I had mentioned in an earlier post how I hurt my shoulder earlier in the year when I fell and landed on it. It has been getting progressively worse and I have had lots of treatment on it as well as a few cortisone shots, all to no avail.
Last week I went off to see a doctor in Melbourne who has treated me when I ripped the hammy off the bone, and who also treated my osteitis pubis, which was an injury I wouldn't wish on anyone. The treatment for that was nearly worse than the injury itself!!
Anyway, I had an MRI in the morning, then I had an appointment with the Doc (Paul) in the afternoon. I have to mention here that I also had an MRI on my knee which is another story. When I met with Paul later in the day he started with "Well, which one do want fixed first?". I opted for the shoulder, as it has been quite painful to say the least, and he agreed as in his words "there is a lot of anger in there".
After seeing and hearing what was wrong, and he explained it so clearly, he then asked what my plans were for the next few days. I told him that I was on holidays and that my wife and I were spending the night in Melbourne, so he just said "Great, let's go".
Not knowing what was going to happen, he took me into another room that looked like a mini surgery. Off came the shirt and onto the table I went. Next came an anaesthetic, followed by a few needles through my back that felt like they were going to come out the front of me!!
It turns out that I had a lot of fluid in my shoulder and arm, and he was draining it out and putting in something else that would kick in over the next few days. The relief as I left his surgery was immediate, and although I still have a lot of pain and restricted movement, it is heaps better than what it has been. In a few weeks I find out if surgery is needed, touch wood I won't.
As Spring is upon us and there is a lot of growth around our house, it has meant that I haven't had to get out and about as much as I normally would...BINGO!!! The yard will have to wait, but I must confess that I did do a few hours out there a few days ago as it was just bugging me too much. Didn't I suffer for it later that night!!
Now for the knee. I remember giving it a twist earlier in the year when I was shifting our wood pile. It really hurt at the time, but I just ignored it and hoped it would go away. Well, over the course of the year it has progressively deteriorated, to the point where if I sit down for a while then get up to walk, I hobble quite a bit until everything seems to fall back into place. Walking and light running are no problem as it is straight ahead stuff, but anything involving a twist...no way!
Just on Sunday I was out on my bike for a few hours and loving it as I started thing ""Hey, my knee is ok!!"
I thought too soon. As I approached a set of traffic lights, I needed to get my shoe out of the cleats, which involves twisting the knee slightly. As soon as I did this it felt like I had been shot, and I was lucky not to fall over at the lights (which has happened when I first got the cleats-very embarrassing!!). The rest of the ride was fine, but I had to make sure I avoided lights and intersections where I would need to take my shoe out of the cleats.
So, after getting my shoulder treated, Paul then told me about the knee. Apparently I have torn the meniscus (I never knew what these did until then!) and there is some kneecap wear and tear, which requires an operation. This will get done in the next few weeks, which although only minor, is still a pain as it will lay me up for a while which will drive me nuts. (And also everyone else who has to deal with me!!)
Having had quite a few of these operations before, at least I know what is involved and what the rehab is.
The holidays have been spent just lazing about and not doing much in particular, which has been great.
I am going overseas for a few weeks early next year, so I have used the time to finalise my flights, accommodation and school visits and it has been surprising how time consuming this can be. How people did this before the internet made it so easy must have been so frustrating.
My wife is sort of amazed that I have been able to do it all myself, as she has done all of these things for our recent overseas trips and I have just tagged along. This is coming from someone who doesn't even know which week is pay week, or how much he gets paid, so for me to be able to get this done is a huge achievement!!
And finally, my other holiday activity that has taken up most of this week, I have bought a new car!!
Our youngest is due to get his licence in the next few days, and just as we have done with our two older boys, we are handing a car down to him, hence the need to get a replacement.
For years I have always wanted to get a Jeep, although my wife would prefer something smaller.
I just really like SUV's, particularly as they are great for just throwing the bike in the back.
Imagine my surprise when last week she comes out and says that I should start looking for one!!!
Fast forward a week or so and it is at the stage now where I have done all the searching, financing etc myself, much to my wife's amazement/amusement! I even know how much I get paid now, although I still don't know which week is pay week.
After a lot of emails and phone calls, it is now down to the point where we pick it up tomorrow, so there is a bit of excitement to say the least.
Other than that, the holidays are just about over and I'm really looking forward to watching the Grand Final on Saturday. The bittersweet part is that I go nuts for the next 6 months with no football to watch!!
Hopefully there will be a post tomorrow with a photo, where I can say
"I bought a......."
Cheers!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment