Cranky Kitty

I was about to sit down and write this great post about how horrible New Jersey drivers are. I still want to do it but it is difficult with the gut-wrenching pain going through my right knee. You see, I have grade four chondromalacia patella. What does that mean? I have no cartilage left in my knee, which is not a good thing. Usually more common in older people, I have some lovely knees for someone my age. The kind when walking sound like Rice Krispies after you pour milk in them: snap, crackle, pop. The doc is not sure the cause but thinks it may just be simple genetics. Either way, the one bastard has been causing some big issues with me. I had x-rays and an MRI done which confirmed the diagnosis. A smidge over a month ago, I had a cortisone shot in it hoping that it would do the trick. Well, last week I could barely walk more than 100 feet without being in excruciating pain. Even sitting still for extended periods of time hurt like a bitch. So, I went to see the knee doc again today. He gave me a different type of cortisone shot. If this doesn't work, he said my next option is the evil two words....knee replacement. You know the doc is serious when he even hands you a business card and said "If I was getting my knee replaced, this would be where I go." The group is one of the top joint replacement groups in the state and they are in my HMO (usually those two things don't go together).

The concept of a knee replacement isn't very scary to me. I'm not fond of surgeries but I've been through about four of them already, all orthopedic. With today's medical technology, I'm told I can be up and running in about six weeks. I'll have to wait until the winter break to have it done and I'll still have to finagle things around a bit as it'll either cut into the end of this semester or the beginning of spring or both. The doc said waiting a year to have it done isn't worth it and from what I've heard from most knee replacement recipients they all wished they had done it sooner. The thing I dread the most is not the surgery itself but the physical therapy afterwards. I've been the victim recipient of PT many, many times. Never fun stuff.

As for the knee right now, I'm going through the it's going to get worse before it gets better part. I think a lot of it had to do with the poking inside the knee with a needle and wiggling it around part. However, if it's anything like the last shot, I'll be down for the count for a couple of days. Just in time for school to start.

Can you see why I'm cranky?