Yes, into each writer’s life, rain must fall. We don’t live in a vacuum, away from the storms of life. We live in life, and face all the challenges that appear (and there are many).
My latest involves knee replacement surgery. For the past five years I have been dealing with an increasingly arthritic right knee. An active life has taken its toll on that joint, beginning with a variety of sports, injuries, long hikes, and arthroscopic surgery. I was able to mitigate the problem by getting injections every six months to help lubricate the joint.
And, it worked for awhile. But, when the swelling didn’t abate and the pain continued, it was time to get serious. When I visited an orthopedic surgeon, he took a look at the x-ray and said my knee looked like a “war zone.”
Here you can see the swelling of the right knee, as compared to the left.
Surgery for a replacement knee got scheduled and I counted down the days until I’d have my new joint. In the meantime there were so many life details and obligations I had to fulfill. And I did.
Surgery day came and I was in and out of the facility within six hours with my new knee. When the nerve block wore off, I also got another “gift” – pain. Yeah, that’s what some think of pain as, a gift that your body is sharing to let you know something’s not right. Okay, message heard, loud and clear! It’s completely understandable that there would be pain, given the sawing, drilling, and hammering (yes hammering!) that went on during surgery.
Post surgery
And no surprise that there would be bruising to go along with the pain. Check this out:
So, my recent focus has been to address the bruising, pain, and sleeplessness that goes with it all. And my daily writing habit? Well, given the pain meds I’m taking that leave me in a fog, writing has taken a bit of a respite. However, I am never not writing, whether that be jotting down notes/thoughts/ideas or thinking about the song that I have been working on for the past month.
I’m looking forward to focused writing sessions as well as getting back on my bike and hitting my favorite hiking trails.
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