Saturday, February 23, 2019
One morning last October, my left knee became suddenly painful, such that I had trouble trying to sit down, stand up, and worst of all, just walking. That day at work, folks noticed and asked, “Why are you dragging your foot?” It was because my knee, somehow, was “locking up”, hurting, and refusing to bend. Well, I’m a horsewoman, and guessed my knee had been injured from dancing around with the animals, or maybe while entering or exiting my horse trailer’s tight quarters. Over time, experiences with minor injuries teach us that most things heal eventually.
Over the next three months, the “locking” became less frequent and the knee pain seemed less awful. But it still hurt trying to sit down and then to stand up. I coped with knee pain while in bed and while needing my knee to enter and exit cars. Worst of all was the intolerable pain of my weight while on hands and knees–say to clean a birdcage or wipe some spot on the floor. In January, I consulted a highly-recommended orthopedic specialist.
An x-ray indicated in my knee a torn meniscus, which is reparable. The next steps would be to obtain an MRI for confirmation, and then, have orthoscopic surgery–a brief outpatient procedure with relatively short recovery time. This seemed do-able for someone with property and animal responsibilities, though I might need a little help. I left The Center, glad I’d gone there, now understood the problem and how to cope with it.
I prepared by arranging for time off from work, talking with friends about needing help, and readying my house for a semi-invalid. Yesterday, I returned to The Center for MRI results. The surgeon explained that to their own great surprise, the electronic scan didn’t show a torn ligament, but instead, an arthritic knee. It’s not fixable with surgery. He said my knee could receive a shot of pain medication, the only help for arthritis that hasn’t deteriorated to bone-on-bone.
Some friends, who’ve experienced pain shots have told me that the medication didn’t relieve them. Yesterday, my doc replied that my only choices were to have or not have a shot. Afterward it seemed, and now I’m certain, that the instant medication flowed into my knee every smattering of pain disappeared. The doc said the med needs a couple of days to fully kick in. But this morning, I’ve been pain-free while practicing sitting down, standing up, lowering to hands and knees, and then, uprighting myself. O Happy Day!
If all goes well, if I’m pain-free after our snows melt away, I’ll go out and start ground-driving the horses. It’s a daily workout before another summer of hard work and requires from me agility, balance, and footwork. Horsepeople need working knees!
Dear Readers, thanks for journeying with me and have a great day. Diana
Diana's Morning Blog 
Skipping surgery is always my first choice! Hope you will feel continued relief in the years to come. Surprisingly warm and pleasant out here this morning. Saddled up Ducky and we went exploring out of here. There are junctions where she shows interest in varying the route so we enjoyed her choices and I scratched on her a lot before and after. She is not a cuddly mare but has her moments of being affectionate. I adore her. Dave went over to the Valley to visit his sister, attend a funeral of a mutual friend and then on up to Newberg to visit another mutual friend. His turn to get out of Dodge. I can manage the chores OK on the short term but wrestling with stiff low faucets would take some ingenuity. Splitting juniper logs? Bucking bales? Nope. I admire your independence. I hope Dave makes it home on Monday. Lots of snow predicted.
On Sat, Feb 23, 2019 at 8:01 AM Diana’s Morning Blog wrote:
> trailriderincentraloregon posted: ” Entrance To The Center at St. Charles > Hospital One morning last October, my left knee became suddenly painful, > such that I had trouble trying to sit down, stand up, and worst of all, > just walking. That day at work, folks noticed and asked, “Why are yo” >
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Ducky and Rosie are a pair to draw to. Hey, I’m back in action! If you need anything let me know and I’ll go over to help. Snow is predicted to start tonight and fall through the week. I’m gassing-up the snow-blowers.
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