Pain

To quote Dr. Smith from the old Lost In Space series, "Oh, the pain. Oh, the pain of it all." In the latest of what is a disconcertingly large number of ill developments in my health, I have somehow injured my knee. Of course, the first question this raises is how I acquired this unfortunate malady. Having seen my primary doctor's physician's assistant and been referred to a sports medicine specialist by said physician's assistant after an X-Ray, I am not entirely bereft of clues at this point. Since I weight train six days a week, it was natural to suspect that I had acquired the injury during said training, but a physical examination revealed the pain to be on both the front and back of the left side of the right knee, making it an unlikely training injury. Another early theory was that it was that it was a microfracture that had healed into a cyst similar to the one I sustained in my right ankle during a 2003 car accident and also acquired during said accident, only now developing after 12 years. When the X-Ray ruled that out, I was referred to the earlier mentioned specialist, whom I will see this coming Tuesday. A fall on the ice I had last week is now the most likely culprit, although I won't know much until the specialist performs a CAT Scan, MRI, or both.

If my fall on the ice while walking back to my car is, in fact, the culprit, then the injury took a few days to show itself. When I went down, I had a bag in my right hand and shot my left out to catch myself. While my left hand hurt a bit for a few days, I thought I had escaped injury-free. Squatting at the gym revealed the injury, as I suddenly felt pain and weakness in my knee and had to complete the exercise on other machines. From there, the knee started popping every time I'd move it, although there wasn't any pain that day. Every day since, the problem has been worsening and speeding. At first, the knee only hurt if I did a deep bend, then only if I moved it, and finally it hurt no matter what I did. When I began having to shift so much of my weight onto my left leg, my left ankle began to hurt. Then, for some reason, my right ankle began to hurt, which it always does a little since the wreck, but the pain has become increasingly acute. Nobody noticed my gait changing much at first. It began as a fairly inconspicuous limp, but, in the span of a few days, it's become something people at Just For Him who don't even know me have felt the need to comment upon. Running has become impossible and things like stairs and shoe tying are trials.

Out of all the medical specialities I ever imagined I might need, sports medicine was way down the list with gynecologists and neurosurgeon. However, as my personal trainer pointed out to me, I am training with a frequency and progression similar to an athlete, albeit with the goals, potential, or, you know, athletic ability. Anyway, I suppose the best case scenario would be something along the lines like a strain or a deep bruise that'll just heal with time, rest, and (hopefully given the whole, "Ow, it hurts," thing) powerful prescription painkillers. About the worst case scenario, beyond bone cancer or something randomly horrible like that showing up on scan, would be something requiring surgery. Another upcoming medical appointment deals with diagnosing the possible carpal-tunnel in my right arm, which, if confirmed, would involve surgery. So the last thing I need is more surgery to pile up upon even more surgery. As with all my medical problems, I'll do my best to keep a good sense of humor and positive attitude about all this. Fortunately, I am not claustrophobic and do not think electromagnetic fields will give me brain cancer, so I'm not afraid of any sort of scan they'll need to do. Growing up with a radiologist, I know the machines are pretty cool, especially when they tell you you'll be okay.

-Frank