DAY TWO HUNDRED TWELVE OF COOKING COURSE

 I made vegan Parmesan cheese. It is super easy and tastes good. It is made from walnuts. 

I had a slow day. I am having a problem with my feet/ankle. My left foot/ankle is a little swollen and it burns. Last night I could barely sleep. I am going to call the doctor in the morning. I kept it elevated today. 

I did do one thing today: I removed the drain cover and removed a clump of hair. I have had a slow moving drain all week and I have been thinking of calling the plumber. Instead I thought I would be my own plumber and look down the drain myself. I saw a clump of hair (how could I have lost that much hair???) and I removed it. I hope my drain runs faster now. A few weeks ago I bought a drain cover to catch the hair. It works. 

Until tomorrow...

WEARING FLAT SNEAKERS

For the last few days I have been not wearing shoes or wearing flat sneakers.  You know those Converse sneakers.  Like Chuck Taylors.  I have knock off Chuck Taylors.  Mine are Target Converse One Star sneakers.  I have them in various colors.  They seem to be less painful for my ankle.  I can't figure out why but the pain seems to go away when I don't wear my supportive sneakers and shoes.  Go figure!

I have been walking pain-free for two days.  Okay a few little pains but that is much better than a few days ago when I could not walk three steps without pain.    Maybe it will stay this way for a few more weeks.

Until tomorrow...

VEGAN INDIAN FOOD

I went to lunch with my friend H today.  I tried vegan Indian food for the first time.  It was good but I think next time I will try another dish.  I am sure the dish was good it just wasn't tasty to me.  I would like another thing better.  I like the vegan naan.  It was so soft and warm. 

I tried wearing flatter dress shoes today to see if my ankle feels better.  It did feel better until I sat at the restaurant and sat with my feet in a position that caused my ankle to get stiff.  I have a habit of sitting at tables with my feet perpendicular to the floor.  Toe pointing toward the floor.  This causes my ankles to get stiff.  Then I end up limping.  A few blocks later I feel fine but for a few blocks my ankle hurts.  I definitely felt better with the flatter shoes.  This brings up an interesting point.  Why do the flat shoes hurt less?  What could that mean? 

Until tomorrow...

SURGERY OR NO SURGERY, THAT IS THE QUESTION

Went back to the ankle doctor today.  My ankle has been hurting more since I have been wearing the compression socks.  I am not sure why the socks are bothering my ankle but they are.

The doctor said I don't have to wear the compression socks all the time only when I am standing for long periods of time.  I am going to talk to my primary doctor about why my legs are holding fluids.

She moved my foot around and looked at it.  I had taken photos of the spots where it hurts when I walk.  She said those were very helpful. She gave me a shot to see if that helps.

The new plan is to get a new MRI before surgery.  Yup I said surgery.  She thinks I have torn the ligament in the back part of my ankle.  I already had the ligament on the front of my ankle torn and fixed.  Now it is the back ligament that it is torn and causing pain in the front of my ankle.  I am now thinking of surgery after Labor Day.  Enjoy the summer.  It would be nice to have one summer in the last few years not in a boot or on crutches.  I can limp around a bit longer.  It will mean surgery and a boot for 6 weeks.  Boo!

The shot did nothing!  Waste of time.

Since it will be a complicated surgery she is going to have to think about it and plan for it.  I have torn a ligament or whatever that doesn't normally get torn.  Leave it to me!

Until tomorrow...

ANKLE CONTINUING TO HURT

It has been five days since my doctor visit and my ankle is hurting more than ever.  On the other hand, since wearing the compression socks, my legs have been feeling better.  The sharp pains in my lower legs has gone away after wearing the compression socks for a long period of time. 

I have not figured out the connection but I talk to my doctor on Thursday. 

I got a very nice surprise today from my brother and his family.  They sent me a book of photos of their family.  I can't believe how grown up the kids look.  I feel like I have not seen them in forever.  Thank you for the lovely book!

Until tomorrow...

COMPRESSION SOCKS

I have been wearing a compression sock on my left leg for a few days now.  Today I got a compression sock for my right leg.  The end goal is to see if the sharp pain in my legs stops or decreases after wearing the compression socks for a week.  If the pain stops or decreases, then I will possibly have to wear them longer. 

