it the wrong way. As a quick stab of pain shoots up my knee, I am propelled around the circle back to home. As the dance goes into the final bars, I flatly refuse to dance. I sat down for as long as I could, but as every person is entirely necessary.....I HAD to dance!!!!

Can anyone spell: PAIN?!?!

I was completely preoccupied for the next 7 rounds (we repeated that song 3 more times, the next song 3 times, and the last song 2 or 3 times...). I moved as little as possible and sat down and elevated it as much as modestly possible.
By the last two dances I was no longer feeling as much (probbably due to a brain overload!) and I was able to jaoke and make fun of everyone.

Back at home I laid down for about 10 minutes and was limping for the rest of the night (pain sensors tunred back on!). I finally took pain medication so that I would be abe to sleep.

Oh, these feeble knees!

Update on...

Update on the hip, and elbow, and... well, just watch out for ice, okay? I am hurting just about all over my right side. My praise is that it was not my left side. If my left leg had been the one to slide out I would probably be incapacitated still instead of bruised and aching.

Life so far: Update on the knee and hair

I have been absent again, but I had an enforced computer absence for other reasons. *grimace*

The turkey "holy-days" were grueling as far as constant movement and standing. My knee was in pretty fragile condition after them. The food was plentiful, but I found that I could not eat as much as I might have. Baking takes away my appetite. BUT, I did snack on cookies for the next 3 weeks!

Life these days is all-or-nothing. One day will be a complete drag, with nothing going on and nothing significant to do, and the next is full-throttle all day. Then comes weeks like this week, where Monday was blah, and then from Tuesday afternoon until Thursday night I had enough time to breate, but not to shower. (I curled and hair-sprayed my hair on Tue, and then had to make it do until Th. night. I couldn't brush out the spray, and I didn't have time for a shower! The curls had melted by 11pm anyway, so I was left with a "beach"shag that melted and frizzed anytime I tried to "do" something with it. Maybe this is what "afro" hair feels like?) I but on a self-made-crocheted beret on Wed, which may or may not have helped anything, and on Th, I put it in a ponytail and tired a western hat to hide the grease.
Moving on--------

My knee has also been in high demand for our weekply Square Dance sessions in preparation for the PA Farm Show competition being held Jan. 11th. For the first time in 3 years (as long as I have been with this group) and for the first time in....well....as long as anyone else can remember--there have been more guys than girls. Even some of the girls who dance (or prefer to dance) in the "boy" position (it does not really matter, as long as they use thier hands right) have had to switch over. Therefore, I have to dance all the time, every dance, whereas I had been able to sit out when not needed previously (I am a good 2 years older than most of the kids, so I come in as a "helper" when necessary). Last week I took medecine and danced without consequences (so I thought). Then, as I lay down to sleep, the medecine had had time to wear off, and my knee began to inform me of the drastic things I required of it...
Lets just say I slept fitfully that night.

This week.....I forgot to take anything. And I was a suddenly a very akward dancer. Besides being careful about what moves to make on dances that I was woefully unfamiliar with. Not only are there a whole bunch of new people (which can be good), but most of the new people are very young children who did not learn calls, or missed beginning weeks, or mixed up the calls, or forgot them since. This makes for some really messy squares. AND most of all, it makes for super slow weeks. Up until this week we had not done all the dances in a row...and this week was filled with mistakes and re-teaching easy stuff (a slide-through? OK, so I admit I was the one getting this wrong, but I had never danced slide-though boy, before!!) , and finally giving up on the break square (where everyone whi is NOT dancing this time dances to keep up on what is going on).

Today there is a big snow, which cancels the party I was supposed to be going to.
It is now scheduled for the 9th. Which speaking of boring-and-then-full-throttle...I have something going on then. And on the 10th is a final practice, and the 11th is the Farm Show....
Pass the Ibuprofen!

Update on the knee

So, people have been praying, and time has passed, and I have worked on exercising it...however, at this date I have still NOT had x-rays or had any sort of diagnosis.

