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Published: March 17th 2019
That‘s right, folks! It’s a miracle! Remember how I shared my misery with you about my painful knees? It was my catharsis and you had to hear the gruesome saga. OOWwwwwwwee! I know I have a low pain tolerance.....a paper cut has me looking up the phone number of our local funeral director. Well, you can imagine the horrendous squealing I frequently uttered while trying to hobble around on my excruciating and gut-retching knee knobs. It wasn’t pretty. Lulu tried to help....even singing “Soft Kitty” (from the Big Bang Theory...my favorite TV show) to me. I even purchased some medical marijuana cream (CBD)and slathered it on both my knees. Nothing worked. Death was close. Even your sympathetic cooing’s offered no improvement...thanks anyway. OOWwwwwwwee! What was I to do?
I obtained the name of an orthopedic doctor from a friend here in Tropical Palms. I nervously and desperately made an appointment with him. Dr. Matthew Johnston is his name and he’s located in the same medical building in Celebration that our other doctors have their offices. Our eye, skin and now bone doctors are all under one roof. How convenient for our various medical needs. I’m always impressed that our appointments
have been given to us on a very timely basis. We aren’t used to this at home. Cory carried & dragged me into his office this past Tuesday. Needless to say.....I was nervous.....desperate....but nervous. I make a very poor patient. First to admit it! I learned a lot from the many patients that I cared for over the years in my nursing career.
The doctor was a very kind, gentle, thorough, young and nice looking man. Of course, now at our age, most everyone is young. Face it! X-rays were done. My left knee has bothered me for many years because of an injury. I fell cross country skiing and had a laceration needing stitches. You should have seen me for that procedure. I was a blubbering, anxious wreck. My doctor was a friend and he tried to be compassionate but after awhile, I think he wanted to just get rid of me with all my whining. Didn’t have an X-Ray but I think my knee cap was probably fractured. Had bad pain following for weeks and weeks and weeks. I limped like Chester in Gunsmoke. Eventually, arthritis set in and I have been on celebrex since. Off and
on, it flares up and I have to do my blubbering and carryings on. Don’t you just love it when you have to listen someone’s medical ailment? But you are my catharsis, remember? Bear with me.....please!! My right knee problem happened down here about 3 months ago. We were walking and my knee went out of joint. Snapped back in place but left me with a knee that was pure agony 24/7. Feeling sorry for me? I sure hope so. I love and thrive on sympathy. My X-Rays showed that most all of my meniscus (cartilage) is missing so I am walking bone on bone with the left knee. He said eventually I’m looking at a knee replacement for it. Crap! Plus I have arthritis in it which I already knew. Crap! My right knee still has some meniscus. It also has arthritis. He said I might have a tear in the meniscus on this knee. Oh, God.....it’s terrible getting old! His current treatment was cortisone shots in both knees. Nooooooo. But I agreed cause of desperation. I’ve never had a cortisone shot except in my foot for plantar fasciitis. I Hate Shots! I don’t mind giving them but I
don’t like getting them. I used to faint before and after any shot I received. I’m a weak soul! Weak, Weak,Weak! A big baby if you want me to be honest. I begged Dr.Johnston to let me lie down during this terrifying procedure. Nope! Nope? Yes....NO! Why?? I might faint and don’t want to fall forward and jam the needles through my knees. He said he needed my knees dangling and reassured me I would be fine....yeah....right! He said he would numb the surface with a cold solution. I asked him if he wiggled the needle around inside my knee and he said no. One must know this. Oh, dear. Here we go! Jeeeze......whatever he put on my leg is the coldest stuff I have ever felt in my whole life..and it’s running down my leg. Urine is warm so I’m confident it’s not that. Fascinated and alarmed about this coldness....I never felt the shot!! Wonderful! I love this doctor. Too bad I have two knees. This is where Lulu shows her smug and show-off expression. Okay....here we go! Eeeeek......sooooo cold, again. But this time I can feel the shot somewhat. It was brief and we were done. I was
