May 30, 2006
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My dog is hovering. She wants a walk but I’m afraid to, since viewing the MRI today and seeing the “edema on the bone.” When I saw all that white stuff and he said it was supposed to be black, I immediately thought cancer. I couldn’t slow my head down long enough to remember what that word meant. It wasn’t any kind of cancer I could think of. I was wracking my brain, coming up empty, thinking it must be rare, when he started talking about shots and cortisone.
“So it’s not CANCER?”
“No,” he said looking at me like I was nuts and flipping over the blue page, with my history on the back.
“We can do a shot today and wait two weeks, and then you can decide if you want to repair the meniscus or pass. I can’t say for sure that putting in a couple stitches will change anything.”
I was off the cancer, remember how my friend said the shot of cortisone really hurt.
“So what do you want to do?” he asked.
“I want the shot but I don’t want it without taking a pain pill first.”
“What? You won’t need any pain medication. It doesn’t hurt that much. I numb it up first.”
“I heard it hurts like a mother.”
“That’s crazy. Hey, you don’t have to do it. I don’t care one way or the other.”
That got me.
“Okay, but when I go to the dentist it takes forever for the Novocain to kick in.”
He wasn’t listening. He had his back to me, making that tapping noise I hate, getting air bubbles out of the syringe. Christ, I hardly had time to work myself up to a full-on worry. He’d caught me by surprise.
“This is just a bee sting.”
True enough, I hardly felt it. He yammered on, using words like arthroscopic and meniscus while I wondered how pissed he’d be if I changed my mind about the shot. He’s supposed to be the best and I might need him down the road. My other knee has been a little off, too. Maybe it was best to just go along. It was just a shot.
“Now try to relax and don’t move.”
There was an oxymoron if I’ve ever heard one. I exhaled as the needle went in. He drove it in deeper than I expected. I was glad I hadn’t looked, thinking How long is this sucker anyway? It was a deep, dull pain, but alarming because of the intensity.
“This is the color of the fluid I was talking about.”
Duh; edema=fluid. How could I forget that? I looked up and wished I hadn’t. Eight CCs of yellow stuff but the worst was realizing he was going to have to switch that out for the cortisone. I hate when they take blood and have to change syringes. You know that needle’s gonna get pushed in further or pulled or both. But, again, I hardly had time to get worked up when he said “Put your finger here.” He stuck a Band-Aid on it and told me to apply pressure for one minute. Then he was gone.
I felt a little queasy but left with a less-swollen knee. I can’t tell that the cortisone is doing anything but my knee didn’t hurt that much to begin with. It only hurts when I move it wrong. And then it’s this excruciating, electric zing where I’m immobilized for a minute or so. Then it’s sore for a while and there’s more fluid behind my knee.
Getting old is so time consuming. First you have to figure out how to work around gray hair. Then you’re faced with hair that’s perfectly dark but in all the wrong places. Fine, another five minutes added on each morning with the tweezers. You need all new make-up because your skin tone seems to be a shade duller. Sit-ups are mandatory, every day, not to mention an hour walk, just to get back to square one. I’ve been doing this with a cane so that my dog can’t crash into me when she leads the dog chasing her straight for my legs. That cane makes me feel like a hundred years old but I can get her to heel with it so it’s worth it.
Glasses become something you need at every turn. Pretty soon it’ll probably be a hearing aide. When my allergies kick in I can’t hear a damn thing. Now my joints are going. All this and I’m still going to show up tomorrow night looking like a million bucks. It’s the high school graduation for the youngest and the first time I’ll see my ex and his fiance together. The last time I saw him was in 2004. Between the Seattle trip and this graduation I have put some time and effort into coming up with the perfect outfit and accessories and a body to be proud of. I reached my ten-pound goal on Friday and as long as my knee doesn’t give out when I greet my replacement, I’ll have pulled it off.
Comments (15)
Kick ass.. glad to know there was no pain with the shot.. I hate needles! And knock them dead at the graduation!!
My father always used to quote someone I can’t remember when he’d say something along the lines of “Old age ain’t for sissies.”
This age thing is just starting to tap me on the shoulder like an aquaintance I wished I hadn’t run into. Workouts are tougher, but it hasn’t slowed me down yet. Husband tells me age knows my name and is coming for me.
I love an opportunity to look hotter than the hot girls. It’s small of me, but so satisfying.
this pregnancy has aged me much and ryc: you hit the nail on the head..shes always been competitive with me… so thank you
I had a cortizone shot. Hated the shot–loved the relief it brought. Hope something helps you soon! Knock ‘em dead at the graduation and enjoy your daughter’s day!
The “age thing” doesn’t both me much either….YET! Knock ‘um dead at graduation!
And yeah! My son competes with me and what is FRIGHTENING right now is..that he is WINNING! Heh!
Have a good day!!
Knee pain indeed take your good feeling out. A co-worker of mine got knee pain. Just listen to his moan and seeing his grimace I could feel the pain. I hope your knee got better. You are not old yet.
Thanks for your comment, much appreciated!
You will look hot. That needle imagery is killing me. I hope that cortizone does something soon. But glad to hear some of the liquid is drained. The cane is cool. It can be a weapon if you need it too. I have been using mucho moisture products to stave off the need to switch up the make-up. I didn’t start until I was 33 and all the girly rags say that’s too late. Ah, screw ‘em.
ryc: Yep, the seniors get out a week earlier than everyone else. It makes the school a touch quieter. But not so much for me since I don’t have any senior classes this year. And thanks for your comments too. I laughed my tea out at the chest envy. I’m having to buy stronger and stronger bras now just to fight gravity. I’m pretending that is my upper body work out. And thank the heavens, finally the weather has cooled and I am thinking a bit less about….you know. I could still use a danged date though! I’ll just picture the sax player for now.
OMG…I was all tensed up.. chewing on the desk as I read this…I felt your pain and discomfort from right here…Thank God it is over for us both! I have been thinking about getting a pet all day…but I don’t think I am ready just yet.
And thank God that it was not cancer!
Have a great evening!
KNOCK ‘EM DEAD (and take the photos to prove it!)
A million, yes, thats it. Shine brightly, but shine for you…not for him, even in that twisted sort of way. It is your daughter’s day after all.
heh. I fell on my knee really hard a few years ago and it still pops almost every morning. I’m a little afraid of what another 25 years will do to it… but c’est la vie. Nothing I can do about it but try to take care of it now. I hope your knee cooperates with you and that the reunion goes the way you’d like. I don’t know if my high school will have them… but I know I won’t be going lol
Eager minds are waiting to hear about the graduation! How was it?
ryc: Very nice about your Saturday plan! I completely understand not wanting to get worked up about it and wanting to be casual and cool. But it is nice to have something to smile about with anticipation in that way. Since it’s not me, I am going to worked up about it by proxy! Also, I know what you mean about young drunk men. I am not sure when they did have an allure (though I am sure they did at one point). The only cool part about them now is just what you experienced, they can be entertaining and even charming sometimes. I think I need to plan another outing soon myself. If I can get caught up on grad work then I will. Ugh. I think I will prefer it when a social life doesn’t seem like another thing to work at. We’ll see if that happens! But something tells me for both of us, it’s going to be one hot summer.