It's been awhile since I posted. September went by in a blur. I started Physical Therapy on September 9th and promptly spent the next day in the ER at Robert Packer Hospital because I woke up unable to put any weight at all on my left leg. Luckily I had a leg brace and Terry was home to act as chauffeur. I donned the brace and we drove over to the ER.
Aside from finding the same Doctor on duty in Sayre that I had seen the week before in Troy, I picked the absolutely worst day to be in the ER. That morning a water truck took a tumble and an 18 year-old got his legs pinned. ER staff traveled to the sight along with the vascular team as there was some discussion about needing to amputate the kid's legs. The CAT scan team was put on alert and no one else was allowed access until things got cleared up. (A soft shoulder on the road caused the truck to roll over into a water filled ditch. The driver got out okay, but his companion didn't get clear. Turns out they needed a crane to get the kid free. Water soaked soil may have saved his legs.)
Terry and I sat in the ER from around 8 am until 3:30 pm. Frustratingly enough the CAT scab only showed some dense tissue and a possibly thickening of a tendon. I scheduled a follow-up with my primary care and one with Orthopedics.
By Saturday, the 11th of September, I was managing to walk around the house fairly well using the leg brace and a cane. By Monday I was doing well without either aid. And by Wednesday, I was back at physical therapy.
The rest of the month went along quietly--on my part. The primary care and Orthopedics visits produced no miracle cure for my ailment. They just recommended I continue with the PT regimen and otherwise don't push things too fast. So I did--mostly. I did go out on the tractor and do some work on the logs I felled last spring. There were three ash trees that were nearly dead from ash borers. I cut them and let what few leaves they had suck out as much moisture as possible. I used the loppers to trim the smaller branches so I'd be able to get at the larger ones with the chainsaw.
Terry had two outings in Chicago area that she attended. One was for EGA and the other for SAGA. It's sort of unusual for both to be in the area of the same city but, well, it happens. She drove out for the first one and started to regret it as soon as she got there. The ride caused her spine/hip/leg to start hurting. Luckily she had her cane with her. The ride home was no picnic. As soon as she got home, she did two things: 1-called the pain management team to see if she could get another shot to combat the pain and 2-she booked a flight to O'Hare for the next convention. Driving was out of the question. (She got her shot and has been doing fine since.)
After my birthday on the 17th things got considerably quieter for me. Aside from the visit to the orthopedist, I had only PT twice a week to attend to. And that went well.
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