End of Year Inspirational Post

I am writing only because it is my last chance to get something in for this year. 

I am at work right now and just waiting for noon to arrive. Then I will go out with whatever co-workers show up at a local bar and hoist a tankard of ale...or two.

Then I have a special project at home that I will post about on the other blog...thereby creating an end of year post there as well.

Sorry for the subterfuge of this being an inspirational post. But at least it got you to read it.

Happy New Year!

Wednesday Morning Doctor Visits

I had a busy morning or Doctor appointments. First it was Dr O'Connor, my G.P. at 7:15. We talked about my knee and that I was getting the surgery to remove the bone chip. The reason for the appointment was to evaluate my potassium levels after having doubled my dosage last visit. It does not appear to be effecting the wheezing and shortness of breath I continue to deal with.

They gave me breathing treatment where I inhaled a magical mist for about 5 minutes. Also, something that didn't seem to help or hurt my breathing.

Next I treated myself to breakfast at Dolly's Cafe. Nuthin' better that a hearty breakfast of bacon and eggs. 

After that I drove over to the Deaconess Hospital area where I got an EKG for the Doctor who will be doing the knee surgery. I was in and out of there in 20 minutes.

I finished up my morning Doctor duties with a visit to Inland Imaging for a Chest X-Ray. Again, in and out in 20 minutes.

I managed to make it in to work just before 10:00, where I have been toiling dutifully for the last couple of hours...right up until the time I started typing this post.

Bone Chip Compression

It has now been two weeks since my knee went bad. The surgery is scheduled for January 21st, so by the time I get this bone chip removed, I will have been hobbled for over a month.

The funny thing is that my left knee is not bothering me all that badly. I still walk with a limp but it's pretty slight...getting slighter every day. It bothers me most at night when I lie on my back and try to straighten my leg. I wonder if I'm compressing the bone chip the more I walk on it. 

I have a north side Doctor's appointment tomorrow morning with Dr. O'Connor, my G.P. After that, I have to run downtown to N.W. Orthopedics for an E.K.G. I think I'm building up a crap load more medical fees.

No Ski for Gimpy

I have finally managed to get scheduled for Arthroscopic Surgery but it's almost a month away. That means I have to start my deductible all over again AND it means no skiing before then either. 

Considering all the snow we have been getting, that really sucks! We got about three more inches last night and they are expecting another four today, although that looks optimistic. 

Nonetheless, I would like to be skiing and enjoying this winter weather. We got none of this kind of snowfall last year. I'm certain we have more snow on the ground right now than fell all of last season.

No Calls from Knee Doctor

Well, here it is, Wednesday and I have not heard from the Doctor's at Northwest Orthopedics. I called in yesterday and stressed that I would like to get this surgery scheduled before the end of the year when my Insurance Deductible rolls back to zero.

I'm able to motor around pretty well considering. I can almost straighten my leg, but not quite. It sure makes getting a good nights sleep difficult.

I was out early with the Snow Blower this morning. It snowed a couple of inches overnight and has continued to snow sporadically throughout the day.

I should be out limping around behind the snow blower again tonight.

Knee Knews

I made it into the Orthopedist office today. The bone chip managed to stay in place. The guy that saw me said he had not run up against anything like my condition. He was the P.A., not the Doctor.

From looking at the x-rays, you can see that my bone chip has settled down in between the bones right at the joint and is quite comfortable there. 

They are going to call me on Monday or Tuesday (probably Tuesday) to set an appointment to remove it.

Rodilla - Día Cuatro

I finally started using the cane today because my calf is soooooo sore. I can't say that it's making any kind of a difference. But then again, I haven't been using it that long.

The odd thing I've noticed is that the leg is very stiff when I first get up from a chair. As I walk around and the more I walk around, the looser it seems to get. That makes sense. I'm almost to a point where I can completely straighten my leg. When I get to that point, I can almost walk without a limp.

But there is that last 8% of extension that is just not going to happen. I'm really wondering when this bone fragment is going to slip out of place. And as I say that, I can tell you when it will slip out. As I am walking into the Orthopedists office at 3:00 tomorrow!

Knee - Day Three

We awoke to snow this morning. Just a couple of inches. It's wet and it's heavy and I expect it to be melted away soon.

The knee issue continues! It's very close to straightening out completely, but there is that last little bit that becomes very painful when I try to go all the way. 

Because I'm walking on it weird and using different muscles, I have a sore calf. 

I have done some research and found that I saw the Orthopedist, Dr. Michael Kody, four years ago. You can refer to posts from November of 2011 and see the x-ray of my knee.

I'm calling the doctor today because it is time to get this fixed. This has never held on this long. It is time to remove this annoying little bone fragment.

I should have had the surgery done four years ago. Then it would be a distant memory and most likely paid off by now. 

I remember the main reason I didn't do it then because we were going to Iowa for Christmas and I didn't want to be struggling around on crutches.

Knee - Day Two

This is now officially, the longest my knee has remained locked up. I'm at 36 hours since it engaged and it shows no signs that it is going to release any time soon. 

If it is still locked up tomorrow, I will start calling around to make arrangements to get it fixed.

I have already developed a sore calf on my left leg from hobbling around on it. I assume the calf muscle is tired from the new way I walk and is not used to the new muscles I'm using.

The Knee Returns

It has been since September 7th, 2014 that my knee has gone out. That's the trick left knee with the bone fragment floating around. Every once and a while the bone fragment moves into just the right position to prevent me from fully extending my leg.

It occurred this morning at 4:30. That's when I straightened my leg as I slept and the pain woke me up. It is exquisite pain. There is no way to straighten my leg without feeling the pain.

It will end at some point, I'm hoping sooner than later, just as it started; with no notice.

I shall report here!

Thoracentesis - the Day After

I went to bed still unable to take a full breath and feeling the pain from the area of the incision. When I laid down in bed, I was able to take a slow full breath although I still sounded rattly.

I awoke this morning feeling pretty good but rattly for just a while. As I moved around and got my day started, the rattle went away.

I was able to run up the stairs without feeling short of breath so that is an improvement.

In any event, I believe this procedure worked for me and improved the quality of my life by 13%.

Just 87% to go now!

I left work early today for a Medical appointment at the Holy Family Medical Building. I checked in to Inland Imaging at about 2:40 for a 2:45 appointment. I was called in at 3 and outta there by 3:30.

The procedure is called Thoracentesis, which is the draining of fluid from the around the lungs. Let's see what Mr. Dictionary says.

thoracentesis

[thawr-uh-sen-tee-sis, thohr-] 

• Word Origin

noun, plural thoracenteses 

 [thawr-uh-sen-tee-seez, thohr-] 

1.

insertion of a hollow needle or similar instrument into the pleural cavityof the 

chest in order to drain pleural fluid.

I sat on a bed with my arms in front of me on a table, propped up on a pillow. The Doctor (Dr Simmington) poked me with a needle to numb up the area. I couldn't see where he was working so I don't really know the particulars about needle size and how much hosing they stuck in me. He went in on my left side and half way up my back, just out of my ability to see what he was doing.

I had a couple of small twinges of discomfort as he feed the hose in but nothing I couldn't handle...and remember, I'm a pussy!

Once they extracted a sample for biopsy, they turned on a pump and sucked 750 ml out of me. The fluid was reddish brown and watery. It tasted like gumbo. (Not really. As far as I know, nobody tasted it.)

Then the nurse removed the hosery, slapped a band-aid on me and I was off.

I am sore right now on that side of my body and I can't take a full breath of air without feeling some pain. Also, I'm very rattly. The nurse said that is my lung re-expanding and should be gone soon.

So now I am off to paint a sky walk.