A little relief

Oddly enough, I went to the doctor yesterday with a feeling that surely they couldn't do anything for me. After all, Forest had to really push me to go. Knees get sore. That's just the way it works. When I was a kid we didn't go the doctor unless something was purple or gushing blood; mostly because my mom assured me that there was nothing the doctor could do about the lesser things, anyway. It would be a waste of time and money.

Besides, when I went in with my dumb broken toes last year there was nothing they could do about those, and they took forever to heal all by themselves. I was sure my knee could do the same thing.

I admit it, I was wrong. I saw the nurse practicioner yesterday, and she examined the heck out of my knee. (It hurt a hundred times more when she was done with it, but I think it was worthwhile.) She yanked, pulled, prodded, twisted, and guaged my reactions all the while. She thinks I've torn part of my ACL, and prescribed a pretty insane regimen to take care of it. I'm so glad I have insurance!

I have physical therapy three days per week for a month, with visits back to the nurse practicioner weekly. I also have to take three of these monstrous painkiller/anti-inflammatory pills per day. Yikes. What's really cool, though, is that she said I should keep doing taekwondo, but just avoid the jumping parts of it. That was a great relief to me. I guess with knees part of the challenge is to strengthen the joint, so that when it's mushed, it springs right back into place as it should. Kind of like Gumby.

Anyhow, if things aren't straightening themselves out in therapy, I'm going to be sent for an MRI and possible surgery. I hope that isn't the case, since it would be a pretty major setback since Master Kim has been hinting about black belt testing next spring.

Yesterday was distressing, because I had all of that going on, and didn't get to see Forest at all. It hurt to drive, to stand, to sit, to do practically anything. I had actually been crying in pain at work, and I had to to all the stuff for the party. Happily, Forest called to say he had already done most of the cleaning, and that if I really needed him, I could come get him from Judo class, and he would gladly help me. I really appreciated his support; it allowed me to somehow get through all the things I needed to do.

I went to Van Houten's and bought about a bushel of apples. We're planning on making caramel apples at the party, and if we have a bonfire, I'm hoping Yeffy will make this special stuffed-apple concoction he learned in scouts. It is really tasty. Van Houten's had some beautiful Ida Reds and Galas from a local orchard. I can't wait to bite into one.

I also bought a dozen pumpkins, hobbling around and piling them into two separate shopping carts, then lugging them all to the van. It hurt, but I didn't get too lost in despair, because it was such a comical situation. I was literally chasing my two shopping carts full of pumpkins in two different directions across Van Houten's parking lot. They kept changing directions, as though some invisible person were pushing them! It was hilarious.

After Van Houten's, I went to my own definition of hell: Meijer on Pennsylvania avenue. The service there tends to be awful. The clientele there tends to be scary. It's also huge and everything I wanted was spread over a building the size of a city block.

But I needed to get groceries for the party, and I figured I could save time by dropping off my prescription to be filled while I shopped. In theory, it should have worked. In fact, however, I shopped, filled up my cart, and paid for everything and still had to wait out the rest of the hour and a half it took them to fill my prescription. It was awful, and there wasn't even a place to sit down.

I didn't lose it, though, and I'm proud of myself. I leaned on my grocery cart, hauled it to the van, unloaded everything, put the cart away, and started the drive home, determined that I could still somehow get everything done, despite the agony and lack of time.

I didn't give up! I got all those stinkin' groceries put away, and it took 4 separate trips to the van to do it. I cleaned the fridge to make room for everything, and then picked up the rest of the public areas of the house. I put the leaf in the table, moved the furniture a little, and hid the marshmallows from Eilonwy, who badly wants to eat them.

I decided I shouldn't take my pills until after I'd picked Forest up, though, since driving with them is a questionably bad idea. As soon as I was done getting things put away, it was time to hop back in the car.

I was so relieved to see Forest, I almost couldn't stand it. We headed home, and he needed to blow off some stress, so I decided I'd read my book, and he could play Final Fantasy. I laid down with my head in his lap, very snugly, and enjoyed his company and warmth while I read. Then all of the sudden, my knee felt about 8 miles away, and I fell asleep. I don't remember anything after that until Forest shuffled me off to bed. Last night was the best night of sleep I've had since I twisted the dumb knee in the first place. No wonder I've been so exhausted.

I overslept this morning, too. Before going to bed, both Forest and I had checked our alarm, and it was set for 7 AM, just as it should have been. Funny thing is, neither one of us heard it go off. It didn't make a peep. Some mornings I get up, turn it off, and crawl back in bed, but I always remember that I've done it. This was just wierd.

Forest and I stumbled into the shower, and I realized that I felt a lot better. I feel like I can handle having company now, and hopefully I'm my old cheerful self for my sweety. He's been patient, but I think I've been a bit edgy of late.

I've recently discovered the wonders of Napster. It's way cool. I have been able to find a lot of music there that I can't find in the music stores. For instance, I burned myself a CD with a whole bunch of Muppet Movie favorites on it. The Muppet Movie soundtrack isn't available anymore, but thanks to someone named IsGVD whose node on Napster has all that stuff, I was able do download them in minutes.

Right now I'm jamming away to Wierd Al Yankovich's "The Saga Begins" on my computer's happy new speakers. It's awesome.

Today work is dragging out forever. I guess I'm looking forward to tonight's get-together. Actually, I am also looking forward to the black belt tests we are watching right after work. It should be a lot of fun.