Posted by:
forestpal
(
)
Date: December 18, 2014 03:06AM
Yeah, I have it, too. So did my mother and aunts.
Do not apologize for feeling sorry for yourself. Beating yourself up makes things worse. This is learned behavior from Mormonism. Comparing yourself to others is also detrimental. Mormons are constantly reminded of the suffering and deaths of the pioneers, or when JS had surgery without an anesthetic, and similar Mormon stories that used to put me right over the edge.
Be very, very kind to yourself. Pamper yourself. Ice your knees after walking, get a heating pad, do all the therapy exercises that your doctor recommends. If he hasn't given you any therapy, find a physiotherapist. Sometimes, crying actually helps.
Looking into the future, I thought I would be unable to walk, and unable to work, by the age I am now, but I have some illustrated knee exercises and stretches, that I do every day, and yesterday, after work (sit-down job) I played soccer with my toddler grandchildren, and later walked the entire Hogle Zoo to see "Zoo lights." with them. It hurt a bit, and I had to sit down a couple of times, but my legs are actually getting stronger, and the muscles that support the knees. Therapy can delay the outcome.
Lose a little bit of weight. For every pound of weight you lose, 8 pounds less pressure is put upon the knee, when you walk. Ten pounds of weight = 80 pounds of pressure. That has to make a difference, right?
It is a punch in the gut, to hear a diagnosis like you just got. Sometimes it cheers you up to take action. Doctors can sometimes be quite negative.
There was a study about people who were told that they would never walk again. They became depressed at the diagnosis, of course, but a year or two later, their self-reported happiness level was back up to what it was before their mishaps. They had mourned the loss of their legs, like a death, and had adapted to it. People bounce back. I'm happier than I've ever been in my life.
My mother didn't have knee surgery, and she drove a car, travelled, cooked meals for her grandchildren, read and sang with them, knitted sweaters, blankets, and scarves for us, tended a garden, made us laugh, read books, had good conversations, and fought the good fight until she was 95. My aunt lived to be 98, and was quite a socialite. Both these women were great examples to me and my children, and they gave us very wise advice, along the way. They lived very valuable lives.
Yes, there was pain for my aunts, and for you, and me. I'm so sorry! I like to overbalance the scales with happiness--to balance out the pain.