When Life Throws Yet Another Health Hurdle Your Way

Amazing! I have been fairly well for about 10 weeks. It has been wonderful. I have been able to exercise and do things that are usually in the “too hard” basket. I was swimming three times a week up to 2k each time, doing Tai Chi weekly and getting to ride my yellow Trike Bike.

This was so good! For the last three years I have been too ill with my chronic asthma to do this. I was relishing this opportunity. But, wham! It has all had to be put on hold. Osteoarthritis in my knee has flared up. My knee is giving way, extremely swollen and inflamed and damn sore.

 

It is a real nuisance. I can barely walk. The pain is incessant and is stopping me from sleeping, let alone swimming or doing tai chi or riding my tricycle! My knee keeps collapsing, so I am rather scared of falling too. It’s “just another hurdle” as my friends say. It’s just another hurdle that isn’t very welcome.

Being able to exercise is really important for my asthma and diabetes too. It’s like a vicious circle! Everything is interconnected and interdependent.

The physio says no bike riding at all. She also says about six months to strengthen my leg again so I can swim again. (I am permitted to swim provided I use a pull buoy and don’t kick!) The pain is dreadful and quite unremitting! I tried a short walk along the beach this week and the next day I was even worse! But, I did see whales frolicking towards the horizon on their annual northern migration. This is just life. My joints are just plain wearing out.

How does everyone manage when another hurdle gets thrown at you?

I wasn’t expecting any problems with my knee! I am quite used to problems with all the other chronic health issues I have. I am getting good at recognizing problems and taking action. But what do you do when another hurdle crops up?

I am finding all sorts of feelings being generated by this hurdle. I am frustrated that another part of my body just won’t work. I am rather sad about the limitations it is bringing. I am impatient with the prospect of six months to very slowly getting my knee working so it’s pain free.

I am having to work through acceptance of this situation. Yes, it is painful, yes it is limiting. And, yes, it is rather unfair that another part of my body is giving me grief. This is how it is and I am desperately trying to find ways to seek out the best in each day and to still be a participant in life’s joys. I don’t want to let myself slide into a daily nothingness, letting everything just pass me by.

How does everyone else manage in these situations?

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Thinkstock photo via Silmairel.