Monday Morning
This past weekend was another “lost” weekend, with no hiking or indoor Whooshing but lots of YouTubed stretching and isometric exercises done in an attempt to get my knee feeling better.
Now it’s Monday morning, and admittedly, my knee is feeling much better, but a return to the woods is going to be delayed further due to driving Wifey to and from an outpatient test she’s having done that will have her briefly sedated. There’s been no mention of whether I can get sedated, too, but I am hopeful. ‘C’mon, Propofol!
I have no idea what time we’ll get back, but if there’s time betweenst my scheduled Monday domestic duties and the afternoon footy (full slate of Championship matches today with Leeds on at 3 PM and the top of the table is just as jammed as the Prem is right now!) I might try to sneak out for a short lumber or a photo creep to test out the knee. Oh, and yes, Karen, I watch footy at 3 or 4 PM on weekdays, but I also get up at 6 AM every day to make sure I have time to do so because it brings me joy.
Five Hours Later
Our time at the local hospital was way longer than either of us expected, but all was good. Sadly, we didn’t make it home until after 1:30; I needed food, the dogs needed tending to, and, as your mom used to say, “This laundry isn’t going to wash itself.”
Later, I folded the laundry mentioned above while watching the game and enjoyed a beverage or two while doing more icing and more bodyweight exercises for my knee.
RANDOM THOUGHTS FROM THE HOSPITAL
We were sitting in the outpatient surgery waiting room, and there were two flat-screen TVs. On one wall, the TV was showing patient surgery status (prep, recovery, etc), and on the other wall, the TV was on the local news displaying an almost endless list of death announcements from mid-Michigan. Seemed like an unfortunate coincidence, but probably appropriate for April 1st.
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Also, waiting room related: is there a waiting room in mid-Michigan that doesn’t play an endless mix of homogenous, sappy pop-country music?
One song after another about pickup trucks, cheating spouses, boot scooting, and other white people things. I was becoming increasingly more hopeful the pharmacy was handing out free sample shots of that new cherry-flavored Pentobarbital everyone is raving about.
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Why in the world does the hospital gift shop sell clothing? I’m not talking about “emergency clothes” to help loved ones stay fresh during long waits, but full-on women’s linen pantsuits and sweater sets.
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Lastly, I can’t tell you how much I hate hospitals! After an adolescence and young adult life spent with my mom in and out of hospitals and ERs, I pretty much hate everything about them except leaving.
Tuesday Morning
Jake (The Dog) woke me up at 5:25 AM to go outside. He peed, and I stepped in shit because it was pitch dark, and I didn’t turn the porch light on due to the fact I was in a t-shirt, boxers, and Adidas slides. The shit slides remained on the rain-soaked porch.
Despite my “alarm” sounding 35 minutes early, my trips up and down the steps let me know that my knee is feeling the best it has in two weeks, and I’m really looking forward to testing it out with a lumber in the rainy woods later today.
I am really hoping that I can get at least a few pain-free miles in and get back into the routine of 25-30-mile weeks. I can’t believe that just a little over two weeks ago, I was questioning if it was time to increase my weekly mileage, and now I’m questioning if there will be miles at all.
Post-Hike
Fuck yeah! A hike was had!
Was it perfect? No. But any pain in my knee was completely tolerable, and I ended up with over 6 miles of lumbering, saw a bald eagle flying near the river, and goofed off with my camera.
I didn’t push the pace too hard, but I’m happy with the results. I need to do more stretching and foam rolling later to keep on the right track but stoked (enough). I also see Doctor Bob tomorrow morning, so I can also get some feedback from someone who actually went to medical school and see what he says.
Later.