[Magdalen] Bum ankle

[James Oppenheimer-Crawford]

Yes, the devil you know is better than the devil you don't know.

Now that I know I have a touch of arthritis in the ankle, I know where I
stand (or limp). I'm going in to my PT and ask if they recommend any change
in the exercises they gave me, in light of the ankle being arthritic, and I
continue to build up my strength.

This ankle has been bothering me for a long time. It was one reason I
decided to stop singing in the excellent small choir I've been in for over
a decade, and I've been thinking of dropping out of the local municipal
choir as well.  Since music is my heart and soul, those are wrenching
decisions, and I tend toward depression anyway.

Since I broke my back about thirty years ago, I have been dreading the
onset of arthritis in my back. Hey, Lord. Thanks very much for your grace.
I'll definitely take the bum ankle.  I know what it's like to have
continual pain in the back, and the ankle is much, much better.

I've had some nasty experiences in my life, and every single time, I found
that I could turn around and see half a dozen people who were waaay worse
off than me.  Considering the typical trajectory of a male with ADHD, I've
led a charmed life indeed.  Where the Army may well have destroyed me, it
instead gave me a place to grow up and find myself a little bit.  I'm still
waiting to decide what I want to be when I grow up, but all told, not a bad
run.  I hope there's more to go in the old geezer.

James W. Oppenheimer-Crawford
*“A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved,
except in memory. LLAP**”  -- *Leonard Nimoy

On Tue, Sep 27, 2016 at 12:01 AM, James Oppenheimer-Crawford <
oppenheimerjw at gmail.com> wrote:

> I have been having trouble with my right ankle for over a year. My
> podiatrist suggested that I let it rest and heal, and that turned out not
> to be helpful. Finally, having nothing else to suggest, she sent me to PT.
> The PT folks are really very nice people, so there is that Hawthorne effect
> of feeling better just because some pretty young lady is putting a heating
> pad on me and so forth. The regime of exercises were helpful, but when the
> tour started, I had difficulty doing them because of lack of adequate floor
> space, stairs, and time. This was a really strenuous tour, and we were in
> bed after dinner (very late in Iberia) and up and out early. I do not know
> if my diminished exercises hurt, but it didn't help.
> Most days, I started out feeling fine, but pain came on over the course of
> the day. The day we visited Al Hambra was the worst. We had a huge amount
> of walking, and a lot of stairs.  Considering what Al Hambra went through
> over the centuries since it was built, it's a wonder there's anything left
> of it at all! Definitely worth the visit.  It is not really just one
> palace, but several. They have done some repairs and have tried to give
> some idea of what the gardens were like, but goodness, what a herculean
> task to take care of that place. There is also a huge palace built later by
> Charles V.
> I had to use one of my walking sticks as a cane, and that  helped a lot.
> When I got home, I made an appointment to see my podiatrist (today), and
> she had Xrays taken of the ankle. There has been some arthritic action in a
> couple places (one could see how the bone was normally a tiny distance
> apart, but in a couple of places, the bones are practically touching, and
> "They should not be doing that," she said. So that explains how I could
> start out each day feeling fine, and gradually get so I could only walk
> with difficulty by the end of the day.
> She gave me a more substantial ankle brace and showed me how to adjust it
> for tightness.
> I'll also be taking prophylactic doses of antiinflammatories on our next
> trip (Jordan and Israel, coming up in about a month).
> I'm walking daily on my treadmill, gradually hoping to work up to several
> miles per day.
>
> I have a ton of pictures, and I am interested in making a site where they
> can be displayed.  What are the best ways to do that?
>
> James W. Oppenheimer-Crawford
> *“A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved,
> except in memory. LLAP**”  -- *Leonard Nimoy
>