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Consequences of Full Contact Choir
May. 15th, 2010 12:01 amRemember a couple of weeks ago when I was engaging in tackle church choir? I've been hobbling around ever since, agonizing about whether to go to the doctor for "just a bruise". My logic was basically: Yes, it's swollen, hot, can't bend all the way, and it hurts enough I'm having trouble sleeping, but it's just a bruise, for heaven's sake.
I iced and elevated and took ibuprofen, and reasoned what the heck could a doctor do for it anyway, but tell me to ice and elevate and take ibuprofen? My cousin the physical therapist said I probably ought to get it checked out. Then Thursday night I limped and winced around my friend the MD, who noted the swelling and the gorgeous colors my ankle was turning as blood from my knee continued to run downhill and collect there, and said "Go get it looked at, idiot."
Makes it look like it's my ankle I actually injured, but it's the knee. Gravity pulls even bruises down.
So this morning I got up at 6:15 so I could get to the clinic at 7:00 when it opened.
It's sort of hard to tell, but pretty much my whole shin and knee are bruised and swollen, and then there are the ankle bruises.
Several hours, an X-ray, an ultrasound and a "wait, you've been walking on this for two weeks?!?" later, they think: It's probably not broken or dislocated, but the MRI I'll get Tuesday might show different. I don't have a blood clot in my leg. It's probably a meniscus tear and maybe some ligament damage, again, MRI will make things clearer.
I was given a knee brace, crutches, Tylenol with codeine, instructions to ice and elevate it, and do no weight-bearing, even around the house. And an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon on Tuesday. The orthopod will order the MRI. (Ugh, MRI. Claustrophobia here I come.) Anyway.
So it seems it's not just a bruise.
Leg brace with clever jerryrigged ace bandage anchoring it around my waist, because otherwise it slides down.
They were surprising about the pain meds, actually. I didn't ask for them at all, but they were like - no, seriously. Please take something more than ibuprofen. You've been hobbling around on this for two weeks and it's keeping you up nights? Take something. Here. Really, which one won't make you puke, Vicodin or Tylenol with Codeine? Have 30.
The doc was friendly and fun, and probably a bit of a geek. You could tell he was excited about my immune disorder. He was all, "Ohh, CVID, huh? That's IG...A or G? Wow, don't see that very often." We had a brief and entertaining conversation about B-cell defects, my medical history, how it was diagnosed, did I get lots of pneumonias, was I on antibiotics a lot... (me: yep).
And then he asked when my last menstrual period was, and I was all: no uterus, don't have them. And he did this massive double take, looked at my chart again, looked at me, and said he'd basically thought I was fifteen years younger than I am. Which, you know what? BOOYAH!
I iced and elevated and took ibuprofen, and reasoned what the heck could a doctor do for it anyway, but tell me to ice and elevate and take ibuprofen? My cousin the physical therapist said I probably ought to get it checked out. Then Thursday night I limped and winced around my friend the MD, who noted the swelling and the gorgeous colors my ankle was turning as blood from my knee continued to run downhill and collect there, and said "Go get it looked at, idiot."
Makes it look like it's my ankle I actually injured, but it's the knee. Gravity pulls even bruises down.
So this morning I got up at 6:15 so I could get to the clinic at 7:00 when it opened.
It's sort of hard to tell, but pretty much my whole shin and knee are bruised and swollen, and then there are the ankle bruises.
Several hours, an X-ray, an ultrasound and a "wait, you've been walking on this for two weeks?!?" later, they think: It's probably not broken or dislocated, but the MRI I'll get Tuesday might show different. I don't have a blood clot in my leg. It's probably a meniscus tear and maybe some ligament damage, again, MRI will make things clearer.
I was given a knee brace, crutches, Tylenol with codeine, instructions to ice and elevate it, and do no weight-bearing, even around the house. And an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon on Tuesday. The orthopod will order the MRI. (Ugh, MRI. Claustrophobia here I come.) Anyway.
So it seems it's not just a bruise.
Leg brace with clever jerryrigged ace bandage anchoring it around my waist, because otherwise it slides down.
They were surprising about the pain meds, actually. I didn't ask for them at all, but they were like - no, seriously. Please take something more than ibuprofen. You've been hobbling around on this for two weeks and it's keeping you up nights? Take something. Here. Really, which one won't make you puke, Vicodin or Tylenol with Codeine? Have 30.
The doc was friendly and fun, and probably a bit of a geek. You could tell he was excited about my immune disorder. He was all, "Ohh, CVID, huh? That's IG...A or G? Wow, don't see that very often." We had a brief and entertaining conversation about B-cell defects, my medical history, how it was diagnosed, did I get lots of pneumonias, was I on antibiotics a lot... (me: yep).
And then he asked when my last menstrual period was, and I was all: no uterus, don't have them. And he did this massive double take, looked at my chart again, looked at me, and said he'd basically thought I was fifteen years younger than I am. Which, you know what? BOOYAH!