Remember back in June when my left knee totally gave out, excruciating pain, etc… then I got an x-ray done in July and an MRI was recommended? Well I finally had the MRI done today but since Sunday my right knee has been so painful I can barely walk, so I was wondering if they would do a twofer while I was there. No dice. I was told they were only authorized to do the left knee. I thought it would be like the x-ray, with both knees done at the same time, but they used this exact machine (see pic – same brand and everything) which, as you can see, is for one knee only. So fine. I was still thinking this was going to be easy peasy until the technician finally got my leg locked into position and then said… “it’s very important that you do not move AT ALL”. Again, not too worried thinking it would be like an x-ray, hey no problem. But it turned out I was not allowed to move AT ALL for 25 minutes. Gaaahhh…

To say it was the longest 25 minutes of my life is probably a bit of an exaggeration, but OMG. As soon as the technician left the room and shut the door I started to panic and – OF COURSE – started getting little itches here, small cramps there, twitches all over the place. I mean, it’s the same with a PET scan, having to lie still for 25 minutes, but at least they give you a nice sedative for that so you don’t really care. Not today. After an eternity (give or take) I heard a voice over the intercom saying “You’re almost done Schwan (not a typo that’s how they say my name here), just another ten minutes” and I almost died on the spot. All I could think was that at least I wasn’t stuck in the full body tube kind of MRI because I can tell you right now I would not survive that. MRI result? No idea. Guess I’ll find out soon enough. Meanwhile I was told to ask my GP to book another MRI for my right knee. You know what? Think I’ll wait a bit.

Meanwhile meanwhile… last night I had a tapas tour with four lovely lovely Canadians from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. It was very touch and go as to whether I would be able to make it (Peter was waiting in the wings just in case) as when I tried getting up in the morning I could barely walk from one room to another (no exaggeration). Thankfully things had “loosened up” a bit by late afternoon. I did some upper body chair yoga and stretching and kept forcing myself to get up and walk around the apartment even though it hurt because just sitting still is deadly. Anyhow, I made myself get out there for the tour but with my trusty crutch as, well, a crutch. And it was fine.

Actually it was more than fine. Turned out that three of the four Canadians had had knee replacement operations and they were not just supportive and understanding, they also helped me understand what was going on. That right knee that was hurting way more than the left one that was about to get MRI’d? Well, when I mentioned that the pain was actually behind the knee (not crunchy knee cap pain) I found out this is known as Baker’s Cyst and that it probably came about from my right knee overcompensating for the limitations of the left one. Who knew? It’s a build up of the protective fluid around the knee that goes into overdrive when stressed. And while it hurts like fuckity, it usually subsides on its own, though in extreme cases they (eeeep!) DRAIN THE LIQUID. But just knowing what it was helped because dealing with pain is one thing but dealing with scary I DON’T KNOW WHAT’S HAPPENING pain is quite another. So I relaxed about that and ended up having a great time with these guys.

So that’s one more thing checked off the list (for now). Coming up… another oncology appointment to evaluate new blood tests with cancer markers (which I still have to set up) and the ultrasound on my boob after the last mammogram was inconclusive (waiting nervously for that one). Oh, and I have to get back to my GP about the disastrous appointment with the endocrinologist, with another blood test pending for that, after which I’ll no doubt get scolded for not taking the statins and blood sugar meds. And then hoping to get the latest Covid booster along with this year’s flu jab in October. And yes, all of this is included in my social security payments.