Another Milestone

In my previous post I waxed enthusiastic about getting back on the motorcycle after a long break and a new knee. Not so fast, said the moto gods. When your bike sits in a hot garage all summer, the battery croaks. Fortunately I have a trickle charger and this morning, after applying a heating pad to my knee to loosen it […]

Milestones

Passed another one this morning. A milestone, that is. I lowered myself down prone on the concrete garage floor to pump up the rear tire on my motorcycle (the Goldwing’s non-removable saddlebags won’t allow me to do it any other way). I got down and up without assistance. Hey, don’t scoff. That was a biggie. My 5 1/2-year-old titanium knee had to bear the brunt […]

Air-Minded: Grand Theft Airplane

Last night an airport employee commandeered a Horizon Air Q400 twin-turboprop airliner at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. He got it started, taxied to a runway, took off, and flew around Puget Sound before crashing on an island (he died in the crash, of course). He was followed by a pair of F-15s that had been scrambled […]

Friday Work in Progress

Another outpatient physical therapy session this morning, this time including stairs. Not exercise stairs, mind, real ones. My therapist, Jenny, walked me through hallways to an interior staircase at the south end of the building. Without using the handrails, I went up and down the stairs three times. Jenny continues to tell me I’m ahead of the curve for […]

Sunday Bag o’ Updates

Halfway through my post-surgery physical therapy sessions at Tucson Orthopedic, and already starting an off-the-books PT regimen at Anytime Fitness. I dropped by this morning to spend half an hour on the stationary bicycle and some of the leg machines, the ones that help with bending and straightening my new knee. Getting over the top of […]

Thursday Sleeve o’ Freon

The best part of physical therapy is icing down afterward. They have this pro football rig that pumps coolant through a sleeve wrapped around your leg, chilling your sore muscles and ligaments while giving you a massage, alternately squeezing and relaxing. Heavenly! Days drag between twice weekly outpatient physical therapy sessions. I do knee bending and […]

Wednesday Bag o’ Staples

Progress report: my knee still aches (with occasional sharp nerve twinges) and I still walk like Festus, but the home exercise routine is going well, the outpatient physical therapy at the orthopedic institute even better, and the swelling has almost disappeared. Tomorrow I see the surgeon who replaced my knee and who will, I hope, […]

Thursday Bag o’ Schnozz

I steeled myself for a stern lecture and a return to white pads and tape, but the dermatologist’s nurse practitioner (the nice one!) took one look at my skin graft Tuesday and said “Let your nose shine out upon the world for all to see.” So here it is, in its bumpy, slightly discolored, W.C. […]