she's alive....

It's really been a long time and I do have so much to say. . . I might even go over some old posts that I wrote but didn't post because I didn't have time to check them over for typos. And so the story is that the manipulation went really, really well. Before I haven't done, I was spending too about 90° -- maybe pushing to 100° or so. That's not very much. Lie on your back and bend your knee to a right angle. That's about all I had. It's not enough to bike or anything like that. But I have to say that my physical therapist, June, from UCSF was really skeptical. She seen people come out of manipulations a lot worse than they went in. Anyhow, I know I've written about this but it helps to start from that point. Because that's the point where everything changed. So when I went into UCSF, they gave me a spinal to numb things out below my waist. And the doctor came in and basically bent my leg. He got it bent about 130°. Then for the next three days I stayed in the hospital. They kept me on an epidural so I was getting a constant dose of medication that was basically taking away the majority of the pain in my knee. They were also heavily medicating me. So the best part about being in the hospital was that I had three days of not being in pain. I was so happy. It's funny because I was worried that I had been taking too much medication. What I realized is that I have not been taking enough. I've been taking it enough just to take the edge off. But I was still in serious pain so I really couldn't push past anything. I'm still taking medication. I'm still hurting but not as much. And I can definitely see the light at the end of the tunnel. But I'm jumping ahead of myself.

Well, not really. Going to UCSF was amazing. It made me appreciate being in a good hospital. And it made me realize how bad the care was at the previous hospital. It wasn't that they were terrible there. But they left me there for days without basically much medical attention. You read all about me having to beg for my pain medication so I'm not going to go through that again. My only criticism of UCSF is that I kept saying that I think I had a bladder infection (they catheterize you after this procedure) and they kept saying that I didn't. I went home that first day and ran a fever of 102°. I had a bladder infection. But that's a small thing. (Yes I took the whole course of antibiotics and I'm fine). Anyhow, ever since the hospital, my knee has been much much better. In fact, I'm able to bend so much that our main concern right now straightening. The other day I was able to bend to almost 140° in physical therapy. That's almost as much as my other knee. And here's the really big news: I'm riding my bike. As in -- outside. I did a 10 mile ride on Friday and a 7 mile ride on Sunday. I'm not going to win any races. I go very, very slowly. But it's pretty amazing that I can do it. In fact, it hurts less to ride my bike than it does to walk. The only problem I'm having now it is I'm getting some numbness and tingling in my hands so I have to readjust my bicycle. My physical therapist said this is a common problem that I can avert by keeping my hands straight. But she also said that bicycling is probably going to be my sport of choice.

My next doctor's appointment is at the end of the month and I expect that I'll be going back to work soon after. So basically, I'm working on riding my bike, getting in shape, and straightening my leg. And soon I will completely be able to wean myself off the pain medication although right now I really need still. I wake up several times a night still in a lot of pain. My knee is still warm to the touch but it's not as hot as it once was.

I will promise to post more soon. But I just wanted to catch up those of you who are still reading my blog. Which I appreciate. Right now, Kali is biting my ankle so I better go feed her. (My cat).

PS These are blossoms from the tree in front of my house. Spring is here!