June 07, 2023
Bonjour From Banality-Land
Picture is Unrelated:
Art by Pochi
So. For the last several months I've been in and out of the hospital, my refrigerator has died, and I have been dealing with technical issues with my streaming efforts.
I was quite chuffed at how quickly I got back to work after the stroke. I attribute that to the fact that my stroke was induced by lack of oxygen and dehydration rather than overall bad health. The fact that my insurance dropped me after a month was certainly a major encouragement. (Professional physical therapy cost over 400 dollars a day, while lifting boxes made me 30 dollars an hour.)
Over the year and a half after the stroke I struggled but there was uneven but generally steady progress until the last few months when my mobility began to plummet.
I began to have great difficulty walking and while I had no problems lifting boxes at work, at one point moving from place to place required a cane. When I got off work , I could not lift my leg enough to get in the shower, and would have to rest for several hours before I could. I also had knee pain , but the lack of control over my legs was terrifying . I was pretty sure it was neurological. Things came to a head last month when I left( mid shift) work to go to the hospital as the stiffness and lack of control were joined by great pain.
All this time I had a kidney stone as well.
The hospital said I had knee "issues" ("REALLY!?") and recommended I see an orthopedist. A month later the ortho guy finally saw me and informed me I had so much arthritis in my left knee it looked like someone had surgically installed a pinecone.
I received a cortisone injection in my left knee. I....did not have a good reaction to it. I missed work for 2 days while it swelled and locked up.
Then....amazingly. No pain! My left knee worked fine it was great! Except for the minor detail that I was now much more aware of the pain in the RIGHT knee. So when I went for a follow up a month ago, I asked about that, got an X-ray, and was told that the right knee was worse arthritis-wise than the left. So, shot in knee 2 days out (though it did not hurt nearly as much this time) and I was fine. Now, a month later I'm starting to have issues again, but it's not terrible.
In 3 weeks I go for another follow-up, will get another cortisone shot and discuss the possibility of getting the new jell injections that have shown such good results recently.
Work has been rough lately. I'm lifting over 1200 65 pound packages twice each day and once over my head. Because of an IT problem. This in in addition to my normal job. I've been offered the option to work somewhere else in the building, but realistically this is the best spot for me since this job, while it involves a LOT of lifting doesn't require much bending, which every other job there does, and is something I still have great difficulty performing, especially at speed.
Still, if it were pleasant the company would charge admission.
The worst issue is that I now have great difficulty reading books. Reading anything not on a screen gives me headaches and puts me to sleep. This is something I'd missed since I've been reading on the computer or phone just fine. But when I started to slog through my "To Read" pile it became obvious something was wrong. It's almost certainly an artifact of the stroke. I'm working on it but it's bothersome and not a little humiliating.
The computer upgrades are being delayed by hospital bills and the need to replace my. refrigerator. My streams themselves have been scuffed because.....I'm a mac user....as well as my neurological issues which I started streaming largely to deal with. Nevertheless my speech has improved thanks to forcing myself to stream and I'm actually monetized with 61 followers. I even have 2 subscribers, which, frankly, bewilders me, but also ensures that I don't quit the streaming endeavor. Which is good, since my hikki lifestyle does not force me to speak much nowadays, and I fear I'd regress back to speCh tHaad isdbgrqgtjukuk...
Which would not be good.
Because of life's little hiccups and my streaming channel. I've only been blogging intermittently of late and I apologize for that lack of sedulity. I'll strive to do better in the future.
All in all, I'm doing better, especially with regards to mobility. The reading thing is appalling, but seems to be improving with practice.
Thank you all for your kind words and your viewership.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at
05:17 PM
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1
I have some knee arthritis issues as well. Down to about half the cartilage I should have. I've been taking Glucosamine/Chondroitin, which has been helping, although I don't know if it will in your advanced state.
Posted by: Mauser at Wed Jun 7 22:54:00 2023 (BzEjn)
2
I'm glad to see this news. I was a little afraid that I would hear of a sudden decline.
I'm very happy that you are seeing some improvements, and not just having to endure this stuff.
The reading especially sounds awful to me.
Posted by: PatBuckman at Thu Jun 8 07:59:25 2023 (r9O5h)
3
You are right to postpone a replacement as much as possible, even at your age. Can't go back from those.
Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at Sun Jun 11 00:10:43 2023 (LZ7Bg)
4
Received a number of cortisone shots when I was younger. Found out later that one potential side effect is early onset of cataracts. Found a knee compound from Garden of Life (no, they aren't paying me) that has a lot of good stuff in it and helps me a lot. The wife recently started having knee problems so she tried taking it, and it is helping her as well.
Posted by: Frank at Thu Jun 15 02:39:31 2023 (rglbH)
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