Left knee severe medial compartment osteoarthritis

Written Monday Night 


A wise friend once told me in 1980 that  "you will need a knee operation soon or later - guaranteed".  In 1985 I had arthroscopic surgery.

Another wise friend in 2019 said "you have titanium in your future - I guarantee it".

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Three years ago I was playing some Ultimate Frisbee type of thing, running, jumping, twisting throwing a Frisbee between my legs and doing tricks like I was 30. 

One time I was jogging to my left and if I caught the Frisbee on the front side with the back of my right hand facing out I could continue the throw by twisting and jumping like a top.  The problem with this throw is the wind direction and getting the Frisbee on the correct plane for that wind as you would not get the normal amount of spin. 

On the 16th fairway the wind always falls down the hill so it tends to push that throw down and you need more elevation and be very very level..

I spun and came down and felt my left knee TWING!!! And knew instantly what it was.  F*CK!!

I've spent the last three years babying the knee, making sure I work the muscles and be kind.  In spring I felt I needed to put a brace around it "just to remind" myself to be kind to it. 

And then a month ago something changed and I bet I have not slept more then 3 hours straight.  Absolutely nothing really worked, even Hydrocodone.   

FINALLY it was my turn to see the Doc. Three weeks waiting (and universal healthcare will speed that up? We have a HUGE HUGE nurse shortage remember).

The X-rays came back and one of the practicing nurses calls them up and I hear her softly 
"hmmmmmmm"  with those last 4 m's falling to a lower key.

      
She calls in the Doc who introduces himself with X-Rays in hand and says.

"Mr. Melotte - it looks to me like you have been in quit a bit of pain"   My left knee (on the right) is just bone on bone.   sigh! 

So he goes over the very few things he can do . Special brace that pulls my knee when I walk, a few different shots and lubricants that last 3 months but I can only have 3 a year.  Cortisone which I did today will only last a few months.

Many things to cure the symptoms . . . . . . and I was waiting and sweating as he explained each symptom fixer for a left knee severe medial compartment osteoarthritis.

And then . . . . Joint replacement  . . . and it's not the fun kind of joints we are talking about.   sigh.  I
want to cry. I really do. I have tears as I type this LOL :-(    Probably why I've been such a cranky puss this summer.   Yea it's depressing but I'm not "depressed". 

I see an Orthopod Friday to just talk about this.
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I write a blog as a sort of therapy.   I'm a little dyslectic. There is a disconnect between my brain and my hands with writing or typing.  Only with words not numbers.  I can read like there is no tomorrow but  many words when I type, come out a little backwards and so forth.  "the" is typed 95% of the time "teh"  Literally!  I stopped communicating with the written word early as in middle school it was bully fuel.

Then when I was 40ish(?) spelling checkers were invented.

ANYWAY - the Doctor asked about my blog and I said it was therapy and I guess it's on multi levels.   Notice on the right side of the page where it says "Just a guy with a lot of mixed up words in his head"   Yea, decades of mixed up words screaming to get out.

Getting that above crap about my knee out of my brain is therapy and writing about it is a different therapy.

And thank you for listening.

Tuesday Morning

OMG - the first night of pain free sleep!  I still woke up out of habit but I lay there so amazing comfortable.  The day seems brighter (2 inches of rain coming today) and spirits are lifted! 

Everything I read says I need to change my lifestyle, lose weight.  COME ON  I'm 167lbs  I don't think weight was the reason I have this issue.  (weight is typically the issue I have read).  1 million knew knees are installed every year.  Now I have to figure out if this is REALLY necessary (I believe it is) or are they out to make money.

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Just a quick political thing.  Donald has never been overly burdened with intelligence and as he gets his cast of ne're do wells into the inner sanctum (also called The Room of Perpetual Sorrow) they really have no plan at all.

Depending on what age you are and how many political shows you watch on Sunday mornings (the older you get the more you watch) every single GOP hack was on a show trying to defend The Mad King and every one, even the one on FOX - totally, 100% failed.  Not one of them had a clue what to say and most just contradicted themselves.

They seem to believe this is just another Mueller Report and it will go away . . . . once they get Clinton's emails.    FAIL!

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GO BREWERS . . . or what is left of them.