Trip to the Cabin

Everything is currently done from a chair.  I really need to get this knee fixed.

 

MaKayla's graduation

 Sadly, I think we may have made our last trip out to Sterling, and we were not able to get out for this graduation.  Luckily we could watch it on our TV screen.

Dad isn't doing great, and my knee is always in terrible pain.  We sent our well wishes, and watched from home.  

Dad's spending a little of Mary's Money

 Grandma and Grandpa worked very hard to provide for their family and when they passed they gave each of their children a nice little check.  Dean was able to buy a tractor and a house to put it in with some of it.  He has been so very excited for both of them.  We hope it brings peace to his heart.

By mid June the tractor house was ready to store the stuff.

 

Hairs getting longer

 I have gone totally natural on my hair color and it doesn't even bother me any more.  I have struggled when I see photos, and Mom hates that I'm gray, but it looks okay for about 10 minutes.

Then, I have to pull it up off my neck because I still struggle with the terrible heat.  I now realize that I am in Adrenal Exhaustion again, and I keep trying to get on top of it but to no avail.

I have accepted that I come from a mother who is a narcissist and I have all of the freezing problems that go along with it.  With Dean struggling I have learned to resort to fleeing when a conflict comes, or is possible.

I do not get around much since I pulled my knee.  The oxy, which I'm intolerant of, settled in my knee, causing me to use it every single night.  It built up there, as I believe, and one day when we needed groceries but Dean just couldn't do it, I went out and got in Mom's car.  

You know that final little wiggle that you do to get settled after getting into a car and you may need just a little wiggle to get fully in place?  Well, I did that and I pulled my knee so badly it crippled me for 2 years (yes, this is written that much later).  I was already in the car, and I was sure it would be fine by the time I got to the store, so I went ahead and drove into town.

By the time I got into the store, got my cart and made my way over to the pharmacy, I was in so much pain the Brad called in a replacement for him, and he took off work and brought me home.  They had the pharmacy tech, Alma, drive my car home and then he was able to take her back in.

That was the start of a really ugly year.  With my adrenal fatigue/failure I didn't feel like doing anything.  My knee was in constant pain and I couldn't stand to walk more than absolutely necessary.  I couldn't do stairs without tears and I ended up being 96% handicapped according to the doctor.  

After a year or so I realized that it wasn't getting any better and I would have to do something serious.  I assumed it was knee surgery at the least and knee replacement at the worst.  However, while shopping for doctors I ran across Dr. Averett's Recover site and it caught my attention.  As I searched the website multiple times, I ran across Dr. Hyman's picture on it.  That is what made me make the call.

I don't remember when I started but we went up north two times a week for shock wave therapy, therapy and leg compressions.  They also worked on my neck to see if we could get rid of the headaches.  I had lots of shots in my knees and finally he had broken up the scar tissue and junk in my knee enough to do stem cell replacement.  

I kept going for another while until I was moved into rehab.  Well, the cost was bad, but then when you add the gas and travel time it became a hardship.  But by the end my adrenal failure had kicked in and I needed to stop doing something and that was all I was doing that wasn't mandatory.

I couldn't be happier with the result.  My knees have hurt since I ruined them in the 1980's while rowing and also wearing surgery boots on my feet to allow me to keep working past the point my feet could handle it.  I quickly had gotten to a point I realized that know my knees were equal to the pain in my feet.  On my trip to Switzerland in 2005, my knees hurt far worse than my feet - partially due to the hills I climbed up and down, but also to the prayers specifically for my feet.

As of this writing April 2025, my knees only hurt after sitting at the computer for a long time typing back posts for blogs.  I can walk up stairs like a normal person, but downstairs is still affected by my fused feet so it's not fun to watch.  Sometimes I forget and feel good enough I go up or down perfectly normally.  I haven't been upstairs in over two years and have just made 3 trips up and down in the past month. 

Time to clean the TV, exercise and sewing rooms up there now, as well as the piano room-converted to my everything room over the past two years.