caturday october 7th 2023

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caturday oct 7 2023 (1)

Remember this little dude? The one I ALMOST adopted back in June? Well, the brother of the woman who found the gatito took him in to foster while we continued looking for a forever home and… he’s still there! Apparently Keiko decided he was already in his forever home, he was just waiting for his new flatmates to come to the same conclusion. A happy ending! 🧑🐈

caturday oct 7 2023 (2)

la muletilla

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muletilla

Since the most recent knee saga I’ve been using my trusty crutch when out and about, but you know, it’s kind of clunky and not always needed. I mean, I don’t need it at home and, after going out on a couple of tapas tours, I realised that I mostly need “extra support” on inclines and street curbs (don’t even talk to me about stairs) so as to not put extra pressure on the dodgy knee. So I went to look for a more “every day” kind of walking cane and found this at the (very handy) orthopaedic store down the street from me.

This muletilla (little crutch) is lightweight and adjustable as well as being foldable (good for travelling) with an ergonomic handle, which I discovered is actually very comfortable as opposed to the straight handle on my big crutch. AND… it has a wrist strap so when I want to stop in the street and take a photo of something the muletilla can just dangle.

And so it looks like I have officially become AN OLD WOMAN WITH A CANE. Which, for the moment, keeps me from being an old woman who walks like a penguin (it’s actually been tempting to do this because, well, it’s kind of easier, but no). Meanwhile my MRI’d knee seems do be doing okay. Whatever. One day at a time.

f*kn knees man

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traumatologia

And it goes on and on. This is the traumatology hospital at Virgen del RocΓ­o, part of their massive university hospital complex (the one that saved my life back in 2008). I didn’t really expect to end up here today (last visit was – I think – when Peter almost put his eye out on Christmas Day). BUT the right knee that had been giving me problems since a few days before the MRI on the left knee last week suddenly went GAAAAH and the pain was just awful. Scary awful. And checking possible reasons on google was not helping.

So a couple of hours and two taxi rides later I was back home again after a jab of anti-inflammatory, a bandage around my knee and a prescription for paracetamol and metamizole. Treatment – stay off my leg and put ice on it. Cause of pain – I overburdened my knee (by being fat). Almost a waste of time (I’m not taking either of the drugs prescribed or wearing that shitty bandage) other than Dr Grumpy said I don’t have any fluid build up around the knee so if there is a Baker’s Cyst there it’s very small, plus he ruled out a DVT.

I also found out that I have osteoarthritis in both knees, not just the left one that had been MRI’d. When I expressed surprise/concern Dr Grumpy snapped (while looking at my xray taken in July) “Well of course you do, if you have it in one you have it in both, but the left one is worse”. Yet it’s my right knee that hurts like fuckity. Apparently because I’m “overloading” it. So fine. I am at home with an ice pack and without the shitty bandage that bunches up and cuts off my circulation. How was your day?