After two days of hobbling from the bed to the couch and from the couch to the kitchen and back to bed via the couch, today was the day I had down to road-test my new knee a bit.
Actually, that is the official version – and so it would have stayed, had my husband not busted me taking the dogs around the block last night. I had not intended to, but it was a deadly combination of pleading eyes, (the dogs’ not mine) a burst of over confidence, and two days of staring at walls and screens. The day had been hot but had cooled by seven and my husband was not due back for a while. It would only take me ten minutes to walk the dogs around the block, and I would be able to check how well my knee was doing.
If over confidence is not my biggest personal failing, then impatience absolutely is. It took me seconds to decide this was all a great idea, and the dogs were certainly not going to try and change my mind. We left the house and within about three minutes, I was becoming aware that this had probably not been my best idea of 2016. Walking in the road, I managed to minimize the uneven surface, but after ten minutes I still had a way to go, uphill and my knee was beginning to tire.
It was then that I saw my husband, as I approached the main road, which he was walking up on his way home to the house and the dogs and a wife who had not left home. As a large limping woman being led by two dogs, like a water skier on dry land is hardly going to blend into the surroundings. I was immediately spotted, the dog leads taken from me and a lecture delivered from over his shoulder as he pulled ahead and I limped behind, feeling about twelve.
Ice packs, anti-inflammatories and twelve hours of bed rest later I felt a lot better and ready to tackle today’s challenge – to try driving the car. As it is a manual, I needed to make sure I could do it safely in time to make my follow-up appointment with the surgeon tomorrow.
Getting in to the car was tricky – but only because my heavily bandaged knee can’t bend too much. Once in, it was a relief to find that I could drive without a problem so I booked an appointment to get my eyes checked later in the afternoon – might as well get other bits of my body sorted out while I was off on sick leave.
During the afternoon, I watched a British film, X&Y, which tells the story of a young boy who is on the autistic spectrum, who gets the opportunity to try out for the Maths Olympics, as a member of the British team. The film features the expected cavalcade of English character types, but is not the straight underdog fish out of water story that you might think. While watching the film, I was a bit concerned at the number of different ways in which it was going, as there were a number of sub-plots which I thought were working against the main one. Having got to the end, though, I realised that ironically I had miscalculated, the X+Y of the title was not about the maths at all and neither was the film, it was about love.
My eyes checked out with just a slight increase in the strength of my reading glasses needed and now I wait for what I hope will be a pleased doctor tomorrow, who will allow me to swim next week on the holiday that I have booked.
We shall see.
fifilab 