Protecting my right knee has become nearly as dramatic as Saving Private Ryan. And it's got me wondering if the ole right knee is worth it. I was given very little instruction about using these dang crutches, but hey, if I have to use them, I'm going to do it like a champ. They're not stopping me from anything...much. I figured out that when you're in a hurry you can skip on crutches. It goes like this, crutch, swing, step, hop, hop. Again, crutch, swing, step, hop, hop. And when you don't have to go far, instead of crutching it you can just hop. In fact you can pretty much hop all over the place, steadying yourself on furniture, walls, whatever. It works great, until you notice pain in your severely overworked left knee. Then you have to sit down to rub it out, and your hips scream at you. A current of sciatic nerve shoots through the glutes and down the left leg. The achey lower back begs for an ice pack. But the right knee? She's feeling fine. Coddled like a baby.
Seriously, I got the message and brought the abuse down a notch. No more hopping, just use the crutches properly. Which is what I was doing last week when the left crutch slipped out from under me. I didn't fall. I used the pampered right leg to save myself, put all my weight on it, fast. Now I'm wondering if I undid all the weeks of favoring it in one fell swoop. No time to worry about that, I've got bigger problems. I wrenched my right arm, shoulder, pecs, lats in the near fall. Whoooey, that hurts. Or could it be that I cracked a rib? Whatever the case, walking on crutches aggravates it something terrible. So now I'm down for the count. I've decided that my bedroom with its soft wheat-yellow walls and impressionistic wildflower border, and big windows letting in lots of light, is a perfectly fine place to stay for a couple of days. I've got a telephone, laptop, good books, and lots of pillows. I'll walk gingerly to the bathroom when necessary and nowhere else. I'll reach and lift only with my right arm. I'll let Tom and Nathan wait on me. Two or three days of this and I'll be better. Regenerated. Right? Watch me. I can do this...I hope.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
The Last Swim of the Season
Good night. Sleep tight.P.S.This is Nadine not Nathan...by the time he took his swim the sun was low on the horizon, it was getting dark!
P.P.S. I found the button to add pictures!
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Shared Experiences
If it weren't such a pain in the knee it would be down right romantic. As if Tom and I don't have enough in common...now add this. We've both, at one time in our lives, been hit by a big dog and ended up on crutches. His was a l-o-n-g time ago and was much more serious than mine. He was just a nine-year-old. A skinny little kid who was running down a one way path while a full grown German Shepherd was running up the same path. BAM! The dog hit him in the leg and broke his femur. He was in one of those body type casts that came up around his waist for months. Wouldn't that be awful? I on the other hand was hit in the knee by a boxer dog (who, in case you don't know, have really hard heads). I only ended up with a fracture of the tibial plateau.
Although I called the most prominent orthopedic drs. in town, I was told to go through my pcp first. Okay, I rang her up next. My doctor ordered x-rays, and I dutifully went to the hospital for said pictures. I didn't hear back about those x-rays for 10 days. After profuse apologies for the delay, I was informed I needed to see the orthopods. No surprise. A week later the orthopedic doctor (p.a. actually) didn't like the x-rays and ordered up an MRI. An appointment for that was set up for the next week (and a half). Then a follow up to tell me the MRI results for a week after that. And, uh oh, there is a fracture of the tibial plateau. By putting weight on the leg I'm injuring it further. I need to be on crutches for 30 days.
Wait a minute, let's count. I was injured on September 8. I've used my best common sense, ice the knee, keep it wrapped, keep off it as much as possible...except for normal activity including housework, yard work, nursery work, shopping trips and a visit to the zoo. But in between those hours of real life I did sit on the couch with my leg up. I was just getting good at hiding any limp, finding the right way to use my leg without too much discomfort. In fact, I just figured out how to run up stairs. Now it's October 14th and I'm told I need to be completely off it. -- That's 5 freakin' weeks since the injury! My knee hardly even hurts anymore. How am I supposed to faithfully use crutches at this stage of the game?
Two motivators. If I don't, they'll cast it. If I don't, the damage will continue and I'll need a knee replacement down the road.
The aggravating word there is "continue" because even a moron can figure out that if I've been using it as hard as I have, there's got to be significant damage done already. It makes me shudder to think how proud I was of running up stairs.
So, I am faithfully using the stupid crutches. And now that I've written this all down it's time to get over it. These things happen. Doctors don't always call back in a timely fashion, even if you leave lots of messages. But really, once they see any sort of problem, why wouldn't crutches have been ordered as a precaution while the injury was being diagnosed? Why? Why? (Okay, maybe I'm not over it...now I am...this is me, moving on...)