Let's hope the weather stays neutral these days.

Until tomorrow...

NEEDLE AND COMPRESSION SOCKS

Today has been a day of the ankle.  I got up early and saw my ankle doctor.  She pulled out the pages of MRI photos.  She kept pointing out "see this, it means _____".  OK.  Whatever you say.  "The white means fluid on this scan but not on this scan."  There was a LOT of fluid.  She had no idea why I have so much fluid in my ankle and leg.  Then she started pushing and poking.  The part I hate the most.

Poke.  Ouch.  Poke.  I almost jump off the table.  Poke.  I want to scratch her eyes out.  Poke.  Doesn't hurt.  Humm.  Why doesn't that hurt?  I don't know.  Poke.  Eek.  That hurts. Okay you can stop anytime now.  We know it hurts. 

She decided that the first step is to stick a long needle full of some fluid in my ankle.  Yeah that hurt.  Not as much as last time, so that is something.  After a few hours it was clear that the injection did not help the pain but made it worse.   I chipped the cartilage on my ankle but it is not causing the pain.  Thank goodness because fixing my ankle would require a horrible surgery.

Then because my leg has what she called "bubble wrap" under my skin, I had to go buy compression socks to wear for a week to see if they help.  The question is if the varicose veins in my legs are causing some of the pain.  I get to wear these fashionable compression socks for a week:

Sexy, huh?!

Until tomorrow...

MRI RESULTS ARE NOT HORRIBLE

I called to get my MRI results.  The doctor rambled off a bunch of words that sounded Chinese to me.  All I heard were "ankle joint" and "cartilage ding".  It turns out that a bunch of stuff is wrong but not what I thought.  They didn't see a ligament tear.  They saw a thickened healed ligament with synovitis.  Synovitis is an inflammation of the joint lining. 

There is also a cartilage ding that is 7mm long with edema on my ankle top on the inside of my ankle.  I find that weird since it doesn't hurt there. The doctor asked me if I fell down and hurt my ankle.  Not that I remember. 

There is arthritis (duh) on the outside top part of my ankle.  I bet if you did an MRI of our bodies you would see arthritis on all of our joints!  There is also a weird brightness on the MRI on the inside above my ankle.  Like I have a giant bruise.  I don't have a giant bruise or a little bruise.  Or any bruise.  It is so odd.  I can't wait to see the MRI.

This was a surprising result.  So the short term plan is to inject me and try to get some of the joint swelling down.  I am not looking forward to another injection in my foot/ankle but I guess it is better than having surgery right away.   Yay!

Until tomorrow...

HAD MY MRI TODAY

I had the MRI today on my ankle.  I know this sounds weird but I like MRIs.  I fall asleep.  I find them to be very zen.  Very relaxing.  The clicking and banging is white noise to me.  I was thinking while I was in there that maybe I need a white noise machine.  My doctor gets the results tomorrow or Tuesday.

Then my helper came over and we worked on the backyard.  We are 95% done.  There is a little spot under the deck that needs to be weeded and the helper will come sometime this week and finish it.  The backyard looks great.  I didn't get enough mulch so I need to go back to Lowes and get some more.  Happi loves the mulch and ran around immediately messing it up.  We filled up the compost bin plus four 50 pound bags.  The backyard looks like my oasis again.

Tomorrow I am putting my umbrella up on the table and I will be eating my lunches out there again!  I am ready to enjoy the summer!

Until tomorrow...

I'M BACK

HI!  I'm back! 

 I went to the doctor today and found out I need to have ankle surgery again.  Yes, the same ankle!  Would you believe that people with RA have joints and ligaments that will deteriorate over time?  What?!  Who knew? No one told me! Even though I had the surgery on my ligament in May 2012, I thought that it would last a bit longer.  The jokes on me.  RA patients (obviously like me) have weakened ligaments therefore they give out easily which leads to surgeries and then deterioration to the joint.  Oh, Joy!

When the doctor moved my foot it literally moved independent of my leg.  Even she gagged when it happened.  That means the ligament is completely torn again.  She is shocked I am walking around and have been for a year. 

