We all need somebody to lean on–some of us more than others. I went to the doctor today …
Here’s a picture of my knees from last night. I had to include both to provide a reference point of how knobby my knee is regularly. Otherwise the swelling looks normal. Aren’t knees one of the most attractive body parts??? I keep telling myself I really do have good legs seen as a whole! I was going to photoshop in some bling or special effects, but decided I’d stick to the basics.
My doctor’s appointment was at 11:40. I arrived at 11:30, but didn’t get put into a room until noon. I knew it might take longer because they’d fit me into a pretty tight schedule. The nurse sweetly suggested I take one of the closest examination rooms to the entrance so I wouldn’t have to walk too far on my gimpy leg. Wonderful!
I settled back, propped my leg up, and dove into Miralee Ferrell’s The Other Daughter. (Remember my cool interview with her?)
At 12:45 the nurse peeked into the room, red-cheeked. “I’m so sorry. We forgot about you.”
“I figured you had. I was giving you another five minutes, though, because I’ve got a good book.”
The doctor came in a minute later and examined my leg. With COLD hands. I explained it all: the twisting landing, the weird tingle feeling, the lack of pain. How I get the heebee jeebees when I look at the swollen spot and think of a New Years Eve noise maker rolling back on itself with a snap.
“You’re going to need an MRI. Classic symptoms of a torn ligament. Maybe your meniscus.” Which is treated with surgery and six months of recovery time.
“Could it possibly just be sprained?” I leaned forward, hope clenching my hands.
(I’m going to head-hop into his point of view here.) I should throw her a bone she looks so desperate. “Yeah,” keeping a straight face, “it could be a sprain.”
I left the office with no doubt of what he really thought was wrong.
Thanks, friends, for all your comments and concern. I know if I ever see Ernie coming at me with a pump-action lotion bottle, I’m sprint-hobbling away as fast as I can. And, yes, I did promote to my first degree purple belt. Which is fast appearing to be where I’ll remain for quite some time.
Ouch! That photo is bringing back bad memories. And not just of my own knobby knees. (That’s right, you don’t have to be skinny to have knobby knees!)
I’m not positive I ever tore a ligament, but I’ve had that swollen knee more than once. It happened at the age of 14, then at 16. I didn’t need surgery. My dad took me to a chiropractor instead of an MD. I thought he told me I tore the ligament both times. And he warned me; one more time and it would be surgery.
Maybe I’m wrong and it wasn’t torn. The pain definitely didn’t go away. Snapped out of place, snapped back in. Me screaming on the floor for nearly half an hour. It was only after my knee was iced and the pain started to subside that I realized my wrist kinda hurt. Trip to the ER. My wrist was broken. The knee hurt much worse. But the ER told me nothing was wrong with the knee. Thus the chiropractor visit the next day.
Yikes! that looks like it really hurt. I hope the swelling goes down quickly and you’re back to normal soon.
But hey! Thanks for picking my book to take along while you sat and waited for the doctor. I’m honored and blessed. Miralee
For a purple belt, hope all the black and blue is worth it.
Just kidding — I know it is. Don’t kick my tooshie!!
But girl! Okay, it’s just a sprain, it’s just a sprain, it’s just a sprain …
RICE: Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation.
But hey. What do I know??
; )
Aw, man. That’s awful, Christina. Let us know what the doc says when you know something.
Actually, your knee photo just begs for a caption. If I had more gumption (and more blog readers), I’d steal the photo and have a caption contest at my wee blog. Is the effort worth it? Nah.
Or … maybe???
Hee-hee-hee ….
(One knee says to the other knee, “I knew all those Cheetos would eventually catch up to you.”)
(One knee says to the other knee, “Hey there, good lookin’. Haven’t I see you around here before?”)
(One knee says to the other knee, “Ugh! Tell her to put back on her long pants! Just cuz we’re mirror-image twins doesn’t mean I enjoy looking at you!”)
Okay, that one was bad. : )
Ouch!!! I really hope it is nothing more than a sprain.
Mine does that as well. I broke it nine years ago.
Tina, once I have the MRI and know what I’m dealing with, I’m going to explore all the options. My mom is going to an acupuncturist right now and getting very good results. Who knows?
Thanks to you all for caring! And watch Donna’s blog just in case my knees should make a special appearance.
Jeremiah, does it still swell up? I’ve heard about people who can predict the weather from their injuries. Here’s a sample of what I could say–“I think it’s going to rain today.” And since it’s November in Oregon, I’d probably be right.
Ouch is all i can say too. i know knee pain and the bone on bone feel. praying it heals well.