The lesson I learned is, don't be afraid of over-reacting. You can't be too cautious. Find a pair of crutches and lean on them while the docs are taking weeks and weeks to diagnose your troubles. Then, when they say, "you have to stay off this for 30 days." You can say, "Done!"
Although I called the most prominent orthopedic drs. in town, I was told to go through my pcp first. Okay, I rang her up next. My doctor ordered x-rays, and I dutifully went to the hospital for said pictures. I didn't hear back about those x-rays for 10 days. After profuse apologies for the delay, I was informed I needed to see the orthopods. No surprise. A week later the orthopedic doctor (p.a. actually) didn't like the x-rays and ordered up an MRI. An appointment for that was set up for the next week (and a half). Then a follow up to tell me the MRI results for a week after that. And, uh oh, there is a fracture of the tibial plateau. By putting weight on the leg I'm injuring it further. I need to be on crutches for 30 days.
Wait a minute, let's count. I was injured on September 8. I've used my best common sense, ice the knee, keep it wrapped, keep off it as much as possible...except for normal activity including housework, yard work, nursery work, shopping trips and a visit to the zoo. But in between those hours of real life I did sit on the couch with my leg up. I was just getting good at hiding any limp, finding the right way to use my leg without too much discomfort. In fact, I just figured out how to run up stairs. Now it's October 14th and I'm told I need to be completely off it. -- That's 5 freakin' weeks since the injury! My knee hardly even hurts anymore. How am I supposed to faithfully use crutches at this stage of the game?
Two motivators. If I don't, they'll cast it. If I don't, the damage will continue and I'll need a knee replacement down the road.
The aggravating word there is "continue" because even a moron can figure out that if I've been using it as hard as I have, there's got to be significant damage done already. It makes me shudder to think how proud I was of running up stairs.
So, I am faithfully using the stupid crutches. And now that I've written this all down it's time to get over it. These things happen. Doctors don't always call back in a timely fashion, even if you leave lots of messages. But really, once they see any sort of problem, why wouldn't crutches have been ordered as a precaution while the injury was being diagnosed? Why? Why? (Okay, maybe I'm not over it...now I am...this is me, moving on...)
The lesson I learned is, don't be afraid of over-reacting. You can't be too cautious. Find a pair of crutches and lean on them while the docs are taking weeks and weeks to diagnose your troubles. Then, when they say, "you have to stay off this for 30 days." You can say, "Done!"
Monday, October 12, 2009
All in a Week's Time
The birthday week was busy! What with this going to work three mornings a week and baby sitting every Friday and working in the tree fields and cleaning out closets and rearranging furniture and doctor appointments for the knee and aching back (go figure) there seems to be no time to blog.
Add to that I have to get a swim most days because we'll be closing the pool soon. And the "to do" list is as long as my arm: clean out the flower beds, pull the dahlias, plant 100 new bulbs for spring (it seemed like a good idea when I saw the beautiful, colorful pictures of flowers on the 1 foot cube box at a very reasonable price), make applesauce, wash windows...there's a story in that, maybe I'll tell it later.
Fortunately I've got good help. Nathan is still here...on his way to California, but here for the moment. He's going to have the upstairs nice enough to rent out by the time he's done, and he's a tremendous help in getting the trees ready to sell. With the three of us working we'll surely have them all shaped and shorn for Christmas. The goal is to have them all done by September. In reality we're going to be ahead of the game if they're all done before the end of October.
Birthday highlights: Nathan and Tom waited on me Saturday the 3rd. The men of the church put on a hot dog roast with all the fixin's on Sunday. And in the afternoon I had a Skype visit with my favorite grandson. Tom and I went out to a movie on Monday. The three of us went to Adam and Alicia's and had a birthday dinner at Red Lobster on Tuesday. Wed. night prayer meeting, board meeting. Thursday night TeamKID and then off to a bonfire visit with friends. Friday our usual Steve & Dee night. Saturday tree nursery work, swim, and an adventurous dinner prepared by Nathan. Then it was Sunday again. Yes indeed it was a good and busy week. And I'm happy, and content with life.
Add to that I have to get a swim most days because we'll be closing the pool soon. And the "to do" list is as long as my arm: clean out the flower beds, pull the dahlias, plant 100 new bulbs for spring (it seemed like a good idea when I saw the beautiful, colorful pictures of flowers on the 1 foot cube box at a very reasonable price), make applesauce, wash windows...there's a story in that, maybe I'll tell it later.
