Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Feeling a Bit Black and Blue

Black and Blue Salvia from 10/4/09:


It has been 3 weeks since I tripped on Heidi's front yard leash while holding our grandson, who will be 2 in January. I managed to set him down on his side, and he bounced, hitting his face to the ground. Thankfully, he came out of it with no scrapes or bruises. The bruise on my knee is starting to fade, but it still hurts. I had an x-ray last week, so we knew there were no broken bones, but my P.A. said it was difficult for him to examine the knee because of the pain. When I showed him my ankle was swollen he said gravity had caused the bruising to go down there.

I called yesterday to let them know the swelling and discomfort in the ankle had gotten worse, and my knee is still hurting, although it is starting to get better. They had me come in today, and he was better able to examine the knee and the ankle. He told me the knee is sprained, and the ankle is strained.

He said I can still walk, but to rest if my knee or ankle is hurting. I am on my feet a lot at work, and each day, I come home and stay off of them most of the evening. I have taken a few yard walks and some photos, but the last few days, I haven't been out much. I had planned on moving a bunch of plants around, but that will have to wait until spring. I also wanted to move compost around and do some fall gardening. I have lettuce and potatoes waiting to be harvested. There are lots of green tomatoes to be picked before the weekend, when we are supposed to have freezing temperatures for the second time this week. I'll have to get Larry to help.

I was looking at photos from a year ago, thinking about posting some. There were lots of blooms and butterflies still, and even some monarchs from the 14th! (We have blooms, but some have wilted because of the frost the other morning, and the pots are dry because I haven't been out as much to water them.) Even though I saw monarchs every day this summer, I haven't seen any the last week or so. Maybe it's because I haven't been out there. I am not ready for winter, either, and don't like it that our weather is turning colder than normal already. But, when it's warm out, like today, I feel sorry for myself because my knee and ankle hurt.

I really shouldn't be having such a pity party. I will heal in time. There are so many people in worse condition than I am in. Next spring, I will really appreciate being able to do the outdoor work God has given me a love to do. In the meantime, I hope to catch up with lots of blogs.

13 comments:

  1. Sue, I'm sorry to hear your knee is still bothering you and that now you ankle is strained. Is there any way you can take time off work for a week? Or use crutches maybe?

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  2. Hi Sweet Bay,
    I told my P.A. that we have some crutches, but he said they would make my arms sore. It's frustrating that he's leaving it up to me how much to be on my feet, and has not said I should stay home from work. He did say if the knee or ankle is hurting, then I should try to get off of them. I already missed a day early on. We have several people out sick. One para, and a teacher's daughter have S1N1 flu. So, I feel like I need to be there to make sure we have coverage, and in case I get sick and need to be off then.

    Do you think I should remove the first comment, which has nothing to do with my post?

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  3. Sorry to hear about your knee and ankle. Please take care and bounce back to health soon. Until you feel better to be back in the garden, enjoy more gardening blogs and write more. See you around!

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  4. I love parties! hehe.
    Yes, definitely remove the spammer, block him if you can.

    I tore my ACL a couple years ago when our sweet malamute slammed into me on accident. It took way longer than I wanted to heal. I also nearly broke my ankle falling down the stairs some months before that. That one actually bled internally. That was heck of a sight. Once again it took longer than I wanted to heal. The thing is your on your legs and you use them. You put all kinds of stress on them and there is just no quick way to live your life and heal that injury. Unless you can live your life from bed that is. Hey, that doesn't sound so bad now that I think of it. hmm...?

    Pity party away Sue. This just sucks right now. You'll get better soon and we will love you just the same. Now go on out and buy yourself some party hats and let's get this party going!
    ;-)

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  5. Sue~~ For me it was a back problem. I can't remember what I did to cause it but it took FOREVER to heal. Any little movement brought horrendous pain. Getting into and out of bed was excruciating. You can see that I am very adept at pity partying. So party away, friend. We understand. The garden is forgiving. The to-do list will still be there when you've up to it. Thank God the Grandbaby was okay.

