It’s
been a long winter this year. We haven’t
had any significant accumulations of snow, but the ground has been covered since
November. About a month ago six inches
of wet heavy snow fell overnight. I
headed out to work and made my way up a flight of twenty steps to the house of
a woman I care for. Before it was time for me to leave her house
a snowplow had plowed a huge pile of snow at the bottom of the steps. As I was forging my way to the car I stepped
into a snowbank that was up to my knees. And fell. As my right knee twisted the
pain was excruciating. I pulled myself
up and was happy that I could stand on my leg, albeit a little painful. While getting out of the car to my next patient's house the
knee was still sore getting in out of the car so
I made an appointment with the orthopedic doctor’s satellite office in Ridgway.
After a few x-rays the nurse practitioner said
I have degenerative arthritis in both of my knees and what looked like a
chipped bone. She gave me a prescription
for crutches and ordered me to stay off my feet for at least a week until a CT
scan, that the doctor’s office would schedule. I was hoping for something less
drastic like a torn meniscus or ligament.
When
I returned home I researched treatment for a chipped bone and the outlook wasn’t
rosy. I could end up in a cast and be
off my feet for six to eight weeks, putting a dent in my trip to Holland. I wasn’t relishing the idea of hobbling
around airports and touring Holland
on crutches. If the bone was chipped I
would probably have to delay the trip a few weeks and give up seeing my brother
Jack while there.
Four
days went by and I hadn’t heard from the doctor’s office about the CT
scan. When I called the office they told
me I would have to call back tomorrow. I
called the main office in St. Marys and asked what was taking so long and that
would prefer an MRI to determine if I might have a torn meniscus, which might
not show up on a CT scan. The nurse
practitioner apologized for the delay and agreed to the MRI which was scheduled for the next day.
In
the meantime my knee was feeling better each day. I made sure to elevate it, took Epsom salt baths
and applied DSMO to relieve the arthritis pain.
I read WILD by Cheryl Strayed and Girl with the Pearl Earring
by Tracy Chevalier. The latter being a novel about Vermeer’s art in Holland
during the 1600’s. I did my best to stay
positive about the trip and used the time to shop online for a set of a new
luggage, clothing and even a new striped umbrella in case of rain.
When
I went to my next doctor appointment the good news was that the bone wasn’t
chipped, but the meniscus was tore. The nurse practitioner referred me to the
orthopedic doctor to determine if arthroscopic surgery would be needed. I wasn’t
as unglued about the surgery as it could be delayed and the healing time wasn’t
nearly as long. I was more than happy when the doctor told me I had a serious, but clean meniscus tear, and that surgery wouldn't be necessary.
As of now it looks like clear sailing to
Holland. Justin and Caleb will be feeding
and watering the animals in the morning and on the weekend. Our neighbor Mary
Hosmer and her brother Mike offered to feed and water the critters in the
afternoon. Cliff quit milking the goats this week as they are now about three
months pregnant and are scheduled to freshen in early May. Tasha and Tucker will be spending the week with
our neighbors, Paul and Shirley Oldland and their pack of black labs. I’m sure they will get more than enough exercise
and attention.
I’ve been doing some exercises to strengthen
my leg muscles and have been out cross country skiing a few times. Today the dogs and I went for a long walk and my knee is feeling pretty good. In less than a month I should be tip toeing
through the tulips.
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