"Beauty confronts us with the requirement that we place ourselves among...the redeemers, the leaders in the protection of life. Once you have seen the bush on fire, you are not going to get out of the assignment unless you close your eyes to the beauty.... [You] either have to close your eyes or go back to Egypt and set the people free." - Rev. Dr. Rebecca Parker, "Rising to the Challenge of Our Times"

Sunday, June 03, 2007

The [mostly] walking wounded

I wish there were some exciting visuals to go with this post. I wonder if there's some way to get a color copy of my right knee MRI when it's done sometime this week...be it normal or...Abby Normal. I took a hit in the Santa Rosa game yesterday at the start of the 3rd quarter (we were kicking off, I was running down to meet the ball carrier and somebody else met me first). Can't wait to see the game film because I don't really know what happened with my knee, felt like it buckled or did something untoward, then when I stood up again it felt like it popped back into the right place. Or that it popped somewhere. Tried to walk it off. Played a couple more plays and we were back on offense, I think, and I was lined up in my left side tight end spot and got knocked down in the crowd, was trying to stand up again and somebody told me to sit down and rest for a minute. Come to think of it, that seemed like not a bad idea, so I did. Then our team doctor came over and helped me walk off the field. Wiggled right knee this way & that way and compared it to the left knee, and thought the sore unstable one was too wiggly. Didn't hurt all that much. I'd always thought if I tore something it would really smart. Dr. Dotson said if it was a torn ACL (which he thought it might be but hoped he was wrong) it would likely swell up like a grapefruit by the next morning so he wrapped it and I popped a few "vitamin I" (thanks J.M. for introducing me to that term), iced it for the rest of the game and off and on throughout the evening. Woke up this morning and it didn't seem swollen at all, but as the day has progressed it's looking fatter. The doctor at the clinic back home here in Chico didn't think it was all that wiggly; he thought maybe it's just sprained. Wrote Diagnosis: Sprained Knee on my chart so it must be true. MRI Tuesday. Either way it looks like I won't be playing next week. Crap.

I went to Rite Aid and got a cane. Nothing fancy or hand-crafted but more befitting my...je ne sais quoi...than crutches.

Oh. The other thing I've not been mentioning here. It's not the elephant in the room so much as the whole house. C is hunting for apartments in SF, having secured employment there. Please think good thoughts and / or prayers, as you are inclined, for her successful housing hunt and peace of mind. And save a few for Lefty too. It's a hard change.

4 comments:

George said...

Beware of chics with fat knees. It could mean its was dislocated as you said it "popped" back. That has happened to me. The down side is next time it will fly out easier.

Buena suerte mi hija, Celia tambien.

Su padre

limes said...

I do hope you've taken a photograph of the damage. I'm glad you're mostly ok. All my best wishes for Ce.

Bellabell said...

About Canes: I'm grateful for canes; I use one from time to time when the knees stage a small rebellion. But canes have their own dangers. If you're at a restaurant and happen to slide your cane under your seat, rest assured three waiters and one very old, enfeebled patron will stumble over it. If you hang it on the back of your chair (assuming it has bit of fiber to hang it with),
it will clatter to the floor with a great SMACK just as you are saying grace or sharing the juiciest bit of scandal. And of course, it takes some doing to remember to hold the cane on the side of the body that will provide the most support to your knee. Try to get a cane that has a small concealed flask built in. AVOID canes with built-in weaponry--they're SO tiresome at airport security. Be well soon, Em.

Emily said...

A cane is, itself, weaponry. Though no doubt Jackie Chan has performed amazing kung-fu with crutches before.

I'm afraid that Rite Aid was fresh out of the concealed flask canes. I suppose airport security might have concerns about something like that as well. The flask might be filled with dangerous hair gel or shampoo or infant formula for all they know.