Knee Injured

November 27 I was rushing to get my car packed so I could leave right after work to see my family for the First night of Hanukkah. I am not sure what happened but I saw myself going straight down and screaming in pain and then laying on the landing between the 19 or so stairs and the 3 small steps. I knew it was my left leg and that nothing else was injured and wondered how long it would be until someone found me.

My neighbor across the walkway came out and I realized he didn't see me so as I said excuse me Jacob and he looked around I realized I had to say down here. Yes it was that kind of moment where you wonder is this really happening. So he helped me sit up and get things to my car and then told me to lean into him and when I did I fell back down screaming in pain. So we called the paramedics.

At the ER they did an Xray and explained it looked negative and to follow up with an orthopedic doctor. I called Scripps and the best they could schedule was 12/20 something. So I started calling other facilities and RB had 12.10 with Dr. Fellow

The day after Thanksgiving I called my PCP office and requested an MRI. This was a 2 week approval period.

On 12/10 I saw Dr Fellow and he referred to the physical therapy and scheduled a f/u appointment for 1/2/14. My MRI still had not been approved and he was going on vacation the following week.

On 12/16 my MRI was approved and I had it on 12/18.

I received in the mail my MRI results and this is what I read:

IMPRESSION
1. Complete anterior cruciate ligament tear with anterior translation of proximal tibia relative to distal femur, likely acute or subacute.
2. Osteochondral impaction fracture of the lateral condylopatellar sulcus and posterior aspect of the medial tibial plateau.
3. Radial tear of the posterior horn of medial meniscus.
4. Complete tear of the posterior horn of the lateral meniscus with radial component at the posterior horn posterior root ligament junction with 8mm meniscal flap adjacent to the popliteus ligament in the lateral femoral gutter.
5 Suspected medial patellofemoral ligament injury near the femoral attachment.
6. Poplitheofibular ligament appears laxed with edema at proximal tip of the fibula, likely reflecting injury.
7. Muscle strain of the soleus, lateral head of the gastrocnemius.
8. Large join effusion

1/2/14 I saw Dr. Fellow today and he is referring me to a surgeon to see if it is worth doing surgery. Is it worth it? Well I have a job and insurance right now so yes I think it is worth it. I also got fitted for a knee immobilizer but it wasn't the right size. Then they realized I really needed a custom knee brace. Fortunately one of the individuals who does this had stopped by to drop something off as the guy who works there is only there on Mondays and Wednesdays. She was able to find the paperwork and off we went to measure my knee. When I tried to make my appointment I found out the surgeon is only in RB on Tuesdays so the earliest I could see her was 2/4. I asked where else she worked and was told Torrey Pines. Once I got to my car I called there and I am being seen tomorrow.

I have learned a lot of things through this most recent challenge and I need to make some changes in my life and my mental attitude about me. So stay tune for the update on my knee tomorrow.

Happy New Year

It is the 2nd day of 2014 and I feel a bit optimistic tonight.

I haven't really felt like I could blog because I just wasn't feeling that I had anything great to share and I was thinking whether or not I really wanted to use my blog as a way to show my deepest inner thoughts and then I fell and had an injury which made me feel blah.

In 2014 I am going to be selfish. Yes, that is right I am going to be selfish. I am going to set a new work schedule where I only work until 6 on MWF and 5 on T and Th. I am off to a great start as I went into work at 9 and left at 3 today.

I will be working on healing my body from my most recent injury ( I fell on November 27 and now know that I have a torn ACL more information on another post as well as working on taking care of myself. I tend to put work first and friends and always seem to forget that I need to take care of me first.

So I wish you a Happy and Healthy 2014!!!

new quote from Criminal Minds

Death ends a life,  not a relationship.  - Mitch Albom

There's not crying in baseball; ok there is along with a comical moment!!

I love baseball and I wanted a RED World Series because I didn't want to hear Dodger fans moan and groan about why they lost to the Red Sox or why they beat them. However, I like both the Cardinals and the Sox. I want the Sox to win because Mike Napoli is on the team. I want the Cardinals to win because their GM Mike has only been doing this for two years - only coaching he has done was little league.

So as I was talking with a friend online I was mentioning how lame I thought it was that they walked big Papi and that they should leave Lynn and we could watch Gomes do big things. To which I get a response asking me if we are watching the same game, because Gomes just hit a 3 run home run and I must be on delay. I check my tv as I remember that I went back a few minutes during the game so I could see what I missed while I got my soup out of the microwave. So I ffwd through the commercials to Johnny Gomes at bat and I get nervous at the 2 - 2 count and get super happy as I see the homerun. I am silly I know.

Never mind that while they did the moment of silence for the Stand up To Cancer I teared up.

Happy Moments - Random Thoughts

I have taken a long break from blogging about my cruise but I am hoping this will get me going again.

This weekend I had the opportunity to spend time with my niece LE.

It was fantastic to have her here at my place. The best part is that we had good quality time and conversation. She was able to spend time with some of my friends that I think are awesome (MC, RT, and KD) and so does LE.

