Doesn't make a lot of sense, does it?

I morphed back into my 16 year old self Sunday. I slept until 3pm. I actually don't think I've done that in years. To be fair, I did get up briefly at 11, had some Lucky Charms, realized I was still very tired, and went back to sleep. Not really productive, yo. I wasn't actually going to do anything around here, even though the house is a wreck because the maid is out of commission, but still.

I did shower, however, and when Steven got home, I suggested we go to The Cheesecake Factory because I wanted a Cuban sandwich. We had the weirdest cheddar broccoli soup there. It was basically cheddar soup with diced peppers and onions in it and a few florets of fresh, lightly steamed broccoli. Steven liked it; it gave me sores in my mouth. FTW. It was a complete zoo, despite getting there at 5. This was probably wholly related to the fact that the Celtics were playing. Came home, decided to take today off from work, rang my mum and sister, and basically took it easy for the rest of the night.

Turns out that today was a good day to take off. Someone pulled the fire alarm during 7th period and that would have been a bitch to get out of the school. So in lieu of that, I slept in, had lunch, and chilled out online for most of the day before my doctor's appointment. That's where my stupid began.

I had it xrayed (like I should have already had done) and then the doctor comes in and asks how I did this. I'm all "I was sitting down." Were you doing anything unusual? Nope, just sitting down. I mean, it was kind of a low chair and it's old, but I've sat on it before. At this point, I can tell he's dying to laugh at me. I CAN TELL!

What this amounts to is that I've probably torn some cartilage, since I have a history of mediscus tears in That Knee and it looks like there's some tendonitis as well. Basically, it hurts, but it's not blown out: no ligament damage. Blah blah blah, stay off it, minimal driving, ice it, and he totally gave me permission to wear zoris to school for the next couple weeks.

He wanted to know if I had a brace from the surgery and nope, I just have this mangy ace bandage with Original! Bloodstains!, so he sends the nurse out to get this Giant Black Brace O' Doom. We heave it on and it pretty much covers my leg from mid-thigh to mid-calf. Sexy! So, it's going to be me, GBBO'D, and my cane for the next couple weeks. And I'm 80% sure this isn't going to fit under any of my pants except for one pair. FTW, again.

So now I'm home, with it up on a chair, waiting for Steven so we can go to BJ's for more soda and find something to make for dinner.

Why is my knee so bitter tonight? I took a whole painkiller because it felt like someone hit me with a baseball bat. Actually, I know why my knee is so bitter. I've done too much on it over the last couple of days. I should know better. Tomorrow, I am calling the physical therapy place.

Bleh, what else..? I'm going to type up a belated entry about this week-end. I'm getting kind of tired, but my knee is being a beast. I just put a new Icy Hot patch on it, so maybe soon it'll stop hurting like crazy. Oh, and tonight is XFiles marathon night on TNT.

That's it. Onto the next entry.

The birds in the trees outside our apartment have been all a-twitter today. They've also been all over the porch and generally driving me nuts today. I haven't been able to figure out why until about an hour ago. I was talking on the phone to my gramma when I saw something move in one of the trees. I thought, at first, it might have been a squirrel. It moved again. Nope, too big to be a squirrel... maybe one of our feral cats? I watched the as yet unknown creature further move down the tree. Suddenly, it hit me.

"Oh my god," I say to my grandmother. "I know why the birds have been so nuts today! There's a raccoon in the tree!"

Sure enough, it was a fairly small (around 10lbs.) raccoon-- probably one of the babies we saw when we first moved in here. It watched us for a little bit before fully getting out of the tree and waddling across the parking lot to go back into the park behind our complex. At least I have interesting things to watch outside.

As for the knee, I'm now 9 days post-op. Things are progressing, but really damned slowly. There's still a fair amount of swelling in and around the joint, it's still fairly painful, especially at night, and sweet jesus, does it fucking itch! I've been assured that this is all normal. It also looks like whoever wrote my post-op instructions wrote them for a straightforward knee scope, rather than what I had, which is essentially full on knee surgery, with fewer cuts. At least my foot's not swollen anymore.

Steven's bringing me home cheesecake. Yay for Steven!

I got to take a shower today. I never realized just how damned important showering was until I couldn't do it for, like, 48 hours. I probably would have killed someone if I wasn't allowed to shower today. I felt so gross and itchy.

Anyhow, since I'm semi-coherant, I might as well update on the condition of the knee. It hurts way the fuck more than it did yesterday or Tuesday. I woke up in the middle of the night last night and thought I was going to throw up because it hurt so bad. What's really scary is that not all of the anaesthetic the doctor pumped into my knee is worn off. I still have huge numb patches. It's swollen like crazy, along with my lower leg and foot, and I can't move it at all. It doesn't even feel like part of my body. It's the wierdest feeling.

