Monday, June 17
My pain in the knee had improved only slightly by this morning, no doubt due to the massive amounts of drugs I’ve started imbibing again. I started the day tired, depressed, a bit surly, and in a fair amount of pain. I was scared witless of going to PT, since I was certain it was going to hurt like hell.
But Lindsey listened to my story of woe, and then spent pretty much the entire appointment time massaging my IT Band. Her theory was that because it’s extremely tight (and it has been for decades), it’s causing the sharp pain. But, really, she admitted that she wasn’t quite sure - and if things don’t improve in a couple of days, I should go see the surgeon. My knee behaved itself while she did the massaging, but when I leaned over to slip on my shoe, it stabbed me again and I thought I was going to pass out. So much for the massage helping.
The net-net of the appointment was that I was essentially placed under house arrest. All the progress that I’ve made in the past three plus weeks? Gone in a poof. No more walks to the corner and back. No more stationary bike. No more reciprocal stair climbing. All of the PT exercises? Stopped, except for the two she feels are essential. Twice a week PT appointments are now thrice a week again. The allowable? Keeping my knee and ankle elevated while flat on my back on the couch, icing my knee, and keeping a heating pad on my IT Band.
The whole thing left me feeling helpless, and yet, I had a couple of ideas that I thought might be worth giving a try. The first is a low power laser treatment that my chiropractor has done on my knee in the past, and that has always helped reduce inflammation. How could it hurt to try it on the IT Band? And the second is the thing that people have been whispering in my ear - shouting in my ear, really - for months: CBD oil. I proposed these to Lindsey. She found no fault with either option, but told me to not do anything without Dr. Miner’s approval.
So I called his office and waited for the next few hours for someone to call me back. I’ve noted before that one of the things I highly value in this medical practice is that they *always* call back on the same day. As the afternoon hours whiled away, and I binge watched more of the Great British Baking Show, I started to fear that this might be the one time without a callback.
It was unfounded fear: Jason, one of Dr. Miner’s PAs, called. We talked about the pain, and he theorized that I have popliteal tendonitis. It is not entirely common after total knee replacement, but the symptoms of extreme pain make it the likely culprit. He increased the dosage of my anti-inflammatory med. I asked: how about laser? Jason: let’s wait on that. I asked: CBD oil? Jason: I’m good with it.
That’s how Ed and I found ourselves in a pot shop for the first time since marijuana became legal in Colorado, getting educated about the various forms of CBD oil. Something about doing something new - and violating that house arrest - made it a fun experience. And a hopeful one. We celebrated our purchase by stopping at our favorite ice cream joint on the way home. We hadn’t even broken into the (non-high-inducing) CBD salve, and already we had the munchies!
Then, as if that wasn’t enough joy for the universe to give us in one day (really, it would have been quite enough for me, any hope is still hope), Ed’s sister Janice called. You could hear the smile in her voice, all the way from Bar Harbor, Maine. “I have news!” she said, and in the moment, I knew. Our niece Nikki just gave birth a few hours ago to our newest grand-nephew, and everyone is happy, healthy, and glowing. This brings the number of great-nephews and nieces that Ed and I share to an even ten. Another baby to hold; another rugrat to play with on holidays; another reason to get this knee healed so I can get down on the floor with them all.
Oh - and then my email sounded, and I looked: our friend Tom just sent me a pdf of the latest book he has written. I read the first chapter a few months ago and provided input, and had been eager to get the full thing. Now I have something new to break up my TV-binging. Who said house arrest is a bad thing?
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