5/15/2022

On Tuesday I decided to step outside, sit on the small deck in the wicker throne in order to have quality outside time. The wicker throne is low to the ground and angled like an adirondack chair. In short the knees are situated higher than the butt when sitting in one of these chairs. Being a fat guy and old, getting up from a low position is challenging to say the least but when I did finally rise from the chair on Tuesday after a nap I used the armrests to help my legs lift the corpse to a standing position. I noted my left knee was feeling a bit off but ignored it since my left knee has been acting up since last year.
One of the first times where I was catsitting I recall sitting on the big leather couch and found getting up to be a challenge. The couch is long and comfortable but also low to the ground. When I did rise, I had to brace my hands behind me to stand upright. Once upright I went into the guest room to sleep. Mind you the guest room is small and the bed takes up the majority of the room besides two small end tables, so getting into bed is often me crawling from the foot of the bed and flopping down. I noted my left knee was feeling tender and so I kept my weight on my right knee then flopped onto the bed to sleep. Since that moment I've been cautious when I do stay at the house because I do enjoy the leather couch despite its lack of height.
As I wrote my knee was tweaked but not badly so I decided to brush my teeth and hit the sack. I already called out sick for Wednesday because I had my virtual court appearance for the speeding ticket but the knee being painful when I woke granted legitimacy to my sick day in my mind. Wound up buying a soft brace for my knee along with an ice pack. On Thursday and Friday I sucked up the pain, took it slow, and figured eventually my knee would sort itself out considering I'm a living being with a healing factor.

Friday night Leah took me to the Chinese buffet, we talked a little, she noted my limping and the whole time I was thinking, "This is a bad idea". Not because I was keeping company with Leah but rather my knee was signalling my brain, "I need rest!". Worse still was my attempt to self-diagnose using WebMD style sites because they planted seeds of anxiety in my gray matter. For example:

Yikes.

What if I had a tear on the inner portion of my meniscus? Making matters worse I still don't know what a meniscus is nor its true location and position in my body.
Back home I took some ibuprofen and went to bed only to sleep fitfully through the night. Woke up twice then at 5:30 the discomfort was so great that I phoned Leah. "Should I go to the hospital? I'm really uncomfortable and can't sleep."
"Yes."
"Okay, love you. Bye."
By six I was in Toms River and hobbling into the hospital. On Thursday and Friday I could walk with relative facility but I guess working those two days and my fitful sleep did me no favors. At the emergency room front desk they asked if I wanted a wheelchair and after some thought agreed it'd help. I was checked in, told them my situation and went to triage for treatment. Treatment meant sitting around, texting my circle, and napping. The real stuff was being wheeled for x-rays. A few hours later the doctor came back and said nothing was broken nor was any excessive fluid seen, but again the doctor made a point that x-rays wouldn't show that much with soft tissue injuries. So I was told "Hie thee to an orthopedist", given a knee immobilizer, and instructions to continue what I was already doing (i.e. ibuprofen and wearing my brace and now the immobilizer). About a half hour before being let out there was a fire alarm because smoke was detected on the first floor of the emergency room. One of the orderlies wrangled me into a wheelchair and spirited me out of the building. Funny thing is when I was standing outside of the hospital, feeling like a protagonist in a Grand Theft Auto game after being "wasted", I realized I didn't pay the $150 E/R copay. I hobbled back in and said I'd like to pay the emergency room co-pay. The admin looked me up, found nothing in the system and said they'd send me a bill.

Sigh.

Also to the best of my recollection only one baby was born while I was at the hospital. Community Medical Center plays Brahms's lullabye when a baby is born. I remember hearing it a lot back in 2011 when I was sent to the holding room for the looney bin after my suicide attempt.

Now I'm back at my living space. Gotta remember that I need to put on the leg immobilizer while I'm standing rather than sitting. I'm keeping my leg elevated as well and I'm gonna ice my knee come bedtime. It seems to be helping.