Oh What a Ride!

I really should write a book.

And maybe once all the events of the past week or so have blown over, I'll do just that!

The latest development in this drama that has become my life, actually started nearly a month ago when Walt was in Africa. I was working in the prayer room at church on Monday evening, when I attempted the unthinkable feat of standing up from my desk while simultaneously turning to the right. All of a sudden, a sharp pain shot behind my left knee cap causing an involuntary and rather loud "OUCH" to escape my mouth.

The guy sitting next to me responded by asking, "What was that popping sound?"

I laughed, not thinking much of it really, and limped on up to the front of the room.

My knee bothered me a lot over the next several days, enough that I had a hard time sleeping with the pain. Never-the-less, I was determined to "walk it out".

That approach worked fine for a while. During the two weeks that followed, the pain gradually decreased until I was feeling only an occasional stab, sometimes maybe twice a day.

Then came this past Monday night. I was working in the prayer room as usual when I noticed my knee was aching ... again. Later that night, the aching turned into a sharp pain and by last night (Wednesday) my knee and the entire area of my leg above and below it, was swollen and throbbing with pain. I showed the humongous bulge now sitting where my knee cap use to be to my husband, and announced that I was NOT, I repeat NOT going to the doctor for it.

Upon waking this morning (if you can really call it "waking" if you haven't truly been asleep) I decided to cash in on my "woman's prerogative" to change my mind, and drove myself to Urgent Care.

The doctor asked me what I was doing when I hurt my knee, took a look at it, then made me lay on the exam table while he performed several torture tests on my already aching left leg.

After he was satisfied that my knee hurt in virtually every position into which he'd twisted it, the doc informed me of the diagnosis.

A torn meniscus.

The menisci are the curved pieces of cartilage that line the outer edges of the knee caps. They help to keep body weight evenly distributed, protecting the kneecap from damage.

I don't care so much about all that medical jargon. The main lesson I've learned about the menisci is that it hurts like heck if one happens to get torn!

Ahh! But for the moment I am not in any pain. The nice doctor gave me some magic pills that made all the agony go bye-bye. He also told me to keep my knee wrapped in an ace bandage and elevated for the next five days.

If after that my leg still doesn't feel better (without the aid of the magic pills) I'll have to consider letting an orthopedic surgeon get inside my knee, all up close and personal to the meniscus, and fix it.

Having discovered that the magic pills have the capability of expediting trips to my new and improved happy place, I'm not going to worry about that right now. Nope! I'm just going to sit here and enjoy the trip!