One of the dumbest things I did was many years ago, I was playing with a kitten in my DR. We were having great fun batting around a golf ball until the ball rolled under the DR hutch. I was on my knees at the time, so without thinking at all, I put my face and shoulders down on the floor and reached with my right arm under the hutch to get the ball...couldn't quite reach so i reached in a little further, a little further, stretched a little more, until I grabbed it. Then I went to pull my arm out and it wouldn't budge. I mean it was really wedged. So here I am, face down on the floor, home alone, DH won't be home for hours with my arm wedged under the hutch and no way to get to a phone or call for help. As I'm laying there trying to assess the situation, I realize my arm is starting to go numb and is starting to swell up. I can't just wait for help. I have to get my arm out before I'm in real trouble. Fortunately at the time, I was young and fairly flexible. So I managed to twist to my side so my knee and shin were up against the front of the hutch for leverage and I pulled...I mean really pulled...and managed to free myself. My arm was all scraped and somewhat bruised, but I was free and I was ok. How scary was that! What to do next? Why keep playing with the kitten and the ball of course. Would you believe, the ball went under there again, and without thinking, the next thing I knew I was reaching under there again? Fortunately the wiser part of my brain started screaming at me, "Idiot! Do you want to get stuck again?!?!" and I stopped myself in time...and got a yardstick to fetch the ball. Man! How dumb can you get!

Oh, so many injuries have been recounted here, and then there are those who are blessed with none! The first significant injuries I recall were horseback riding accidents as a child - a concussion despite wearing a helmet, a cracked vertebrae, and a crushed right foot. While pregnant with DD2, I suffered cracked ribs in a car accident. I broke my left elbow falling down steps after rushing from work to home to look after kids, while en route to an evening master's class. I was in a bit of shock and went into the small class anyway not realizing how bedraggled I was (ripped stockings, bruised knees, broken glasses, etc.). The professor looked at me and said perhaps I should leave. I stuck it out, but by the end knew I couldn't drive and called my husband to pick me up. That pain took a good year to settle down. Last year I broke my left foot. Again too much rushing and a trip down a last step. We had just returned from a month in Spain and were dashing through jet lag to help DD2 who had given birth prematurely with lots of complications while we were away. Throw in the occasional broken toe and foot stress fractures. We get a lot of snow and ice here but that hasn't so far caused me problems, dare I say it. On really bad days I wear ice grips if I have to go out. One day this winter, DH, DD1 and DD3 each had falls on the ice. DD3 broke her wrist as a result. The others were a little sore but okay.

Thanks for checking in socks! We are at a week today since surgery and overall things are going well. She is starting to put some pressure on her foot when she walks and the incision is healing well. They warned us there would be lots of bruising and swelling but the bruising was pretty minimal and she never swelled. I did ice her the first two days home a couple of times a day though- I know that helped a lot. We are having to keep her sedated - we are alternating her pain meds and trazadone ( half the dose they sent us home with) so she doesn't get too active. Earlier this week when I kenneled her to walk Sam, she decided she didn't want to be in the kennel and while we were gone ( 15 minutes) she managed to push her kong under the mat, bend the door frame and chew through her harness in two places. Needless to say, that was when I had to commit to sedation for her own good. My hubby ( who has had several major surgeries) thinks it would be better for her anyways if this time of healing was just a blur. We did have some issues with her drinking water though- took her off of the Rimadyl at day 5 in case her kidneys were being affected ( talked with surgeon's office). I didn't want her dehydrating though so we diluted some low sodium chicken broth and she drank that right up. Her appetite is good, pee and poop look fine and tonight we just might try to see if she has graduated to the no "cone of shame" at bedtime. Lots of snuggles and even a low key game or two of find it. When her new harness arrives we might start taking her out in the front yard for sniffs and change of scenery ( lol, as long as the neighbor cats are not around).

i'm riddled with osteoarthritis, have been for years. i had both hips replaced 23 years ago and haven't had a single problem. they're still going strong. i have follow up xrays every 2 years. my knees, on the other hand, are horrible. my right knee has been bone on bone for the last 4-5 years. the left one isn't as bad although it's definitely painful. i've been putting off knee replacement but it's inevitable. i've had several steroid injections in my knees but the last few have been pretty much ineffective. tried the gel injection in my right knee a few months ago and had exactly 1 day of relief. each time i've had a knee injected, area was sprayed with a numbing/freezing solution that helped although it was still painful. i'm getting to the point, with my knees, that every day chores take me forever and it's very discouraging. my biggest issue is that i live in the middle of nowhere and it's gonna be really hard to find someone who will be able to stay with me for a week especially since i have 2 great danes. boarding them somewhere is out of the question. i agree that you should find an ortho group, they will be able to get you in much sooner, probably within a few weeks. wishing you luck!