I have a MRI on Sunday to see how bad the tear is and if I have also ruined some of the cartilage.  If the cartilage is ruined, I will need a surgery to vacuum that out first.  I received nothing but good news today! 

I will give an update when I hear what the MRI report says.

Until tomorrow...

DOCTOR VISIT - MEASLES INFORMATION

I went to see my primary today.  I needed to get my stitches checked out.  They stopped bleeding two weeks ago finally.

We talked about the measles outbreak and if I can be infected.  He told me I can get a test to find out if I am immune.  If I am immune I can't get it.  If I am not, I can catch the disease.  I didn't get the test but now I am thinking maybe I should have.  The disease is spreading in the West.

We also talked about my ankle.  He is not happy that I have to have more surgery.  He thinks my ankles and knees will be the first to go.  I have been having such problems with them, he thinks my joints are going to rot away quickly.  So I have to be very conservative until someone comes up with ankle replacements.

Until tomorrow...

RE-TORE THE LIGAMENT IN MY ANKLE

My ankle has been bothering me. It is starting to feel like it is slipping again.  It is a weird feeling like your foot is not connected to your leg.

The doc said it seemed like I loosened the clip holding my ligament together or I tore the ligament again.  I will need an MRI and surgery. Then 6-8 weeks in a cast and PT again.

I have decided to put it off a bit.  It isn't dire so I can wait.

Until tomorrow...

SHOT IN THE ANKLE (WITH ANESTHETIC)

Today I went to the ankle doctor and she immediately saw that my ankle was an issue.  Finally someone who believes me that I hurt myself when I fell on the cruise ship!  She said that right above my scar from the surgery I have another mark where I had a bruise.  I must have hit it really hard she said!  She said I must have irritated the nerve.  She did a tinel's sign which is a way to find irritated nerves.  Boy, were my nerves irritated!  I practically jumped off the table when she touched certain places.  The doctor touches (or in my case, sticks me with a pen) to see where the tingly and sharp painful spots are located.  Once they are located, she marks those spots with said pen and sticks those spots with a needle filled with stuff that numbs the nerve.  I was stuck four times.  Count it: four times.  It hurt more than the breast biopsy I had a few months ago.  Although the pain didn't last as long since the liquid had some sort of numbing agent in it.

I have nerve entrapment.  The nerves were traumatized when I hit the bucket on the cruise ship.  Since the spot near my scar is so tender, the nerve was possibly damaged but the doctor doesn't think so but we will wait and see.  She thinks it is more likely that I just banged it up a bit.  Since the nerve is not functioning right it can't send the right signals to my brain. 

The up side is that I feel better already.  The down side is that I will have to have this treatment about four more times.  Great!  Something to look forward to. 

Until tomorrow...

SEEING THE ANKLE DOC TOMORROW

I am happy! I had a cancellation so I could change my appointment to see the ankle doctor to tomorrow.  In case I haven't mentioned it my ankle has been killing me. Ever since the cruise accident where I tripped over the cleaning bucket and fell down, my ankle has been bothering me more and more. This past weekend my ankle hurt just about every third step.  Since we went to a street fair and walked to a party, my ankle was really bothering me a lot. 

So tomorrow I see the doc and maybe get some answers. 

Until tomorrow...

O' CHRISTMAS TREE

Today we bought our Christmas tree. We went all the way across town to get it.  There are closer Christmas tree places but they are more expensive and their service is less than stellar. The place we went to had a bunch of trees and they were patient when we changed our mind.  The guy cut the tree, wrapped it and then put it in the plastic bag. I have a convertible so we have to put the tree in the car. We drove it home and put it in the stand. After doing some work I put on the lights (this year I remembered to check them BEFORE putting them on the tree) and decorated it. I decided that this year would be a Disney year. I have a bunch of Disney decorations so I put them all on. But first I put all our decorations. Each year Brenda and I have been together we have gotten a decoration so we have twenty decorations on our tree. I also have some sparkly decorations to fill in the holes.

We have also had some Christmas presents arrive so It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!

I got Happi's test results back: Happi is healthy. Now we just have to see how she is tonight. We put her back on dog food. No more chicken and rice. She will miss that chicken!

I went to physical therapy. My ankle has been feeling much better. The exercise has been working. Riding the bike and walking the dogs. Who knew?

