Doctors Visit Update

I went to a local Orthopedic doctor yesterday to get my knees checked out.

The X-Rays showed minimal arthritis and some calcification in the joints of my knees.

After much pulling, twisting and shaking the doctor told me that the ligaments in my knee were fine but because I had torn my meniscus years ago, there was a chance that I could have torn it again.

The only way to find out for sure was to have an MRI done.

I told the doctor that I had met my financial deductible for the year through my insurance company and that there was no rush to get the MRI done because I originally thought that the deductible had been met up until August of next year. As it turns out my deductible has been met until the 1st of next year, which is only 3 weeks away. At that point in time I will need to start over paying out again until my deductible has been met for next.

So this morning I called the doctors office to let them know about my mistake....which could cost us several hundred dollars of out of pocket expenses in order to reach next years deductible.

They will see how booked up the MRI schedule is and see if it is possible to get it done by the 1st of the year.

Until I know for sure, I will be giving my knees a break and I won't be riding my bike nor going for any long walks.

I will also be icing it down every night.

At least nothing glaring came to light during the knee exam and x-rays. Hopefully the MRI will come back clean and then it will be a little time to rehab the knee back into shape and then back to my normal routine.

At least that is my game plan at this moment.

I'm Still Around

I haven't posted much on this blog lately. I have been busy doing other things plus I kind of hit a period of "writers block".

So what have I been up to? Well I have been keeping myself busy with my workouts and nursing some injuries. I have had to totally quit going on my walks along with riding my recumbent bicycle. Seems that both of my knees have decided to go on strike at the same time.

Within a matter of a couple of days, my right knee started going out on me during my walks. It feels very "loose" and extremely unstable. I have had it go out and give way in a couple of places...sometimes it is in the front of the knee about an inch below my knee cap. This is about the same general area where I broke my leg several years ago. I have also experienced my knee go out in the back in what i will call the "knee pit" area. And last but not least..I have had issues with both sides of this knee.

Unfortunately this knee has had some trauma to it in the past. I had arthroscopic surgery due to a torn meniscus back in the 80s and I was also shot in this knee as a teenager back in the early 70s.

So after enduring some problems on my walks with the right knee, I decided to back off and start riding my recumbent bike in the garage. The 1st day on the bike was uneventful and I did 15 miles and felt a little better knowing that at least I could do something like that type of exercise without further damaging my knee. Unfortunately I was wrong on that thought. The next day I got on my recumbent bike and was on it for only about 2 minutes before I started getting some sharp knife like pains in my left knee this time. I immediately got off the bike after 2 sharp pains and haven't been on it since.

Since that point in time, I have had my right knee wrapped to add a little more stability to the knee. My knee still goes out when it wants to and makes a loud crunching and crackling sound when I walk on it....kinda sounds like if you would step on a bag of potato chips.

This time I did not do what I usually do when injured....wait and see if it goes away on its own while still going about doing my normal exercise routine.

Actually...this time I almost immediately called and made an appointment with an Orthopedic & Joint Doctor.

I go in this Tuesday at 1:45 for my first appointment.

Even though my knees are acting up, I am still able to do my weightlifting and am progressing nicely with my routine. Of course I don't do anything that involves any added weight or pressure on my knees. Everything is upper body and arms..

Besides dealing with my knees, I also have done some Holiday baking. After a request from several of Veronica's Associates at work, I baked 12 dozen of my coconut macaroons...some with Ghirardelli semi sweet chocolate morsels and either butterscotch or peanut butter chips/nibs. I also added chopped pecans in all recipes made. Veronica told me that the Associates at the store call my macaroons..."Ricks crack" because they are so yummy and addictive.

I also will be putting some meals together for families that utilize the mobile food pantries in the area.

There is also the possibility that I will be serving meals for those that are in need on Christmas Eve and maybe Christmas Day at a local church.

Not much else has been happening around here except....only 279 days left until our 14 day cruise out of Copenhagen on the NCL Sun....something both Veronica and I are greatly looking forward to.

A New Look For My Blog

Over the last few days I have noticed that the fish themed background on my blog had shrunk and really looked bad. I tried everything I could to fix it on my own. Little did I know the creator of these blog backgrounds was already aware of the html code issues that were causing the shrunken backgrounds and had a fix available.

By the time I found out about the fix, I had already gone through her blog where she has all of her backgrounds listed and found a new one.

I had that fish background for several years so I guess it was a good time to change things up.

I think that with Veronica's help, we found a really cool background that kind of fits me and thanks to her, I am up and running again.

I hope you enjoy the new look and feel to my blog.

If you are looking for a new background for your blog, click on this link... Cute And Cool Blog Stuff by Itkupilli

She is a Finnish artist and designer that lives in Los Angeles, CA.