I wanted to see exactly HOW much it had gotten better with my own methods, so I went Square Dancing on Thursday and waited for it to ache. Being that (as usual) there were more boys than girls, and I have the ability (although not at a very high level of expertise) to dance in the boy's part, I danced boy all night. Men's position don't move very much. There is some turning, some backwards-and-forwards, mostly arm work.
Surprisingly, my leg didn't bother me until the last dance, although it let me know it was worked a bit too hard that night and the next day. I was pleased that it had improved that much, and I definitely plan on seeing what it can handle in the future.


Still have trouble:
Kneeling, etc, getting up from the floor
Bending sometimes hurts, not as much, I can handle most smaller angles.
Twisting leg from the knee/pivoting
Kicking yourself in the back (yes, I tired it...BAD idea)
Running (when I'm not on medication. Older sis medicated me one day, and I didn't realize until later why I felt so wonderful, and why I was able to do so much...I was bouncing, running...it was NOT as nice living for two days after, though!)
Getting up and down from chairs....I have hurt myself badly twice now...

Walking isn't strenuous, and I have overcome my fear of steps, and I am feeling more confident about being healed much sooner than the 13 year estimate I first found.
Although, I believe that whatever my injury was, it could not have been a complete ACL tear or strain, because I was never incapacitated or in such serious straits as the people I read online.

However, watching movies intimidates me. Almost every move the people onscreen make I can see them falling over as their ACL pops or see them collapse in the middle of running after bad guys because they pivoted the wrong way. It is a very interesting ailment, and it also has the negative effect of giving me a very good excuse not to exercise. No fast walking, no running, NO jogging....nothing that I need to use my left knee for.....
Not as good, eh?

Incapacitations resulting from my knee injury.

People have often asked me exactly how/when my leg/knee hurts. So, I have compiled a list of certain things that have/still do hurt.

At first:
Straightening leg to a 180 degree angle –impossible. I eventually got it by exercising it and it now does not hurt.
Bending leg less than a 85 degree angle.
Putting weight on leg—(i.e. walking) etc. (see below)


Now:.
Bending leg less than 60 degrees –and that includes, bending your legs under you and sitting them, or twisting them to one side while bent.
Running –Think of how you bend your knees and throw your weight forward.....let us simplify this to "redistribution of weight".
Having people brush past me—see above
Jumping—lets’s just say I have no wish to try!
Falling—(i.e. missing a step!) which is a "redistribution of weight" problem, which causes little balls of fire to run up and down my leg muscles.
Pivoting—think of when you ball up your calf muscles in order to launch in a certain direction. See also "running"
Swiveling—as in keeping your feet facing one direction and turning from your knees or waist to face another direction.
Kneeling—as in anything that involves one’s left knee....for instance falling to your knees, walking on your knees, etc. I can do this ONLY when I am careful to put all my weight on my right knee, which wears out that knee.
Bending—see "redistribution of weight" also "line of balance"

The "leg incedent"

I have received a strange anonymous comment asking to hear about "the leg event". Now, readers, as strange an "event" as this may seem you need not be dubious as to its appropriate-ness.

As some of you may know, our family delights in the winter sport of skiing. I personally, while still detesting the cold, the snow, and much of the elements that make skiing possible (for instance the bent-knee boots, etc) greatly enjoy barreling down a hill at full speed and coming to an abrupt stop near a lift, ready to do it again. However, I am a more cautious skier, as I have some fear of heights and an even greater fear of falling and hurting myself. Since I had not skied in 2 years, I was rather cautious, doing all of the green slopes, and only three of the blue I had been on previously (I had been to that mountain in 2005).

The second time we went skiing, the 1st of February, I was more confident, and definitely ready to tackle the harder slopes. I did a couple greens behind the little kids, and watched Caleb most of the morning. He went up the Terrain Park with Daddy eventually, and I glided off for some solo speed-runs. I went up twice, having great fun, and doing different slopes from my norm. The third run, and my second one on a rather twisty-turny blue, I felt that I was going too fast. I began doing S-curves to slow down, only I mis-calculated the trail. At one turn to the left, the slope fell steeply, but the right side sloped gradually. I realized this and had the classical "split-second" to make a decision. I turned sharply to the right. Due to my boots being a bit looser than they were previously (they gave me a bruise on my calf that lasted a couple weeks), the fact that the snow piled up along the edge of the slope, and that I was going too fast to turn as sharply as I needed to, I went off the edge of the steep part (I estimate 65-70 degrees across about 100 feet) sideways, and fell down until I hit the snow and began rolling. When my weight and crossed skis finally dug into the snow...I wasn’t sure what hurt most, and I just hoped no one plowed into me.

