The Amazing Shrinking Woman

Whatever is one step down from a miracle is what I got today – I can’t believe what happened. For most of you it won’t seem like a big deal but to me, and people who know my “knee history” well, it’s practically a miracle.

Many many moons ago (aka a bunch of years) I hurt my knee, bad. I used to go to the gym everyday back then and I pushed myself hard – I took these pills (sigh, yeah I know!) that gave me a boost of energy, I thought this was a great plan cause it meant I could do like 2.5-3 hours of intense cardio every single frickin day and on top of that I would do weights, some sort of kickboxing class or a boot camp, and stretching. They were long crazy gym sessions that I loved! So, one day (the last day of summer before the new college year started) I went to the gym then came back home and saw some shelves I had been wanting put up in my bedroom were up – a friend of my parents is a handy guy kinda guy and he put them up for me. I, in a move I still regret sigh, went to climb on my bed so I could reach the shelves and put stuff on them and that’s when it happened. It’s almost embarassing how I did this…sigh, I stepped up with my right leg putting all my weight on my left – not a big deal, right? Well, wrong. My knee was weakened from my over exercising and it gave out (this next part gets icky so be warned!) – I didn’t just stumble, oh no. I went crashing down, hit my desk, chair, garbage can and a stack of books before landing on the hardwood floor *rolls eyes* and when I landed my left knee cap was behind my knee instead of in front where it belongs. Oh geez, I am getting creeped out just remembering it, ugh.

All I can say is my poor parents, they were gonna go out that evening and instead they hear me falling to the floor and landing with a thud and then me swearing and screaming. lol. Looking back it is a bit funny, in a cringe worthy kind of way but at the time…oh so not funny! They had to call an ambulance and these paramedics showed up, I am sure everyone thought I was freaking out over nothing but hey, it’s their job to at least take a look right? So they cut up the side of my favourite lounging pants (I am still upset about this! the guy promised to cut on the seam and didn’t so the pants were ruined!) and the next thing I hear is my mom gasping when she sees my knee and the paramedic saying it is the worst dislocation he has ever seen, great just great. So now that the paramedic knows I am not faking I was hoping he’d put it back cause hello? Pain! but no, he comes at me with a frickin needle (I am phobic about needles, lol, I instinctivly tried to get away from the IV which meant I moved which meant I jarred my knee which meant I swore some more which meant he caught up to me with the needle, and guess what? the knee hurt so badly I barely noticed the needle!) and then they put this weird split stretcher on either side of me and kinda scooped me up in to it. Strange sensation that.

Off to the ER we went at the worlds sloooowest speed cause every bump jarred my knee, oy! Then came the “joy” of hanging out in the ER, I can’t remember why it took so long to get a doctor (there was probably an accident or something) but it seemed to take for frickin ever to get a doctor. When the idiot doctor finally comes to see me he’s all “what’s the big deal, why didn’t you just put the kneecap back?” oh gee, like I hadn’t thought of that?!?! Jackass! He then puts one hand on the front of my thigh, one behind my ankle and yup, you guess it, snapped it back – I am fairly certain I remember screaming. This is without the benefit of any kind of decent pain medication, I thought I’d throw that in there in case you are at this point thinking what a wimp I am. lol. I found out a month later at physio that it is normal procedure to drug a person in to la-la land before putting a dislocated knee back – I was apparently the “lucky” small percentage of people who got a doctor who decided to not do that, again, the jackass! grr

After all that I got the “joy” of wearing a foam cast thingy that went from hip to ankle for an entire month…you’d think it wouldn’t be so bad except that I had to treat it like a hard cast which means that sucker couldn’t come off! Man, sleeping with that thing was a royal pain in my…well, leg. lol. All in all, it took a good year for me to be able to walk normally, first I was on crutches, then I had a cane then a horrible limp and inability to go up or down stairs like a normal person then eventually I was able to walk almost like a normal person. You should have seen me the first time I was able to walk up stairs one leg after the other (the way normal people do stairs) I couldn’t get the dopey grin off my face. lol. Lame, I know.

Why did I bore you with all that? Here is where I explain. Today, while hiking my 3.8km path I…jogged. Me! That is my one-step-below-a-miracle miracle. 😀

I was never a person who liked to jog or run but at least I could if I so desired. Well, since the whole knee incident I have not jogged or run anywhere. I occaisionally walk super fast but that’s it. When I am hiking I go at a strong steady fast walk, never anything faster. Part of the reason is I am scared to blow my knee out again, my knee specialist said it was for sure going to happen again and I’d need surgery, joy, and part of the reason is I am fat and therefore don’t jog/run well at all, and hello? I don’t want my fat bouncing all over the place! That’s just unattractive! lol. But today while on the trail I thought why not at least try? There is a stretch at the end of the trail that is fairly flat and easy, I use it as a cool down period normally so today I jogged parts of it. I still can’t believe it…

I didn’t jog a lot, I have no endurance for jogging, but I did one jogging burst, walked a bit, then did another burst of jogging…the first burst, it was weird…I didn’t feel like I had to stop, I wasn’t gasping or feeling like I was gonna fall or anything, I just thought that I should have to stop at that point cause I am so out of shape so I stopped. lol. Weird huh? The second burst I actually felt like I had to stop but more cause my knees were hurting – I don’t think I have very good form while jogging and I have a lot of excess weight which is hard on the knees. But ya know what, who cares that it was only two short bursts of jogging? I sure don’t! I am psyched I was actually able to jog at all! This is ranking right up there with the first time I was able to get my thigh muscle to clench again and the first time I took a step without a cane and the first time I stepped up on a stair left leg first…I think you see where this is ranking. lol.

And wow, that was a long blurb, sorry! Let’s get the the grit of things…

Today I ate:

29 grams honey nut cheerios = 2 points

1/2 cup 1% milk = 1 point

1/2 cup diced peaches = 1 point

1 banana = 2 points

1 Activia yogurt = 2 points

1 cup tomato soup = 2 points

1 whole wheat bagel = 3 points

2 triangles light laughing cow cheese = 1 point

1/2 cup cottage cheese = 2 points

mixed cooked veggies = o points

2 slices pizza = 8 points

3 Lifestyle shortbread cookies = 3 points 

Exercise Points earned = 5 points

Total points eaten 27 which is my daily 22 points and my 5 exercise points, yah! 😀

I probably shouldn’t have eaten the pizza, and I actually didn’t want it, weirdness, but I wanted it out of the fridge and figured suck it up, eat both slices tonight when you have the exercise points and can fit the pizza in and then it’s done. So, shrug, that’s what I did. I don’t feel bad about eating the pizza but I am amused at myself that I would have preferred some salmon and a big serving of vegg. Oh how things change! lol 

Quick little note, my little jogging bursts are soooo making themselves known in my thigh muscles right now…Awesome! 😀

Tags: exercise, jogging, knee dislocation, pizza, points, weight loss, weight watchers