Hey YOU! Pay Attention!
OK, this is going to sound a little clueless, but I am not one of those people who spends a great deal of time "tuned in" to my body. There's good reason for that, especially as I get older. With all the aches and pains and random things that can show up (skin tags? moles? random unexplained bruises? GRAY HAIR??) I could spend every day staring at my body in dismay and wondering "What now??" And with the internet there to explain how every little change or symptom is a possible sign of a very serious condition and a harbinger of my early death, I would either be a paralyzed wreck of anxiety, or I would break the bank by visiting a doctor every other day. So my solution is to shove all minor stuff away from my consciousness until it forces its way in. It's actually a technique that works pretty well for long distance running, and I just apply to the rest of my life.
Well, my body decided this weekend that it was going to demand to be noticed.
It started Friday night. Well, technically, it started six weeks ago. In August we went ice skating as a family for B's birthday. She wanted a family skating trip in lieu of any presents. It was a fun night-- J refused to try it and we didn't push and Terence decided to skip out of concern for his knee issues (we really can't afford for him to injure himself)-- but the rest of us braved the ice. K and S spent more time sprawled on the ice than actually skating but it didn't dampen their enthusiasm one bit. As for me, I was extraordinarily careful. I've ice skated before, but I am no expert, and it's been 20 years. Even so I took one very bad fall on the ice that left my chest and both knees aching. There was no swelling or bruising or anything that made me worry at the time, so I left it alone. All aches and pains were gone within a week or two except for my left knee. It still hurt, but I pushed it out of my mind. I still ran, still rode my bike, and all seemed well enough (except if I tried to kneel, so all my prayers were on one knee).
Well, Friday night I decided to take a bubble bath for the first time in forever. And I realized while shaving my legs that there was something really odd about my left knee. It was swollen out into this bubble shape, covering my whole kneecap. It doesn't match my right knee at all. So I poked at it a little bit (something I haven't done all this time because YEOWCH it still hurts, so why would I do that on purpose?) and found that yes, it still hurts if I press hard enough but the weirdest thing was the texture. Spongy. That's the best way to describe it. Not at all like my knobby right knee.
The panic started right off. Mostly because injuries that might prevent me from running or worse, exercising at all, freak me out big time. But after I texted Terence and Amy about it, I calmed down enough by reminding myself that "For heaven's sake, whatever it is, I ran 7 miles last Saturday, surely I can run tomorrow morning without problems."
Famous last words.
I woke up at 4:30 Saturday morning and climbed out of bed to get ready for our early morning family run/bike. Only when I tried to get out of bed, I staggered across the floor like a drunken sailor. My vision was spinning, the floor was spinning, and I crashed into several items of furniture. Now I've had vertigo getting out of bed too quickly before but never to this degree. By the time I reached the bathroom my stomach was churning out of control. Wisely, I decided to go back to bed for a little while and try getting up at 5. It still wouldn't be too late to run, and no one in my family would complain about a little extra sleep.
But it didn't get better. Every time I tried to get out of bed for the next few hours the same thing would happen. I finally decided I must be coming down with the stomach flu (even though this didn't really feel like the stomach flu). Eventually, my entire to-do list for Saturday had to be scrapped (and it was a crammed list). A neighbor came to give me a blessing with Terence, and afterward he suggested that it could be a tick bite, as his brother had similar symptoms caused by a tick bite. That did NOT make me feel less anxious. However, the blessing helped tremendously. Shortly thereafter I was able to get up and eat some soup and crackers, and within the next hour or so I could walk without dizziness or nausea.
However, Terence took a look at my misshapen knee and declared I had a contusion and that I needed to see a doctor. He says my knee is probably filled with blood. I have no idea if that is true, but I am not going to poke through the skin and find out! Anyway, I balked about going to urgent care. It hardly seems urgent when my knee was injured six weeks ago and the dizziness is gone. (And who knows if it was related to the knee in the first place? Probably a coincidence.)
But the reality is I think I need to make a doctor's appointment this week.
I really truly hate going to the doctor. But I think I've gotten to the stage where my body is demanding that I do something. *sigh*
Well, my body decided this weekend that it was going to demand to be noticed.
It started Friday night. Well, technically, it started six weeks ago. In August we went ice skating as a family for B's birthday. She wanted a family skating trip in lieu of any presents. It was a fun night-- J refused to try it and we didn't push and Terence decided to skip out of concern for his knee issues (we really can't afford for him to injure himself)-- but the rest of us braved the ice. K and S spent more time sprawled on the ice than actually skating but it didn't dampen their enthusiasm one bit. As for me, I was extraordinarily careful. I've ice skated before, but I am no expert, and it's been 20 years. Even so I took one very bad fall on the ice that left my chest and both knees aching. There was no swelling or bruising or anything that made me worry at the time, so I left it alone. All aches and pains were gone within a week or two except for my left knee. It still hurt, but I pushed it out of my mind. I still ran, still rode my bike, and all seemed well enough (except if I tried to kneel, so all my prayers were on one knee).
Well, Friday night I decided to take a bubble bath for the first time in forever. And I realized while shaving my legs that there was something really odd about my left knee. It was swollen out into this bubble shape, covering my whole kneecap. It doesn't match my right knee at all. So I poked at it a little bit (something I haven't done all this time because YEOWCH it still hurts, so why would I do that on purpose?) and found that yes, it still hurts if I press hard enough but the weirdest thing was the texture. Spongy. That's the best way to describe it. Not at all like my knobby right knee.
The panic started right off. Mostly because injuries that might prevent me from running or worse, exercising at all, freak me out big time. But after I texted Terence and Amy about it, I calmed down enough by reminding myself that "For heaven's sake, whatever it is, I ran 7 miles last Saturday, surely I can run tomorrow morning without problems."
Famous last words.
I woke up at 4:30 Saturday morning and climbed out of bed to get ready for our early morning family run/bike. Only when I tried to get out of bed, I staggered across the floor like a drunken sailor. My vision was spinning, the floor was spinning, and I crashed into several items of furniture. Now I've had vertigo getting out of bed too quickly before but never to this degree. By the time I reached the bathroom my stomach was churning out of control. Wisely, I decided to go back to bed for a little while and try getting up at 5. It still wouldn't be too late to run, and no one in my family would complain about a little extra sleep.
But it didn't get better. Every time I tried to get out of bed for the next few hours the same thing would happen. I finally decided I must be coming down with the stomach flu (even though this didn't really feel like the stomach flu). Eventually, my entire to-do list for Saturday had to be scrapped (and it was a crammed list). A neighbor came to give me a blessing with Terence, and afterward he suggested that it could be a tick bite, as his brother had similar symptoms caused by a tick bite. That did NOT make me feel less anxious. However, the blessing helped tremendously. Shortly thereafter I was able to get up and eat some soup and crackers, and within the next hour or so I could walk without dizziness or nausea.
However, Terence took a look at my misshapen knee and declared I had a contusion and that I needed to see a doctor. He says my knee is probably filled with blood. I have no idea if that is true, but I am not going to poke through the skin and find out! Anyway, I balked about going to urgent care. It hardly seems urgent when my knee was injured six weeks ago and the dizziness is gone. (And who knows if it was related to the knee in the first place? Probably a coincidence.)
But the reality is I think I need to make a doctor's appointment this week.
I really truly hate going to the doctor. But I think I've gotten to the stage where my body is demanding that I do something. *sigh*
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