Fortunately I've got good help. Nathan is still here...on his way to California, but here for the moment. He's going to have the upstairs nice enough to rent out by the time he's done, and he's a tremendous help in getting the trees ready to sell. With the three of us working we'll surely have them all shaped and shorn for Christmas. The goal is to have them all done by September. In reality we're going to be ahead of the game if they're all done before the end of October.
Birthday highlights: Nathan and Tom waited on me Saturday the 3rd. The men of the church put on a hot dog roast with all the fixin's on Sunday. And in the afternoon I had a Skype visit with my favorite grandson. Tom and I went out to a movie on Monday. The three of us went to Adam and Alicia's and had a birthday dinner at Red Lobster on Tuesday. Wed. night prayer meeting, board meeting. Thursday night TeamKID and then off to a bonfire visit with friends. Friday our usual Steve & Dee night. Saturday tree nursery work, swim, and an adventurous dinner prepared by Nathan. Then it was Sunday again. Yes indeed it was a good and busy week. And I'm happy, and content with life.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
October 1
In a few hours it will be October. Leaves are getting all colored up and falling off the trees. It's time for walks in the woods, leaf raking, apple picking, sauce making, and curling up on the couch with a good book and hot cider. I better get about the business of finding some good reading material. Any suggestions?
This past month I've been busy working at church, at home, and babysitting one day a week. Perfect. I'm happy doing what I'm doing. There never seem to be enough hours in a day or days in a week, but I'm content. The Bible says in Hebrews to keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, "I will never fail you nor forsake you."
The Lord has proven faithful in my life. I've never had more than I knew what to do with, yet I've never been without. I rest easy knowing God has everything under control...even when He doesn't do things quite like I think He should, or like I wish He would. (wink,wink) And truly, I'm glad He does things His way.
Good night. Tomorrow is October. It'll be a wonderful month, I just know it.
This past month I've been busy working at church, at home, and babysitting one day a week. Perfect. I'm happy doing what I'm doing. There never seem to be enough hours in a day or days in a week, but I'm content. The Bible says in Hebrews to keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, "I will never fail you nor forsake you."
The Lord has proven faithful in my life. I've never had more than I knew what to do with, yet I've never been without. I rest easy knowing God has everything under control...even when He doesn't do things quite like I think He should, or like I wish He would. (wink,wink) And truly, I'm glad He does things His way.
Good night. Tomorrow is October. It'll be a wonderful month, I just know it.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Summer's Last Hurrah!
Fishin' in French Creek...Sorry kitty, you're not invited along.
Isn't the creek gorgeous? We're so lucky to live here. It's a blessing we thank God for every day!
And...Here's the big one that didn't get away. At the Zoo...
What does a giraffe say?"Hello down there."
I have some terrific digital clips of our grandson swooshing down the little kiddy slide into our pool. And a few of a little gal who learned to swim in our pool last year. She went from non-swimmer to jumping off the diving board. It absolutely thrilled me, and I think she was pretty proud of herself too! I can't share those, but... if you come over you'll be treated to the latest greatest version of home video entertainment...spell that t-o-r-t-u-r-e. We can't help ourselves!
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Promised Pix
One...
...And the other...
...And both with their mother!
Aren't they adorable? Non-look alike twins, each cuter than the other. What fun it was to have them in the pool. They went from timid in the water, to putting their faces in, to going under without holding on...hey I call that swimming. Next summer we'll work on getting somewhere while under water!
...And the other...
...And both with their mother!
Aren't they adorable? Non-look alike twins, each cuter than the other. What fun it was to have them in the pool. They went from timid in the water, to putting their faces in, to going under without holding on...hey I call that swimming. Next summer we'll work on getting somewhere while under water!
Sunday, September 13, 2009
The Good, The Bad, and The Crazy
"So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:34
All of the calamities of the last blog are under control, old news, last month's woes. This month on the other hand has trouble of its own. But the good news is that there's a lot more good, fun, wonderful stuff than bad, sad, unpleasant stuff.
September looks like this so far:
I've done an experimental stint working at the church 3 mornings a week. I like it. And, I'm back to babysitting -- only one day a week, two children. Audrey, who is 3, has a new baby sister. Two little sweeties to look after. It really makes for a perfect baby fix.
Tom survived another school opening with only minimal stress. SWEET!
Melanie came home from Connecticut to look for a wedding gown. I got to go along with her mom and 2 bridesmaids to the Bridal Elegance shop. Mel tried on all the dresses we could possibly bring to her -- and she made every single one of them look fabulous. But there was one, one special dress. One dress that brought tears to the eyes. Yep, that's the one! It's gorgeous, she's gorgeous in it...SWEET!