Until tomorrow...

2ND PHYSICAL THERAPY SESSION

Today was physical therapy session number two.  My therapist is really working me this time around.  Floor exercises and then 10 minutes on the stationary bike.  She seemed pleased that I kept my promise of three days on the recumbent bike and walking my dogs almost every day.

I asked her about wearing regular shoes.  I am tired of wearing sneakers every day.  She said I should bring my shoes to the next appointment so she can assess.  She is worried that my shoes are more clog-like (they are) and therefore I can step wrong and twist my ankle.  But we will see what she says.

I have therapy appointments through the month of December to see if intensive therapy makes a difference.  I will have another physical therapy update next week.

Tomorrow a terrible storm is supposed to come through our area.  Kinda wish I could wear boots!

Until tomorrow...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

I hope you all had a very nice and safe Thanksgiving. Our Thanksgiving is very low key. Since Brenda's surgery we decided to take it slow. At 3:15 we met our neighbors for a bit outside to toast Thanksgiving and to wish each other well.  It is our yearly tradition.

Then we ate and watched the football game. I spoke to a few family members. Then I watched a movie.

Yesterday we received a phone call from Sam. If you remember Sam has been a friend for almost 20 years and out of the blue decided he didn't want to be our friend anymore. See post.   Out of the blue he calls to make sure we know about a mutual friends funeral this Saturday. He wanted to make sure we were going and that we knew we were invited to the after gathering. We have already decided that we will not discuss what occurred at the funeral or gathering. We are not the West Coast Housewives!

Ankle Commitment update: walked the dogs but probably ate too much stuffing, mashed potatoes and stuffed acorn squash.

Until tomorrow...

THERAPY COMMITMENT

Today was physical therapy. Yay! I went in and my therapist said I am having pain because I have to strengthen my ankle and I have to gain more confidence. More confidence that I won't hurt my ankle when I step down. The way to do that is to keep up the therapy exercises, walking the dogs and using the stationary bike.

So, I have made a commitment to walk the dogs just about every day/night and ride the bike between 10-20 minutes at least 3 days a week. Plus, go to therapy every week to keep on track.

There it is in writing. Tonight I walked the dogs. During therapy I rode the bike for 10 minutes. I am going to get strong again so I won't be so frustrated. I know skiing is out of the question this winter but I can still go on the trip and participate in other activities like inner tubing.

Happy Thanksgiving! I will write all about the amazing food I cook.

Go Cowboys!

Until tomorrow...

PRE-PHYSICAL THERAPY

Starting physical therapy again tomorrow.  After getting the shot in my ankle with the really long needle, I felt better for a long time.  I could walk without pain.  I could almost walk fast.  I could almost close to jog across the room.  I could go quickly down the stairs.

Well, that has gone a bit by the wayside.  After the 10 sessions of physical therapy, I had the bump on my leg. It turned out to be a fat lobula so it was nothing.  No tumor or anything serious.  Then Brenda had her surgery and I got sick.  One thing after another.  I stopped physical therapy in order to deal with life.

Now that life has calmed down and I have gotten things under control, I am ready to go back to physical therapy.  Now that my ankle hurts it is time.  Isn't that always the way?  Once your body part hurts, then it is time to go get help.  Hopefully she can help me strengthen my muscles and ligaments. Get me strong again.

I am excited.  I want to get my walking going so I can go back to walking more and losing weight. Yay!

Until tomorrow...

I'm Blue

I went to the doctors today and had my cast replaced. She ran out of white cast stuff so I have a blue cast! I will have draw some crazy picture on it.

We talked about my fevers and she is convinced they are not from the incision. The incision looked good and she took out the stitches.

I called my primary doctor and we spoke about my test results and my appointment with the surgeon. My white blood cells are high so I have an infection but the question is where? Sinus? Urinary? Deep in the surgery site? Hard to tell. Meanwhile I am going to take antibiotics that are broad spectrum. I will also take anti-fungal medication to keep the yeast at bay.

After five days I call and give an update. I do have to admit my ankle is throbbing a bit tonight from being wrapped and unwrapped. Oh, I am no longer using the crutches!

Now we wait and see! Yay!

Until tomorrow...