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Sunday, August 7, 2022

Great Wave Stitch-a-Long, part 25

Hi everyone! The good news is that I made a lot of progress on my Great Wave piece in the last 3 weeks. Here's where I was last time: 


And here, happily, is where I am now:


I finished the cream on the previous two columns, and did another two full columns!


Now, you may be wondering how, in the peak of summer, I've gotten so much stitching done. Well...


Knee troubles had me cancelling weekends away and spending a lot more time on the couch. But let me back up a bit. 

My knee started hurting at the end of March. I didn't do anything -- that is, I don't remember hurting it. But I woke up one morning after a run and could barely bend it. At first I figured it would just get better if I rested it. But after three weeks it was still painful and keeping me from going on my long walks, so I tried to see my doctor. Unfortunately, the first "non-emergency" appointment was 7 weeks later. 

In the meantime, I self-referred myself to an orthopedic surgeon, who I was able to see only 3 weeks later. He said, well, insurance won't cover an MRI until after I complete 6 weeks of physical therapy, and it might just be "runner's knee", so I should start there. 

I've had runner's knee before, and knew that this wasn't that, but tried to get into a physical therapist. That took 4 weeks to start. So, finally, at the very end of May, I got in to see my doctor and the physical therapist on the same day. 

Again, I was told that I should just do PT and after 6 weeks we'd be able to get an MRI. So I dutifully did the exercises and hobbled around. One Sunday afternoon I was on a short walk in the neighborhood by myself, and all of a sudden my knee was so painful I couldn't put any weight on it. I was three blocks from home and had to call my husband to come and get me. 

Luckily, I had just been approved for the MRI two days before, and I was able to get in to have one on Monday evening. The results came back on Wednesday, and all of a sudden my case was an "emergency", and I had a torn meniscus. 

A friend of a friend recommended a different orthopedic surgeon who happened to have an appointment on Friday. Doc said, yep, that's a bad one, but he had openings for his surgery schedule the next Tuesday. I went in, had the surgery, and have been feeling better and on the mend since then. 
 

It was an all too common story -- long waits for appointments, insurance approvals, etc. But to be honest I got really lucky with my surgeon and I'm happy to be on the mend. As long as I take it easy I'll be running again by the early fall. 

Of course, that probably means that my stitching will slow down again, but it will be worth it!

By the time of our next check-in, in three weeks, I hope to complete one more column. And be able to walk 2 miles at a time. 

Until then, why not check out the projects my fellow stitchers are working on: Avis, Claire, Gun, Constanze, Christina, KathyMargaret, Heidi, JackieMegan, Deborah, Sharon, Daisy, AJCathie, LindaHelenConnie, and welcome back Cindy!

14 comments:

  1. Wow, so sorry to hear about all the pain and waiting you've been through to get your MRI and an answer. Glad you had your surgery and on the mend. You'll be running in no time and making great progress on your stitching until then :D

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    1. Thanks Christina! It amazes me how much better I feel already.

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  2. Ouch! It sounds like you could've been doing more damage by following the advice to do PT. I'm pleased to hear you're on the mend. The cross stitching looks fantastic!

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    1. Thanks Avis! The PT was nice and gentle, really just working on strengthening my quad and working on flexibility. The therapist was on my side -- sure it was my meniscus, and frustrated by my insurance company. But really pleased with my progress -- on my knee and on my stitching. :)

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  3. ouch! pleased you were able to get a diagnosis and surgery relatviely quickly in the end. Make sure you rest and get plenty of stitching done!

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    1. Thanks Claire! It's been pretty fun to "have to" put my feet up, and if I'm sitting, I might as well stitch.

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  4. Ouch! I’m glad that you are on the mend though. Your stitching looks fantastic!

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    1. Thank you so much! I'm amazed that I'm this far along. It seemed like I would never get through the stitching, but now it feels close.

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  5. An all to common problem now days ~ it's just crazy however the minute I started reading I was thinking torn meniscus, a past injury for me. The shame of this with early medical and pt you may have been able to avoid this but thankful for the good outcome with surgery and wow look at that gorgeous project - the plus side of all this

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    1. Yep -- the extra stitching time has been the silver lining!

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  6. I don't know where you live, but I have never encountered such long waits for care except maybe for dermatology. I am glad you have completed the surgery and are on the mend. I love your stitching!

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    1. Hi Cathie -- I'm in Seattle. I think my case wasn't an "emergency" so no one was in any rush. Until after I got the MRI result, then suddenly it was easy to get the appointments and approvals! I have enjoyed being "forced" to sit and stitch, though -- as I said, it's a silver lining.

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  7. Glad you got some stitched in but very sorry you have to go through the issues of having to wait to prove its serious just and not something that just heals on its own. Best of luck on your recovery.

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  8. I am so sorry to hear of all the problems you had before getting a proper result. I have no idea what a torn meniscus is, but having arthritis in my knee at times can be painful enough and this sounds far worse. Wishing you a speedy recovery Sunny xx

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