An expert skier nearly did, but he then took off his skis immediately, and tried to help me. I was still in a daze, and didn’t want to move....but he was pulling me trying to get me out from the middle of the slope and under the hill (you cannot see down the slope until you are going over it, and then it is hard to stop). As I stood groggily to my feet, a brash snowboarder whooshed passed, and was cursed out by the good-Samaritan skier. I worked my limbs, and found that except for an acute pain in my left calf, I was in working order, and I could walk fine. I figured that I strained it a bit, and that I would be FINE. I told the skier that, and he finally begrudged not calling the ski patrol and took my skis down to where the slope went back to 30ish degrees, and curved gently. I then had only to walk down to them, with my poles for support. I began my descent presently, and had only a little difficulty in making sure that I didn’t slide, and that my boots were firmly on the snow. About 4/5ths of the way down, I stepped firmly on my left foot, and it gave way suddenly with a distinct, little "pop". It sent fire up and down my leg as well, and I could not move for some time. I decided to slide down the decreasing angle (about 45-50 degrees, now) to my skis, and work it from there.

Anyone who has sat down on a hill near a lift knows that all this time, the certain people who actually have hearts (and not one snowboarder) ask you if you need help, if you are ok, what happened, etc, etc, etc, etc. I once sat down and made a snowman at Shawnee, and got so annoyed with the well wishers, that I abandoned him. This time, as I didn’t have skis, and was going slowly, I had obviously had trouble. I was mostly able to point to my skis down the hill and people would let me off.

When I finally got to my skis (after sliding past and having to kneel, and crawl back UP the hill to them), I took off my scarf and gloves, and ate some candy, and prepared to re-embark on the lovely day full of skiing. (the day WAS lovely! The first time, the snow was icy, and things were NOT as nice as they could be. This time, the snow was soft and powder-y and the sun was not turning it into ice....although it was warm enough)

About the time I put all my accessories back on, Daddy and Caleb and the girls came up the lift, and were probably quite surprised to see me in such a position. They came down to me, and laughed at me a bit, then helped me get my skis in position. Being that the slope curved to the right, and my skis were all the way on the right side of the slope, my right leg was down-mountain, and every skier knows that you put on your down-mountain ski first. That went on with no problem, so I set up the other. Somehow, my knee would not maneuver so they had to force the boot into the ski, but I could not bring enough pressure on my heel to snap the boot in place. The girls were dispatched to the ski patrol and Daddy and Caleb sat it out with me.

If you think I got a cool ride on a snowmobile, you are wrong. I though that too, and I was wrong. The only option was a toboggan with one person gliding, and another holding strings from behind. I decided to try to ski down, as my leg was once again, feeling fine. The Ski Patrol helped me get my skis in place, and they forced my boot to lock into the ski. Once it locked, I felt fine, and I moved my legs to see how it felt. It felt fine...I was good!

I skied forward, horizontally across the mountain, only to have my left knee suddenly give way and hear a distinctive "pop"! This time, instead of fire, my entire leg felt like it was being twisted into a pretzel shape, and tears jumped into my eyes and I couldn’t help letting the pain out by crying. I told the Ski Patrol about the "pop" and they became suddenly serious and grave. They called for the toboggan, and hurried me to the Emergency station. I would post pictures, but I was wearing rather tight pants under my snowpants, since I didn’t expect to show them to anyone. However, the pictures are not those I would show online.

I was given a leg-splint, which went up my whole leg, and told to have it examined ASAP, because it could be serious, and told not to ski for some time. I then had to hop back to the lodge with crutches (that needed to be returned), and was abandoned as everyone else went out to get their money’s worth of skiing. I listened to music, called grandparents and friends, slept, and cleaned up after all the mess that people leave!

There. That, dear readers, is the "leg event".