The next day we were invited to a family picnic at Mel's parents' house. And SURPRISE! David was there. SWEET! (He flew to Erie, spent the Labor Day weekend here and he and Melanie drove back.)
My dear friend Beth came to visit (haven't seen her in years) with her daughter and twin grandsons. Pix to follow, and they are... Really Sweet!
Aaron & Amy came to visit with our most adorable grandchild. We had a fabulous couple of days that included shopping (got some cute maternity clothes!), looking at little kid table and chair sets, lunching out, then a spin through the Erie Zoo. Pix to follow, and they are also... Really Sweet.
Meanwhile the guys had some good fishin' days. Aaron spent one day on French Creek with his buddy Matt. Then on Saturday he and Tom floated downstream and caught a five pound walleye and a big bass. (Pix to follow. Yeah, yeah, I'm really going to have to get those pictures downloaded.)
Isn't that a whole lotta good stuff? And after counting all those blessings, the bad stuff doesn't seem worth mentioning.
But for those who know...my bum knee is getting better everyday.
All of the calamities of the last blog are under control, old news, last month's woes. This month on the other hand has trouble of its own. But the good news is that there's a lot more good, fun, wonderful stuff than bad, sad, unpleasant stuff.
September looks like this so far:
I've done an experimental stint working at the church 3 mornings a week. I like it. And, I'm back to babysitting -- only one day a week, two children. Audrey, who is 3, has a new baby sister. Two little sweeties to look after. It really makes for a perfect baby fix.
Tom survived another school opening with only minimal stress. SWEET!
Melanie came home from Connecticut to look for a wedding gown. I got to go along with her mom and 2 bridesmaids to the Bridal Elegance shop. Mel tried on all the dresses we could possibly bring to her -- and she made every single one of them look fabulous. But there was one, one special dress. One dress that brought tears to the eyes. Yep, that's the one! It's gorgeous, she's gorgeous in it...SWEET!
The next day we were invited to a family picnic at Mel's parents' house. And SURPRISE! David was there. SWEET! (He flew to Erie, spent the Labor Day weekend here and he and Melanie drove back.)
My dear friend Beth came to visit (haven't seen her in years) with her daughter and twin grandsons. Pix to follow, and they are... Really Sweet!
Aaron & Amy came to visit with our most adorable grandchild. We had a fabulous couple of days that included shopping (got some cute maternity clothes!), looking at little kid table and chair sets, lunching out, then a spin through the Erie Zoo. Pix to follow, and they are also... Really Sweet.
Meanwhile the guys had some good fishin' days. Aaron spent one day on French Creek with his buddy Matt. Then on Saturday he and Tom floated downstream and caught a five pound walleye and a big bass. (Pix to follow. Yeah, yeah, I'm really going to have to get those pictures downloaded.)
Isn't that a whole lotta good stuff? And after counting all those blessings, the bad stuff doesn't seem worth mentioning.
But for those who know...my bum knee is getting better everyday.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
If it's not one thing...
it's ten others! That's what my sister Kathy said in response to the news that our brother had a mini-stroke last week. Oh dear. This is the same brother whose son shattered his wrist and broke his back several weeks ago. He fell off a cliff where there used to be a bridge. The bright side is he's going to be okay -- could have been so much worse! The dark side, he's 18, out of high school, but not enrolled in college yet. He's no longer covered under his parents' health insurance. Can you say, financial nightmare?
That's three calamities, which I could make into four or five by adding that my brother is a comedian -- Let's see...mini stroke? Couldn't that possibly affect his ability to pull the right word to the tip of his tongue at the right time? His livelihood depends on using words, firing them off, making people laugh. It's his talent, his gift, and he does it well. What will happen if he can't do that for a while, or ever again? (Okay, now I'm just borrowing trouble. Instead I'll make my list of 10 things and then put this season of trouble to rest.)
My mom had a scare from her latest CAT scan. The bright side -- it was just that, a scare, no cancer.
Dad is having a bout with kidney stones, and he's not seeing any bright side to that. But a scan that he had shows possible bladder tumors. If that turns out to be the case, the bright side is this: they found them and will most likely be able to treat them before anything is life threatening.
All this may keep Mom and Dad from coming north for Dad's 60th high school class reunion. It will be hugely disappointing for him to miss that. No bright side there.
Two of my nephews live in California. One of them can see smoke from the wild fires raging nearby. (Maybe they both can, but I've only heard from one.) The bright side is they don't live where the fires are.
My daughter-in-law is suffering from morning sickness. (I just sneaked that in to say...we're getting another grandchild in March!) But still, it isn't fun for her right now, the being sick part.
