Iced Knee Anyone?

I went to the physio/osteopath yesterday. I limped in and almost walked out which I will take as a sign of improvement. He read my hospital letters and then examined my knee and deduced that there is a lot of inflammation in and around the joint which has to be got rid of before I will feel any significant improvement. He did a lot of gentle massage with a bit of subtle pressing as if he was trying to manipulate something in my knee back into place although I didn't feel anything move. He then did ultrasound waves on it for 5 minutes. I have had this treatment before many years ago on my hip. It doesn't feel like anything is happening but it breaks down things inside I presume inflammation etc. He then did a bit more massage followed by 5 minutes attached to a machine that sends mild electrical impulses through the muscles.

My knee felt much easier after the session was over. He advised me to get some hot/cold packs and put them in the freezer. I have to use them for 15 minutes 3 times a day. I am wearing leisure pants today so I have had to sit in my panties (which is not a pretty sight) whilst wearing them. I think that I will wear a skirt tomorrow as I doubt the neighbours want my legs inflicted on them if they glimpse them through the bay window as they walk past! The physio asked me if I had taken glucosomene. I said I had but not noticed much improvement so he said to buy some Devils Claw. I asked for this with some trepidation at the pharmacy and although they don't sell it they can get me some for today. The lady behind the counter said her friend swears by it as it is a herbal type remedy specifically for swollen knees. I am at the stage where I will try anything once so I will call and get my tablets today and give them a whirl. If conventional medicine doesn't work then I am all for trying the age old remedies.

I have another appointment for Friday. I have decided to give this treatment a fair crack of the whip even though to be honest I cannot really afford to have many sessions. I am just at the stage where I am so glad that someone is taking my pain serious and doing something to try to help me. The physio said that he cannot understand why the NHS no longer do physio properly and just hand people bits of paper with a list of exercises on. He agreed with me that the list of exercises should come once the treatment stopped in order to keep the knee flexible over a long term period.

The crochet has hit a bit of a stop as I was out most of yesterday. I did get to the Salford Arms Knit Club last night courtesy of my niece who kindly gave me a lift there. It felt so nice to be back there as I haven't been for quite a while. Not as many there as usual but we had a good time and it was one of those laughing type nights where we all had a really good time. There is nothing like a good laugh for making me feel better. Apparently the pub has a laughing club that meets in another room every Monday but we didn't hear much laughter from them last night. I think the Knit Club out laughed them! Rachel met them a couple of weeks ago and said they looked a very sombre lot for a laughing club.

The crochet photos today are of a turquoise cardigan that I have crocheted for Sylvia's foster baby from some of the wool that I got from my Freecycle donation bag. It is another of my very old Sirdar patterns. I have put a photos of it just in case it is still in production under another number.

The child's bolero has finally dried which to me proves that it is either all cotton or has a high percentage of cotton as it has taken almost a week to dry on it's blocking boards. I will put some photos of it tomorrow.

Poppy has a haircut

When Poppy came for a visit today she had been shorn. Her hair was getting long and with this warm weather she was probably a bit hot so Julie took her and Buddy for a trim today. I tried to take her photo but she is such a live wire. She never stops trotting about long enough for me to take her photo. I had to seize the moment when she stopped for a scratch hence the very bad photo. Buster was a total ham he would pose whenever the camera came out so I have lots of lovely photos of him.I am glad that I have them now that I rarely see him. I do miss him but I am still not fit enough to even contemplate having him back again on a permanent basis. He is happy enough with my son and daughter in law and their dog. He is still in the family so it's not like I had to give him away.

Still nothing to report on the knitting scene. I didn't do much crochet or knitting when I got back from the Kings Arms Knit Club last night and today I had to go for physio to the hospital so nothing done today so far.I think that I have done so much over the last few weeks that I am in a bit of a lull. I have so much to do but I just can't seem to motivate myself. I do this for a few days and then I resume again at the same pace as usual. A lot of it is to do with tiredness. If I could just get a night or two of uninterrupted sleep then I would be back to full strength. My physio has referred me for hydrotherapy as my exercises are not producing the expected results. She asked me what I hoped to gain from physio and I said I just want to walk again - that's all I want. To be able to walk relatively pain free again would be a success. All anyone says to me though is that my arthritis is so bad in my knees that I shouldn't expect too much. Bone wearing on bone is painful they admit that bit and say there is not a lot that can be done but then say it's not bad enough yet for a new knee. How bad does it have to get? I bet if it was their knee they would get a new one asap.

The physio has just rung me now and asked me what days/times I can go to hydrotherapy so it sounds promising. I hope that I don't have too long a wait before I get my appointment. I am going to try a bit of crochet or knitting before dinner. I had a very late lunch I won't be ready to eat again for quite a while.

Skills learned at my mother's knee

When I made my first pair of socks I used a 50 gram ball of Sirdar Country Style 4ply and used the Monkey Pattern. Since then I have got persuaded that socks should be lovingly hand crafted in various hand dyed wonder wools. The snag being these splendorous wools do not last two minutes on my feet whereas the slung in the washer hundreds of times Monkey socks are still living to tell the tale. I looked at this pair today and discovered a new huge hole underfoot and another at the toe and as I am a make do and mend kind of girl I decided to hone my 'taught at my mother's knee' darning skills. I had never had to use these skills much until recently and no doubt will again in the future as I have many skeins of luxury sock wool to make into more socks. Is it just me that wears through socks like this? I haven't got extra long or sharp toe nails and my shop bought socks last me forever.

