I'm struggling more every morning.
I have an appointment with Dr. Vitanzo for just after noon. When I get there, both knees are x-rayed. Peter examines both knees, but spends most of his time on the increasingly unhappy left knee. We talk about possible reasons and how I go up and down stairs.
I bring up the subject of a functional brace, which I've been thinking about and researching. It won't stop a good straight fore and aft buckle, but might keep everything in line and thus reduce pain. Peter is doubtful, but not unwilling to try one.
I'm sent over to Orthotics for a fitting. They give me a slide on Donjoy Economy in medium. To say that it's tight is a serious understatement. I head home with a small black brace on my left knee and big black brace on my right knee. Lookin' good.
The cab ride home is about as unpleasant as I can imagine. Getting the slide on off is very hard and very slow. There's too much bending of knees that don't like the idea. And I have no idea how I'm going to get the thing back on. Not a clue.
Later that night, I wake up to go to the bathroom around 2 AM. After, I'm not tired so I go check e-mail and look around the net for an hour or so. I don't a brace on as I always remove them to sleep. I also left the crutches in the bedroom. Moving carefully I can get around easily and safely.
Heading back to the bedroom, my right knee simply vanishes about two steps into the library. I'm too far from the grooming table to reach out. I sink right down, rolling left as I go.
I lie there for a few minutes checking that my lower extremities are all working as well as they were right before the descent. Once I'm convinced that's the case, I listen carefully to see if I've aroused any people or dogs. Nope, they're all still sleeping. I can hear proof. It's now time to get myself up, so I roll onto my back to see what my best supports likely are. The chair to my left looks good, so I roll over there. Getting up is easy and I go back to bed and sleep.
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