So, if it's not one thing it's ten others. That seems to be how life is. Does trouble come from God or from being part of a fallen, sin-filled world? I believe it's the latter. But even if it does come from God, the God who gives us so many wonderful things to enjoy, I hope I can always say, as Job did, "Shall we accept good things from God and not trouble?"
Accept it or not, it's a fact of life..."In this world you will have trouble, but be of good cheer," Jesus said, "I have overcome the world."
That's three calamities, which I could make into four or five by adding that my brother is a comedian -- Let's see...mini stroke? Couldn't that possibly affect his ability to pull the right word to the tip of his tongue at the right time? His livelihood depends on using words, firing them off, making people laugh. It's his talent, his gift, and he does it well. What will happen if he can't do that for a while, or ever again? (Okay, now I'm just borrowing trouble. Instead I'll make my list of 10 things and then put this season of trouble to rest.)
My mom had a scare from her latest CAT scan. The bright side -- it was just that, a scare, no cancer.
Dad is having a bout with kidney stones, and he's not seeing any bright side to that. But a scan that he had shows possible bladder tumors. If that turns out to be the case, the bright side is this: they found them and will most likely be able to treat them before anything is life threatening.
All this may keep Mom and Dad from coming north for Dad's 60th high school class reunion. It will be hugely disappointing for him to miss that. No bright side there.
Two of my nephews live in California. One of them can see smoke from the wild fires raging nearby. (Maybe they both can, but I've only heard from one.) The bright side is they don't live where the fires are.
My daughter-in-law is suffering from morning sickness. (I just sneaked that in to say...we're getting another grandchild in March!) But still, it isn't fun for her right now, the being sick part.
So, if it's not one thing it's ten others. That seems to be how life is. Does trouble come from God or from being part of a fallen, sin-filled world? I believe it's the latter. But even if it does come from God, the God who gives us so many wonderful things to enjoy, I hope I can always say, as Job did, "Shall we accept good things from God and not trouble?"
Accept it or not, it's a fact of life..."In this world you will have trouble, but be of good cheer," Jesus said, "I have overcome the world."
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Men on a Hot Tin Roof
Okay, so I don't know if it's tin, but it's some kind of metal and it was HOT. All that cool weather we've been wishing away this summer stepped aside for a brief stint of crazy hot. It was unfortunate timing in light of a roofing project someone in our church organized. The day dawned bright and beautiful. We were so happy to have a gorgeous day...until the heat and humidity kept rising...until a couple of guys got feeling sick...until it became apparent that all that good food we brought wasn't going to get eaten. Oh well. The good news is that the house was securely under roof before everyone left that evening. Not so the porch. But it will all get done. I'm confident of that.
First, off with the old...or most of the old...
(Here's Tom climbing a ladder hours before the heat got to him and rendered him worthless.)
Then on with the new...
(Hot? Ask this guy about it. He says it was like working over an oven the way the heat radiated.)
Here are some guys sweating it out on the ground. Somebody's got to clean up the old shingles. Volunteers? anyone? anyone? (I would have helped, but I was manning the camera.)
The women were working too, painting the porch and window trim. Oh, and, would that be me? In the white shirt off to the right, standing around talking? With my hands in my pockets? I must have been consulting, or supervising, or something important like that.
It really was an impressive crew. The grateful homeowner was overwhelmed, and so appreciated everything that got done. The workers were equally blessed.
That was last weekend. This weekend Tom and I stayed home and worked in our tree fields...where it doesn't matter how hot it gets. We pace ourselves. An hour or two of work, a dip in the pool. It's a much more reasonable way to work. Next time we help with a roofing project, we'll pack up the pool and take it along. It might be the most valuable tool on the job site.
First, off with the old...or most of the old...
(Here's Tom climbing a ladder hours before the heat got to him and rendered him worthless.) Then on with the new...
(Hot? Ask this guy about it. He says it was like working over an oven the way the heat radiated.)Here are some guys sweating it out on the ground. Somebody's got to clean up the old shingles. Volunteers? anyone? anyone? (I would have helped, but I was manning the camera.)
The women were working too, painting the porch and window trim. Oh, and, would that be me? In the white shirt off to the right, standing around talking? With my hands in my pockets? I must have been consulting, or supervising, or something important like that.
It really was an impressive crew. The grateful homeowner was overwhelmed, and so appreciated everything that got done. The workers were equally blessed.That was last weekend. This weekend Tom and I stayed home and worked in our tree fields...where it doesn't matter how hot it gets. We pace ourselves. An hour or two of work, a dip in the pool. It's a much more reasonable way to work. Next time we help with a roofing project, we'll pack up the pool and take it along. It might be the most valuable tool on the job site.
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