The G's Knees

Entry 1

Excruciating pain wakes me up at zero dark whatever. My right knee is throbbing, it's range of motion reduced to that of statuary. Oh, I can move it, but if I do, hellzapoppin'. It is so stiff, the pain so terrible, regardless of  how I reposition myself, it feels like a vice was tightening around the joint. No matter if I prop it up, lay on my side, or whistle Dixie, the knee aches. 

I wasn't going back to sleep, although I wanted to and I tried desperately. 

The dog heard me stir.  Mind you, it was the middle of the night. She came in wanting me to get up and play with her or  to give her a snack. I convinced the gratitude beastie to lay down and roll onto her back and I rubbed her belly, racking my brain on what to do. My range of motion--or should I say my pain tolerance, sat at about 1 percent, and that hurt like a son-of-a-bitch. But I had to get up. So, ceasing the belly runs, I lifted my legs up off the bed, swung my hips around toward the edge of the bed, and sat up. My pajama bottoms were just below me on the ground. My left leg was on the floor, the right leg pointed out like the cliff's edge in a Roadrunner cartoon. I couldn't bend it. The pain I was experiencing clearly wouldn't allow it. I could neither bend my body down to grab my pj's, nor use my feet to pick them up. But Willow needed me to move, and now. Her insistent look, her pacing back and forth toward the top of the stairs, constantly turning her head and looking at me, made me moving feel all the more urgent.  I forced myself to bend down and picked the pajamas up off the floor. I was so proud, and then I remembered I had to put them on which would likely involve bending my knee. 

Managing to get the pajama over my right foot without bending my calcifie1d knee, I pulled them up as far as I could in the sitting position. The right leg of the pajamas being a bit frayed, the loop hanging off the leg of course got stuck on the toes of my foot. If this all seemed to take an inordinate amount of time, well, it did. I somehow managed to reach down and pull the loop of fabric off of my toes and shimmered my Jammie up to the point where my seated ass made contact with the couch. Of course, this victory also meant I now had to stand for the first time since I woke up with this pain. Shock and surprise, I immediately tried and discovered I could not bear weight on my right leg. I pulled my pajamas up as Willow ran in and out of the room, tail wagging in excited and joyful expectstion that soon she would be in the yard relieving her bladder and smelling the morning smells.in the grass and bushes. 

I still hadn't tried to put weight on the right leg, nor did I even try to extend my knee, which was curled in the position I had found when I had awakened. I knew I had to do it, so despite Also Sprach

Zarathustra  not blaring in my head, I forced myself to extend my knee and tried to put weight on the right foot.  That didn't work and I retracted my knee immediately. Hopping to the doorway, I grabbed the wall with my left hand and swung my body so that it was facing the stairs. I tried again to bear weight. At this point, Willow is losing her shit she is so excited, running up and down the stairs, trying to get me to let her out. But, I couldn't get down the stairs. There was no way for me to put weight on my right leg, so, in resignation I sat down at the top of the stairs, keeping my right leg extended, and contemplated scooting down the stairs. Mind you, my right leg was extended. I Scoot a stair, the bounce hurts my knee. I have to go on, Willow needs me and I need coffee. Wincing, I get down another, and another. Willow, thinking I am playing, runs up the stairs, nips at me, swings her butt around and sits on my outstretched leg. Not kidding. I push her off. It's been a good several minutes on the stairs and I am just half-way down. 

Willow is losing her ever loving mind, and runs up and sits on my outstretched leg as I make my way to the landing.Grabbing the handrails, I pull myself up. Without bearing any weight on my right leg, I hop my way to the main floor, then to Willow's crate, and then to the door. It took 25 minutes to get downstairs.

Now, a couple hours later, I am on the couch, My knee is a bit better, but not great. I am contemplating going upstairs soon. We will see.

Entry 2

This body, I mean, what? The leg is back in operating order, meanwhile, my shoulder joints are killing me. I will skip working out today, to rest my knee and shoulders but what the heck.