knee
gregladen | September 21, 2010In which I explore the interface between the Jungian Subconscious and my own primordial anguish.
The blocked end tube pipe is a touchstone to the shamanistic world of the people we call the Hopewell. Similar artifacts are found elsewhere in the world, but the Adena-Hopewell cultural complex (dating to approximately a thousand year plus long period centering on "Zero" AD/BC/b.c.e.) has more of them than your average archaeological culture. The blocked end tube is made of soapstone, and is a cylinder almost hollowed out but with a wall of stone left intact so nothing physical can actually…
gregladen | May 26, 2010It has been 100 days since I accidentally severed my right patellar tendon. I'm bending my knee to 105 degrees or so, I can now use my quads (though not for much), and I usually walk around with no brace or crutch. On the other hand, if I take a long walk (as in a full grocery store shopping, up and down most of the aisles, or walking the two blocks to the gym) without the brace, there are regrets ... so I still use it now and then. I rarely use my right leg to lead up stairs, but I can physically do it (and I do it as a matter of physical therapy), and I have yet to lead down stairs with…
gregladen | May 6, 2010As you may have noticed, I've been blogging less than usual these last few days. Usually, when that happens, you can expect one of my chatty "What I had for breakfast/lunch/dinner" posts, which serve as the blogger's equivalent of the contact call of the black-capped chickadee. In this case, instead of the little bird poking around the backyard feeder and chirping to its kin, it's me, your blogger, poking around your RSS feeder and chirping at you.
There has been an extensive and intensive back room discussion going on about the Berry Go Round blog carnival, among those who have been…
gregladen | April 18, 2010A follow up on the earlier installment of "As the knee turns..."
.... ouch. Don't day "as the knee turns...."
In the video I showed two weeks ago, I raised my upper leg to the level at which my lower leg more or less dropped of its own accord perpendicular to the ground. I then extended my lower leg using all the abilities my quad muscles had at the time.
In the following video I do the same thing, but with the brace on, so my quads are working against the weight of the brace. In the first video, that extension was very very weak. Had there been a headwind, I would not have been able to…
gregladen | April 8, 2010I was fairly optimistic after my recent doctor's visit, in part because he was able to tell me that nothing bad was happening. I immediately started to make plans for a few short term changes in what I did every day to help with post-operative recovery, to be followed in a couple of weeks with more aggressive therapy.
However, I feel a bit less optimistic, perhaps simply more realistic, after a couple of days doing a few things differently. The truth is that seven weeks of virtual inactivity totally mess up your leg.
In the following video of my leg, I make two motions. In the first…
gregladen | April 5, 2010... for those interested ...
I had a pretty good visit to surgeon today. To date I have been instructed to not use my quads, but for the next two weeks I'm instructed to use them in a limited way (in a highly controlled manner). At the same time, I'm to carry out more aggressive joint flexibility work.
After two weeks, I'm to shift to more aggressive work with quads under supervision of physical therapists. Interestingly, he says I can drive whenever I can get in the car and work the pedals. So maybe a few weeks. Strangely, the LAST step in the process will be removing the brace. The…
gregladen | March 14, 2010I have several dark things to report. Two really bad things happened to me this evening; Some news about how bad Microsoft is; And an underwater robot meets Davey Jones' locker.
First an update on the knee. The good news is that the swelling is reduced. The bad news is that the swelling seems to have kept some of the internal parts stabilized and now they are rubbing around against each other painfully. Strange things I've not seen before are protruding form the region of the incision. But no sign of infection, so I suppose it is OK.
The bad things that happened: 1) I watched Mama Mia…
gregladen | March 9, 2010I'm a bit preoccupied with my recent injury and not blogging about much else, so I might as well update you on The Knee and all it entails. Warning: Self referential commentary and icky stuff below the fold. Friends, you already know much of this. People who don't know me, you don't want to read this. This is for the in between people. There will be no discussion of needles, because I'm done with the needles, so E.W., you're cleared to proceed if you wish.
Not all the people who went into the hospitable two weeks ago on the same day I did made it out alive, or at least so I assume. I'm…
gregladen | February 18, 2010Yes, I fell and busted my knee on the ice. I don't want to go on and on about it, but here are the more important details:
It made a loud noise. I might have preferred a minor contusion, hairline fracture of the ulna, a cracked rib, and a minorly damaged knee rather than all 200 plus knee-pounds of force bearing down on that one little poorly designed bone. The patella is severed into two parts: A part consisting of one part and a part consisting of a tablespoon of oatmeal.
There are already conspiracy theories developing. A student who didn't want to take the exam I was carrying at…