As a child I suffered from pain in my knees. I was told it was growing pains. It never stopped me from doing all the sports and dancing I enjoyed but by my early 20's it became a concern. The first time I saw a doctor was in Denmark and was told I had a mouse in my knee. Had no idea what he was talking about but he suggested that surgery was not an option. In my late 20's I began to have some major pain and inflammations and always blamed it on my activities. Mid 30's, I couldn't get up if I knelt down. By my 40's more major inflamations, doctor visits, fluid injections and they continued. Once again, I ignored the underlying cause since it didn't seem to be taken seriously when I sought help from physicians. In my early 50's I had to seek some major medical intervention. The pain had become unbearingly painful. I was given a diagnosis but told I was too young to have a knee replacement. To hold on as long as I could. 3 years later and almost crippled and walking with a cane, the end result was two partial knee replacement surgeries within 3 months. Recovery was very painful and I was left disabled and unable to return to work. Not because of the knees primarily but because in the process of the surgery, my hip was displaced which subsequently ended up with a hip replacement last year. Perhaps if I had been giving better advice earlier on and knew what the underlying problem was, 'Osteo Arthritis' I might have taken more precausions. But not even sure about that since I suspect I would have continued to do what I wanted to and enjoyed. I am stubborn and determined when I want to do something I love. No doubt all my gardening activities affected them greatly. I spent countless hours stomping on a shovel trying to cut turf or till the soil. Lots of stories around all this needless to say. The good news is today, I can walk with comfort but still need to sleep with a pillow between my knees otherwise the nerves end up burning upon contact with another hard surface. The other knee. Small price to pay for the ability to walk after 12 years of extreme pain. However over the years of immobility, my muscles in my legs have diminished profoundly and I still find it difficult to walk. It seems something is awry. Not sure what it is. It feels like my right leg subsequent to hip surgery is a wee bit shorter so my gate is not the same. My mind still has to adjust. Everything is so interconnected.
~ Tutte ~