As I sat in the garden doing my darning it took me back to my childhood and watching my mother painstakingly darning not only my father's socks but those of her much younger brothers plus many a sweater elbow. She used to re foot socks when they got too holey to darn any more. Economical to use the leg that was perfectly OK and just knit a new foot part. Of course it helped that sock wool only existed in about 4 shades in those days. We were no poorer than other families in my street I just think it was normal to darn rather than throw away. Perhaps darning will be a skill relearned in these credit crunch times.

Today I was back at the hospital for my physio appointment. I had to go through everything step by step with her as she had no access to any of my notes which wasn't exactly helpful. I could have told her that my head was dropping off and she would have been none the wiser! She said I had no muscle tone, nerve tremors and severe osteo arthritis in my knee. I have bone grinding on bone wearing it away. Now I didn't know that bit did I ?? I have got a set of exercises to do at home. Will they get rid of all of this pain? Oh I don't know she said - they might but at least they will strengthen your knee. I said my knee has been like this strength wise for over 50 yrs since my original accident so will these exercises cure that? Well it's doubtful she said but try them anyway they will help.I will do them but don't hold your breath. Watch this space for a miracle cure! I said don't I get any treatment like I do when I pay to see a physio? No ultrasound, heat treatment or manipulation. She said oh no but then the private physio didn't cure you did he. I said no but when I had a couple of his treatments I was OK for at least 12 months.

My crochet has suffered with all of my travelling on buses and trams. I did try to do some on the bus on both days but First Bus trains it's drivers in the Kamikaze school of motoring so if they don't throw you off the seat with their braking then they throw you off with their cornering at speed on 2 wheels. I did gather up a few interested parties to watch my crochet in the waiting room and regaled this captive audience with tales of the calendar and watching BBC 1 on Thursday to see if I am on the programme. Prizes for spotting my few seconds of fame! We formed the dodgy knee club in the waiting room today with some on their 2nd and 3rd knee ops and one on his 4th. It doesn't fill me with a lot of confidence for my knee recovery.

I decided to take along some different crochet as the mermaid tail prop was too big to squash into my bag and requires a bit of concentration so I started a bed cape in the pink wool that Sylvia kindly donated towards the raffle. I just hope that people know an old lady with a liking for pink who is ill or in hospital. The pattern is very old and I have made it a few times but this time I decided to leave the collar off as it is rather an 80's huge one and to me totally unnecessary for a bed cape.

Roll on Friday's hospital appointment for another hurtle around the bus. People pay money at amusement parks for a white knuckle ride like I get for free with my bus pass. Some days it's especially good when you get clobbered at the back of the ankles by drink bottles and cans lovingly dropped to the floor by the sweet schoolchildren as they lurch foul mouthed onto the bus. The girls with their knicker crotches on display as they sit down in too short skirts and the boys as they burp and fart as only boys can. I have never seen such a large array of fat white thighs since I last glanced in the bathroom mirror. My God at their age I was a sylph. What size are they going to be when they are my age I wonder.

Sometimes the NHS makes my blood boil

I went for my long awaited follow up appointment for my knee to the hospital today. What a waste of time. I saw a nurse practitioner who hadn't the faintest idea what I was talking about. I asked her why I was in so much pain still after the operation and she said did they not tell you what they did? I said they did briefly when I was in the theatre but nothing since. She prodded my knee and said had I not had any anti inflammatory pills , stronger pain killers or physio. I said no because my GP would not prescribe anything until I saw the specialist again as I was still under his care. She then said my knee muscles were weak and needed physio. I said will having a course of physio take away the pain and she said possibly. I said what happens next and she said the specialist has no plans for any further treatment on you. I said Oh that's great he will leave me worse off than I was before the op then? After standing my ground she decided to refer me back to the specialist and after an argument an appointment was produced out of thin air for this Friday.

I then toddled down to physio as instructed to be told there that as my doctor does not have a practice in Salford then I can't have my physio there I have to be referred to another hospital. She mentioned my local hospital whose idea of physio is to give you a sheet of exercise instructions on a piece of paper and send you home to do them! I said I am not going there and I will have words with the specialist on Friday. I had my operation here and should have my follow up treatment here and not at some hospital where they don't know what I have had done. It's just so stupid in my eyes. Suddenly she produced an appointment for me at that hospital for tomorrow. Amazing isn't it. One minute they have no spaces and the next one gets pulled out of a hat. Salford Royal has a huge physio dept with a hydro pool and all the latest equipment I am not being fobbed off to some second rate hospital where they offer nothing in the way of treatment. I fell for that once before and they did more harm than good and made my back problems far worse with their mis diagnosis. They had me doing the wrong exercises and damned near killed me so can you wonder I am not overanxious to go back there especially as I wrote in to complain about them.

The photos are of Poppy, the dog from next door, who is only happy if she comes in at least once a day for a nosy around and a tummy tickle. Julie has tried planting shrubs and putting boards along the hedge but she still manages to burrow under every day. We will have no hedge left soon. I have told Julie that we should just put a gate in the fence as she is one determined doggie. This shows her finding the waste paper basket that Buster keeps his tennis balls in and tipping them all out. Not satisfied with all of those she tried her hardest to get a "ball" from underneath the sewing machine but as I kept telling her it's a round candle. I had to move it in the end and hide it.

Yesterday Deb was kind enough to give me a lift up the the Sunday Knit Out and we had a great time sitting chatting in the sunshine outside the Cafe. If only every Knit Out Sunday could be like that. When we are indoors we are more spread out and tend to split into groups but when we are outside we are grouped together around linking tables.We had quite a good turnout considering how glorious the weather was. I won't be going to the next Knit Out unless my knee behaves itself and I can get there on the bus as Deb is going to a concert. Let's hope this physio works wonders or my appointment with the specialist gives me hope as at the moment I fervently wish I had never let them touch my knee.