I do hope you are all having a good day/Thanksgiving. Here, it's been a week of gnarly. I felt a cold trying to get a toe-hold on Monday, but thought I might beat it with lots of water, Vitamin C, zinc, and rest, and went to bed early. Tuesday my car had a long appointment to get its suspension systems replaced, so a friend* picked me up and we had coffee and ran errands together. By the time my car was ready I was so tired, and SO COLD! I turned my seat and cabin heaters on high and was comfortable by the time I got home, but the house was cold (the fire had gone out the night before). I turned my electric blanket on high and pre-heat and crawled in to warm up again, and fell deeply asleep. Good thing I had set an alarm or I probably would have slept right through my MRI appointment. By then I wondered if I had a fever and was hoping to avoid any questions or temp-taking at the hospital which would have postponed my appointment, because I have another appointment on December 5 that hinges on the MRI results. Fortunately for me (and hopefully not unfortunately for anyone else) I skated through and got the MRIs. Again, I had to run the car heaters on full blast, and crawled back in bed when I got home. Besides being insufferably cold, my head was throbbing, my brain was muddled, and my skin was hypersensitive. I crawled out of bed after 10 pm to eat a grapefruit, couldn't taste it, and took a COVID test:
Wednesday morning Rick, who along with his secretary has been fighting a 'cold,' decided to test as well. Also positive. Of course. So much for our Thanksgiving plans.
My gnarly MRI results arrived on Wednesday. Extensive, complex tears in the menisci, full thickness articular cartilage loss, severe patellofemoral arthritis – in BOTH. I'm looking at total knee replacements . . . eventually. Symptoms are the reason to do TKRs, not test results, and right now I'm mostly functional with daily naproxen sodium. But that light at the end of the tunnel? It's a train. 🙄
I continue to look for those pretty/peaceful/positive images to share daily on IG/FB; I need that focus now more than ever. Here are the photos and captions posted since my last blogpost:
 |
| Shetlands are sometimes called "hill sheep, I have a subset – 'tree sheep.' |
 |
| One of the many things I like about 'our' town is its public art. This sculpture by Steve Tyree (who lives on the same hill as us) is in front of our hospital. |
 |
| It's Beautyberry season! |
Oh, and I've finished the first sleeve of my sweater! One sleeve left to go....
That's the gnarly news from . . .
10 comments:
Well crud (I said a worse word). I'm so sorry you have COVID. You sound pretty miserable. Will you try Paxlovid? Some say it helps and some say they have rebound from it. In either case, I hope you will be feeling better soon. A friend told me that the strain that is making the rounds now is really rough. Again, I'm sorry you've got it. Your knees . . . I'm also sorry that the MRI's confirmed what you likely suspected. I know it's not news that anyone ever wants to hear. Welcome to my world. I just went back and looked at my own MRI results. Lots of familiar words . . . You, thankfully, are not too chubby to get new knees (unlike me) when you are ready.
No Paxlovid for me; like I said, I had one really bad day and now it's tolerable. I plan to mask up and go to the agility trial on Sunday in which we're entered; it's possible it will be our last for quite some time. Starting tomorrow I'm going to start calling orthos; I'm looking for one who is willing to do both at the same time. One and done, instead of double the trouble (and recovery time).
Aw, I'm so sorry you're sick. Never fun and this time of year always seems especially inconvenient. The knee problem sounds pretty inconvenient as well. Dan needs the same done, but has really put off talking about it. I hope you find a surgeon you like and trust, and who is willing to work with you.
I think I'd rather be sick this time of year, Leigh, when the days are short and the wood fire is cozy. I have an appointment with an othopedist on Jan. 30 who is open to bilateral surgeries, so we shall see. I'm managing well enough right now that waiting seems the best policy; Rick doesn't see the point of waiting because he has seen me at my compromised worst and understands better the information in my MRI reports.
Sorry you are sick and Thanksgiving was affected. But glad you have better information about your knees. Take care.
I'm thankful to know that you were not terribly sick, and I hope you're feeling much better now. I've been keeping you and Rick in prayer, wince I found out you were both sick. I get the vaccine every year, so the one time I did have COVID, I only had a mild cough for one or two days.
You are the only one I've known who is willing to go for bilateral knee replacement. I took that option, too. I figured it was better to have just one go at it, rather than two. The first couple of days were tough, but I made it through.
I'm sorry you missed out on Thanksgiving celebrations. By next year you should be up and running, literallyl
I will be thinking of you and wishing you the very best.
I'm not a big 'gatherer,' Donna, so didn't mind a quiet Thanksgiving at home. My MIL, however, was very disappointed, though.
I've meant to get vaccinated, Jeanne; procrastination bites! I have another friend who got bilateral replacement 14 years ago. Makes sense to me!
I appreciate that, Marlane!
Something to find out from your ortho if you have sub patellar pain and almost no cartilage on the back of the patella: Does the replacement he uses include a pad at the back of the patella.
Not all of them do and it makes a world of difference when needed.
Good to know, Anonymous; I'll add it to my growing list of questions!
Post a Comment