On Sunday she introduced me to the Happy Buddha for a foot massage. We watched a movie and we also had a conversation about why I joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, talked about the first vision and Joseph Smith, and temple worthiness and temples. Now if you know me, you know my nieces and nephew are Jewish. My family has always been respectful of my religion and I have been of theirs. However, my nieces and nephew and I have not really had serious deep conversations about the gospel. Granted they are just adults and I never pushed the religion talk when they were young as they didn't bring it up. However, she was asking questions and I answered them the best I could.

Honestly, I kept thinking about the 13 Articles of Faith as I thought of how to best answer the questions. Which I found ironic that a day or two later my friend JJ posted about learning them and using them to discuss the Gospel. I know them because of having taught primary.

We ended our evening by having a sushi picnic while looking at the San Diego Temple. I never really imagined that I would ever be on the temple grounds with a family member. So this was a super special moment for me. I love my nieces and nephew so much and honestly, LE was the perfect one to share this first moment with LE.

My second happy moment occurred this evening. I was leaving work and I saw sister missionaries walking around the corner from my office. I was so happy to see them and thought about my weekend with LE. I felt prompted to turn around and just let them know how seeing them made me so happy and that they were doing a great job.

Cheesy I know but honestly these moments made me HAPPY!

June 28 - Day Two Heading to Whittier Alaska

We woke up early on Friday morning and got showered to eat the breakfast provided at the hotel. We met with our group which had already been in Alaska for a few days and met more people.

I met a cute boy in the elevator on my way down and we talked about how we were going on a cruise I didn't think too much of this and thought I am sure it is just a common thing to meet other people who are going on a cruise. As it turned out he was in our group and he was a twin and they were both adorable.

We met the entire group that was there and then boarded the bus around 1. We saw the Anchorage temple on our way out of Anchorage and then stopped at Wildlife Conservation Center is located off the Seward Highway at the Portage Glacier turnoff. Here we saw up close moose, brown bears, black bears, bison, elks, bison, elk,  Sitka black-tailed deer, bald eagles. We were limited on time as we needed to make it to the  3:00 Whittier Tunnel. I did not understand what the fuss was about until we got there on time and started going through the tunnel. This tunnel is only open one way at certain times so if you miss the window for the direction you want to go which is basically into Whittier or out of Whittier you have to wait until the next time. We made our tunnel and I started to get nervous as it was pitch dark and started thinking what if we get stuck and air runs out. The interior is exposed rock, and contains several "safe-houses", which are small buildings that are used in case of severe earthquakes, vehicle fires, or other emergencies. Which of course the driver explained after he made a comment about the oxygen running out and these safe houses. This of course made me get more nervous but clearly we made it. Claustrophobia sucks.

We checked into the Whittier Inn which was right on the bay and super cute looking. Most of us were on the same floor. The twins we met invited us to see their suite...such cute boys. MR and I then headed with AM, BB, and JB to eat dinner.

Our view was amazing and I still couldn't believe I was in Alaska.

 

We returned to our rooms and we saw a Bald Eagle from the window. MR and I saw a group of people walking out of this building where they worked and start walking and we wondered where they were going. We lost sight of them and I went down to follow them I am such a dork. As I kept walking I was enjoying the views and  wanted to walk to the Buckner building and then realized I had no cell phone with me. I also started thinking I am out of view and no way to tell anyone where I am going or call if I need help. Which of course set me thinking of this is how people get cut up and found in little pieces in Criminal Minds, so I stopped my little walk and headed back to the Inn. More to come later about the Buckner building later.

That night when we tried to go to sleep we had a total giggle and laugh fest I don't recall exactly now what was said but it was hilarious.

June 27 - First Day of Vacation

So on Thursday, June 27 I was off work for vacation time. This was the longest vacation I had scheduled in a while so I was a bit anxious and excited.

That morning I woke up early and did laundry, finished packing, went and turned in my rent payment, filled up my gas tank, and picked up my meds.

I picked MR a little bit later than planned and we did a quick stop at SWs work to get M's MP3 player. We then headed to my office so I could do a couple of things and then be off.

We then headed to PD to pick up my SIL EAE and we had a little bit of a delay as they were working on a road and we had to wait to go down a one way lane. However we made it and did a quick pit stop and headed to Long Beach.

We arrived in Long Beach and decided to have dinner at one of my favorite places Enrique's. Had ceviche and milanesa for dinner. Pure yumminess. EAE then dropped off as at Long Beach Airport. As usual we went quickly through the security checkpoint. I checked in my bag at 51 lbs. and the guy said "looks like you are at 50 right?" I just smiled and said "you are the boss and whatever you say goes" so off I went.

Our flight was delayed a little bit but we took off and headed to Anchorage Alaska. We landed close to midnight and it was still slightly light. We took the courtesy shuttle to the Fairmont Inn and AM met us in the lobby. I had a hard time falling asleep since I was excited for my trip and it was barely dark.

More to come with a day by day summary and picture. None for this post.