"Cowardice asks the question...is it safe? Expediency asks the question...is it politic? Vanity asks the question...is it popular? But conscience asks the question...is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but one must take it because it is right." ~Dr. Martin Luther King

Thursday 3 March 2011

It's a Month Since

The off-site orientation session was at the Kingsridge Centre. I had to walk distances to be where I needed to be. A few days later,one knee succumbed. It refused to bear  weight except with  excruciating pain.Without intending to be my own physician, the obvious was forced upon me.

Do not put  weight on the knee.

I rented a go-go scooter again for a month.Long enough to determine, it is not handy in winter.Having it at the town hall meant taking it apart and putting it together. Frequently. It was a chore I could not handle alone.

Cold meant the battery had to be brought in from the car and plugged in each night.

Despite having a ramp, the Council Chamber design has proven not to be accessible for a motorised mobility device.

The walker on the other hand proved to be versatile and completely practical. I developed new-found respect for something vanity had  heretofore despised.Particularly at king Henry's Arms. The stools  are too tall and the chairs too small.

When I visited  the medic at a walk-in clinic, he resorted to a computer and informed me of four possible problems with the knee. He said an MRI was necessary to determine the right one.. It would require consultation with a specialist.He would make an appointment.

He prescribed tylenol with codeine for pain and advised only time and not putting  weight on the knee would resolve  the problem.

I was already familiar with all of the possible causes. I could have advised him without the help of the computer. The appointment with the specialist, when it came, was not for several weeks and was in Markham.That the problem would resolve itself with sensible care was all I needed to hear.

A month later, after being compelled by excruciating pain,to save the knee by staying off my feet, tylenol with codeine being ineffective, his prediction turned out to be right. The offending joint is better but not yet best.

I will not be having the MRI. By the appointment date, I expect the knee to be all better and not in need of  internal scanning device to inform it is old, arthritic and prone to problem- creating difficulties if I ever again demand more than it is capable of giving.

The Kingridge Centre was an unrealistic challenge. The design layout was intended for athletic training.

I could have returned home immediately and missed the orientation ,such as it was, or stayed and coped as best I could.

Turns out it was not best.

Another lesson learned.

The shoulder muscles will  no doubt recover a  month from now.

Maybe sooner. I never had a problem with them before.

1 comment:

Resident said...

Age is a bitter enemy to all of us. Best wishes on a speedy recovery.