Category Archives: knees

too many hobbles

04 Wednesday Jun 2025

Posted by in health, knee saga, knees, Malaga, sevilla, spain, trips

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I think I really overdid things this past week. I mean, I try to get out for a hobble each day, as well as doing my chair workouts five times a week. But between Málaga-Marbella and Jerez I worry that I may have actually done some extra damage to The Knee. Because now it seriously hurts (even more) like fuck. Today I wanted to go to the market and gave up half-way there. The thing was, once out and about you just kind of have to keep going. Especially if you are in the centre of pedestrianised Málaga (no taxis!) or when your lunch location in Benalmádena ends up being at the bottom of a very steep foot path (ouch!).

But I persevered then took a couple of days off before heading to Jerez. I don’t know if that was a mistake or not, or if all of it was wrong to do, but dammit I’m so tired of not being able to do things. And with NOBODY helping me with info about what I should or should not be doing (other than go to the pool, ride a bike, lose weight). Not one doctor has told to either keep walking or stop walking. And so I keep on, not exactly walking, but hobbling on my trusty crutches. Clocked over 15,000 hobbles in Málaga and another 12,000 in Jerez. And each one hurt so much. I just want my life back.

relatively speaking…

19 Monday May 2025

Posted by in casa azahar, health, hope, hospitals, knee saga, knees, sevilla, spain

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Okay, so maybe not the best image since I AM GOING BALD and would never tear my hair out on purpose… but I mean fuck. No wonder it’s falling out on its own. Remember when I had it all worked out to finally take care of business and find out – in person – why I have been waiting SEVEN MONTHS to see the knee surgeon? And so on my way to my mammogram on Friday, at a new place way out in the middle of nowhere (sorry El Juncal, but you kind of are), I got off the bus and stopped in at the scene of the crime – Fleming Clinic – which was sorta kinda of on the way.

I was directed to the department I should be taking this up, and so that’s what I did. But after a few minutes of looking stuff up on the computer screen the woman at the desk told me… “all I can say is that the appointments being seen to now in the department are from requests made LAST JULY”.

My request was made in October.

And when the woman saw the look on my face she said… “well you know, relatively speaking, it shouldn’t be that far off now”.

I didn’t even know what to say. I asked if this meant I would have to wait another three months and she said “not necessarily”, which could mean anything. Maybe not three months, maybe longer. Remember, this is just to see the surgeon. Who will have to sign off on the surgery. And then I will go on ANOTHER WAITING LIST. Unless the surgeon doesn’t sign off on it and then I am completely fucked. So far I have been finding it very difficult to have doctors take me seriously about this and so it’s hard to hope.

chair kickboxing!

31 Thursday Oct 2024

Posted by in health, knees, sevilla, video

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kickboxing

So I’ve been doing chair workouts – chair yoga, chair pilates, chair cardio, chair barre, etc – for over a year now (due to fucked up knee)… then this week I tried chair kickboxing for the first time and wow, what a great workout. I love that there is enough variety with this woman’s workout vids that I can always find something that works and also something new. I’d honestly be lost without them.

I’m walking here!

28 Monday Oct 2024

Posted by in health, knees, sevilla

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im walking here

As I become more and more mobility challenged oh boy am I developing not only a lot of extra empathy for people even more challenged than me but I am also not afraid to let stupid and selfish able-bodied assholes know just how stupid and selfish they are being. I don’t know why. Usually I avoid confrontation like it was Covid, but maybe because this is still relatively new for me I still don’t quite personally identify with being “disabled” so it feels like I’m standing up for others? Whatever. This is what has been happening.

I walk down the street, slowly and painfully hobbling along with my crutches, clearly not walking with any ease of motion. And then… PEOPLE GET IN MY WAY. By this I mean a group of people will be walking up a street and somehow expect me to move over for them… or on one of our many narrow sidewalks here where only one and half people can actually walk abreast, some of them think I’m the one who is going to step out into oncoming traffic to let them by. What the fuck is wrong with these people?? I’m hobbling. I’m using two crutches. Going very slowly. And well, since I’m kinda new at this game, it totally pisses me off because I haven’t yet got to the point of accepting this and, frankly, I don’t plan to.

So what do I do? Well, I simply stand my ground. I’m not moving out of the way for fucking anybody. And the result is, of course, they have to move. Good. They have perfectly functional limbs. I guess I’m also thinking that I am taking a stance for all of us who can’t get around so easily… to make other people aware that they should be more aware. And just basically be polite.

The other issue here is on our narrow one-way streets in the centre, many of which have signs posted saying PRIORITY PEDESTRIANS AND CYCLISTS. For the most part cars and taxis expect people to huddle in doorways to let them pass as there is usually no sidewalk to speak of. Twice this past week this happened to me and I was like… what the fuck is wrong with you?? You’re sitting comfortably in a car, you are coming up a pedestrian prioritised street, you see someone hobbling along on crutches and YOU EXPECT THEM TO PAINFULLY CLIMB ONTO A NARROW CURB AND HUDDLE IN A DOORWAY FOR YOU?? Well fuck that shit. Both times this happened I stood my ground. The cars approached when I was already half-way down the street but they just kept coming even though there were several other people walking in the street (and diving into doorways). Not me. I stood in the middle of the street and motioned that they had to back up to the square (because they shouldn’t have entered the street in the first place if they saw pedestrians). And both times I got so much support from onlookers saying “you tell ’em”, “take your time señora”, “they are the ones in the wrong”… which was quite uplifting.

So expect me to be doing my Ratso Rizzo thing all over town for the foreseeable. I’m walking here!

no news isn’t good news

21 Monday Oct 2024

Posted by in health, hospitals, knee saga, knees

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no news

I’m already exhausted about writing this post even before starting it. For a few days it seemed like the sudden and excruciating knee pain I first experienced back in May 2023 (left knee), which then extended to the right knee, and then got worse and worse to the extent that I’ve been painfully shuffling around (you can’t call it walking) on crutches since August, was finally about to be taken seriously and treated.

I knew I shouldn’t have got my hopes up.

I arrived at the health centre fully prepared with a typed-out list of the whole saga including every doctor’s visit, every test, every “non-treatment”, thinking it would be helpful for the traumatologist to see it laid out chronologically because, in my experience, most doctors know nothing about you or your case until you walk through the door and then there is the usual them skimming through your files on the computer and half-listening while you try to explain your situation.

Anyhow, my knees were poked and prodded and it was confirmed that I did indeed have mobility issues and PAIN because of the torn meniscus. Then the doctor said she wasn’t going to recommend a knee replacement (wtf?) but would send me to another specialist to see about getting the meniscus repaired. Well okay, better than nothing. I asked how soon I would get this appointment and was told not until AFTER CHRISTMAS. It was like a punch in the gut.

I got the usual ride a bike – go to a pool – lose weight – take painkillers “advice” and when I asked about seeing a physiotherapist the doctor said physio isn’t helpful for a torn meniscus. SO THEN WTF WOULD GOING TO THE POOL OR RIDING A BIKE DO?

I honestly don’t know what I am going to do now. The right knee keeps getting worse and worse and I fear that soon I won’t be able to walk at all, even with the crutches. Meanwhile not working is taking its toll both emotionally (I miss my old life) and financially (so scared about this). And to think that everything is just on pause, yet again, until January… right now I can’t bear to even think about that because it’s just too much. Fuck.