still upright and alive! Cory congratulated me from his corner chair. The doctor said it would take 24-48 hours for the medicine to work. Just rest today......oh, I love this doctor. I was actually ordered to rest. I love to rest! He said he had patients where this shot lasted for a year and didn’t even need more. We’ll see. I have a follow-up visit in 6 weeks with this wonderful doctor to see how the old knees feel. If still painful, he will do an MRI to check for a torn meniscus. Now, I want to say I always see the glass half full.....but that would be a lie. However, as I walked down his office hallway.....I wanted to believe that the pain was beginning to fade. I know, I know.....these shots don’t work instantaneously BUT something good was happening. A miracle! A miracle! That’s what happened. By late evening, I had NO pain!! Can you believe it? Hallelujah! A true miracle. I can walk, I can walk, I can walk......without unbearable pain!! But, I still can’t skip. C’est la vie. I can’t tell you how fantastic I feel. Living under a shroud of misery can take a toll
on you. I dreaded the morning rise to stagger to the bathroom. It was all downhill from that. I am a new woman. ???I am woman, hear me roar!??? if you have a similar ailment, go for the shot! Run (best you can), don’t hesitate!The question I ask over and over again is “why did I wait so long?” Cause I’m a big baby. But that’s crazy.....I had many months of level 10+ pain and it all ended with just 2 seconds of the twinge of a needle. You fool, Sandy! Lulu is humming softly in the background...just glad she has no joints to deal with. Where’s your compassion, Shorty??
On Wednesday, Cory, Sam & George ventured off to the Deland Flea Market. They can have it....kind of junky but then again, Sam looks for junk to make his unique and artistic cannons. On the way home, George drove them through a residential area where everyone has an airplane in their garage besides their cars and other “toys”. Cory took some photos. He said the homeowners drive their planes down the roadways just like cars. WOW! Must be nice! “Hey, honey, I’m going to get a movie at Redbox....need
anything? And then hops in his plane and flies off!” My cousin Paul & Clare live this lifestyle. They live in a small house adjacent to a runway in Abbotsford, British Colombia where they store their plane while keeping his many classic corvettes and motorcycles along with their flying machine. Luckeeeeeee!
Time to test my knees. What better place than Disney’s Epcot. Our foursome made a late entrance. We arrived around noon and began our venture. They are having their annual Flower Festival right now. Beauty as far as you can see with the gorgeous, colorful flowers blooming. Lulu felt at home. She felt her beauty matched her surroundings. We started in the area close to the big silver ball. Actually, we all ended up taking the ride through that very same ball. Sam is our free pass to enter ahead of everyone else. They take us through various handicap entrances and doorways so any wait time is minimal. Leaving this area, we headed to Club Cool where you can get unlimited small glasses of FREE Coca Cola from different countries. Peru’s Coke was good. Italy’s was putrid! This is the only place I know of where you can
get something FREE from Disney! Lulu was thrilled. She slugged down a dozen glasses. Yes, she looked bloated afterwards.
As we meandered along, we ran into Tropical Palm friends, Jim & Sandy Barrett and their friend, Walt? ???It’s A Small World After All”???.
Eventually, we found our way into the countries. We watched the Circle Vision movies in Canada & China. We watch the real-life looking characters in American history. We wanted to get to Mexico to hear the Mariachi Band as recommended by Ray & Saray. But we were too late....it’s not easy traveling the world and always be on time. We made our way to the Mexican boat ride. That’s was nice. Sam could transfer from his scooter into a wheelchair and the wheelchair was placed right onto a boat made for it. Sam was just like the Captain on the bridge. He guided our ship through this festive canal. Ahoy, matey! Lulu had a great day. She loved her photo op’s and the fragrance of the flowers. She was a little scared in the butterfly house. She’s a Nervous Nellie when it comes to insects. What a baby! By now, my knee test needed to
end. Still no pain but they felt tired. I had walked 4 1/2 miles.....pain free. It’s a miracle. We will go back another time to watch their fireworks.....probably plan on getting there around suppertime. I need to be careful with my knees....I don’t want to mess them up after knowing what freedom from pain feels like.
See you soon.....our adventures can continue now that I don’t have to be dragged behind Sam’s scooter like a dead deer. Life is good!
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