I never threw up from the anaesthesia, but I've had to pee a million and a half times. Steven said I got up something like 10 times last night. My grampa said the same thing happens to him after anaesthesia, too. It still beats vomiting, though.

I have no appetite, really, still. I've been living on soup, KFC mashed potatoes, and saltines... mostly saltines. I'm still sleeping a ton (so is Steven because I keep him up at night with my potty trips and attempts to find a comfortable position to sleep in). I'm already bored, even though I don't really feel like doing anything, except for showering. I'm almost done reading my second of 4 "women's mags". I'm trying to convince Steven to rent the second Bridget Jones' Diary tomorrow. My attention spans sucks.

Oh, and I hate Polar diet Ginger Ale. So gross.

T-minus 5 days and change until the surgery date. I'm not sure if I posted the date, but if not, I am having surgery on Tuesday, April 19th., at high noon. I will be leaving my apartment around 10:45 that morning, so there should be a bit of time for to catch me online between 9 and 10:45, if anyone's interested. I don't expect that I will be online much at all Tuesday or really Wednesday. I'm highly considering having the computer off, rather than trying to keep up an away message.

I've got the now-titled Definitive Post Op Call List all typed up, but not printed out. If anyone wants to be added, let me know (by Sunday or so) and I will add on before I print a final copy. Steven will probably be doing most of the calling, but there's a possibility it may be my mum, as well. So, if it really sounds like me on the phone, it'll be my mum. Same voice and all...

( And on to the rambling... )

I'm so bloody tired recently. I sleep 10 hours a night, sometimes nap in the afternoon, and I'm still tired. I have no idea why, but my sneaking suspiscion is the painkillers are to blame. Damn knee.

I'll have some pictures of Elliott's scarf/my knitting project tomorrow when I resize and upload them. I haven't worked on it much since I got sick, but I did a little more work tonight and got the promised pictures.

Soooooooon.

That really should say "What Should Samantha Do?". I'm having a bit of a conundrum. Anyone who's talked to me recently knows that I have been having a lot of generally bad feelings about my upcoming surgery. Nothing specific, just a general "this is not a good idea right now" feeling. I had hoped that meeting with the anaethesiologist would allay a lot of these fears.

( Not in my universe, it doesn't. )
If you don't mind, can you guys take my poll? It's open to anyone, I just want to know what you all would do in my situation.

[Poll #448681][Poll #448681]

For anyone who is interested, yes, the snow has already started and I am pathetic for being up this late. My excuse is that I really, really hurt from the dampness. I'm wearing my Icy Hot like war paint. I love the Chill Sticks. They're magic in a deoderant shaped container.

I had my first physical therapy appointment today. Dear god, was it awful! I thought they were going to do ultrasound therapy, but noooo. Evidently, they're doing dislocate and torture Samantha's knee therapy. The therapist literally pulled my knee until there was separation, hoping my plica would go back. It did not. All it did was hurt like fuck. So, after pulling, prodding, and pressing, he decides to ice. The ice pack weighed about 5lbs. He put a bolster under my ankle, leaving my knee suspended in the air, and plops the ice pack on top of my knee, pushing it out of joint. I bitched, until he readjusted the ice pack. It was also way to cold. I am not a happy little kitten.

Since then, I've taken two oxycodone because it still hurt like fuck after the first. It actually is still hurting now, just not as bad. I don't dare take anymore until bedtime.

I am not going to do this till March. I'm starting to think that surgery might not be a bad idea. It would hurt less in the long run.

The only good idea the therapist had was that I should call the registry and get a temporary handicapped plate. I'm going to do that tomorrow. It would make school a hell of a lot easier. I have to call tomorrow and make some additional arrangements for walking.

Bad, I'm going to go and eat more demon clementines. So tasty...

Well, now my knee no longer hurts, but my mind is all goo. When I first went in to the doctor's, I had mentioned that my knee hurt, especially at night or when it's damp. I also have a ton of fluid on it, which isn't helping with the pain. So my doctor asked if I'd like something to help with it. I'm thinking something just a little stronger than what's normally sold OTC. What do I get? 35 oxycodone. My appointment with the orthopaedist is less than a week from today. What was really funny was that the 35 pills are a 5 day supply. There is no way I could take 7 of these things a day.

I have a new screen name. If anyone wants it, send me an email. That or I'll post it in a friends only post. I'm feeling avoidant.