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  6. Sue, don't worry about the garden it will still be there next year! I think looking at your photos is a great idea, I am sure you have lots of planning and dreaming to do. Love the picture, that is one salvia that is on my wish list one day... Sorry winter has come early especially as our weather patterns are often similar to yours, so I will expect a frost here before the end of the month.

    Look after yourself, best wishes Sylvia (England)

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  7. Sue girl .. I understand how you feel. I have chronic pain that never leaves. I have good doctors that have me on pain management meds but , I never have freedom from it. I have felt very low at times about missing time in the garden .. but you have to hold on to the thought that "this too will pass!" I promise!
    Mean while over winter .. I plan and thing "GARDEN" a lot .. to keep my sanity .. and I rest .. do what yoga I can and this year I hope to get back to walking on my treadmill. It really is a tough time while the pain is so hurtful and you feel low like this .. but hang on girl .. things will get better !!
    Joy

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  8. I'm sorry to hear you have two injuries. Please stay off of your feet and keep your feet elevated so you can get better. Your garden will wait for you next spring.

    We have more Monarchs now than in any year. All 7 of the cats on my milkweed made it to butterflies. I think all these zinnias are keeping the butterflies around. There are so many Swallowtail cats on the fennel, but those aren't going to make it before the cold weather. The low for next Tuesday is forecast to be only 39 degrees.

    Take care! Hugs.
    Cameron

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  9. Get well soon Sue and do rest that leg.

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  10. Hey Sue, I'm sorry to hear you aren't feeling so great right now! I had something similar for much of the summer. My sprained ankle held me back from taking walks and on top of that, my knee was still recovering from previous ACL surgery. So in addition to gaining un-needed weight over the past months, I've been having my own pity-party for much of the summer. Thankfully, I think all of my symptoms from Lyme disease are gone. I didn't see the 'specialist' because after 3 and a half months on the antibiotic, I started to feel better and finally stopped taking it. I didn't take my son either. The appt. would have cost $650 just for the consult; and then the lab work would be at least $500, since that wasn't covered under any insurance. This kind of thing is what Joanne talks about, but frankly, there's just no way I can afford it! Plus, my son really 'appears' to be doing much better...and, he has been diagnosed with ADHD so maybe that was part of the problem all along...in addition to him dealing with some depression last year. He is really doing great right now, so I'm hoping this continues! To answer your question re: the enlarged photos, I use Picasa. Then after I crop or do whatever I want to each photo, I 'upload' them to the Picasa Web Album. Then, I click on 'Link To' this photo, and set the size to whatever I want. There is 'thumbnail' up to 'large'. Depending on what I want to do, I click the size I want. Then, I copy the html and go back to my post. I go into the 'edit' mode and insert the code in my blog post. Then I go back to 'compose' mode at it shows the photo in the size I've placed it in. If you need more help I can try to explain in more detail. Anyway...please take care of yourself. I know what it's like to want to do the things that make you happy, and not be able to do them! Hopefully you are getting support and help from your hubby during these yucky days!! Be well, my friend;-)

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  11. I know how you feel Sue. When the lawnmower threw a rock at me, most of the bruising and swelling happened well below the actual wound. My knee was knocked sideways too. It still hurts in the evenings. I spend all day on my feet at work, on concrete, walking. At night, once I sit down, it takes a lot of effort to find the strength to get back up.

    Stay off it as much as you can. You only have two legs and we're pretty much useless with just one. Hope it heals soon. Ibuprofen helps.

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  12. Best wishes for a speedy recovery, Sue. Remember to RICE (rest, ice, can't remmber the 'c', is it compression?, elevation). Plus ibuprofen or tylenol to reduce swelling. My hubby works on feet and I've picked up a bit . . .
    I'm laughing over your comment on my blog about rebuilding the shed wall by wall. Permits and grandfathered-in exceptions make for funny stories, I guess.

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