Two years ago today, I became a Cyborg Sapien. That's right, I have metal skeletal parts. Back when I had a MySpace, I did my blogging there- and this is when I'd link you to the cyborg blog I wrote back then, but alas, I cannot. I deleted my MySpace a few weeks ago. I saved all my blogs though, but I'm not just going to copy/paste it. This isn't so much about the past as it is about me now. ME! ME! ME!! MEEEEEE!!!
Oh, wait, where was I?
So, two years ago today, I went into my impending replacement with the rosiest rose-colored glasses ever. "It may take as long as a year to fully recover"... not me! "You will have setbacks and may have to re-learn how to walk properly again"... not me! "This is major surgery and it will change your life"... NOT ME!
Oh, how silly was I? Don't get me wrong, I knew what I was getting into. I took the joint-replacement class that I was required to take. My doctor knew I was an Internet geek and gave me some links to read. And I did. I took notes in that class- which, by the way, showed some of the most hilariously low-budget videos of such quality it reminded me of the drunk-driving videos I saw in the bartender licensing class I took about six years ago. I understood this was a huge thing and what the risks were. But, I'd also spent so long in pain that I didn't care. When I got to the point where I was able to have the surgery, I'd been walking with two canes for almost two years. I had been walking with crutches, then a cane, since March 3, 2006 (when I slipped on the icy frost outside my door on my deck and tore up my right knee). Wow, I hear you thinking, How the hell can you remember the date? Well, we live on a fixed income and the third of the month is one of the Social Security disability paydays and I had parent/teacher conferences for Ceej and Jase at 8 AM. I slipped at 7 AM (while, ironically, taking my cane to the disabled guy's shop so he could sand it down for repainting). I went to the conferences on crutches and then drove myself to the hospital.
Why did I drive myself? Because the disabled guy doesn't handle stressful emergency-ish situations very well. While I was gone, he cleaned the entire bathroom. He was angry and snapped at me for a long while, but that's part of his stroke. Don't hate him for that. In his logical mind, he was "helping" by cleaning the bathroom.
So, back to this... My recovery from surgery was a slow process. I would feel better, then push a little harder, then have a setback. So for every two steps forward, I'd take one back. Finally, a year and three months after the surgery, I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. I knew I had this problem for years. I begged my doctor for help. But, this was that jerk doctor I had to deal with who blamed all my problems on my weight. Despite the fact that my weight was good till I started to be in pain, then I had the knee injury and bam, Patty is a fatty again. But that doctor refused to see that and just sort of kept me in limbo, giving me just enough treatment to make me think he was helping.
When Jerk Doctor moved on, I was given a new doctor and looky here... proper diagnosis. Here are a few links for you to read if'n you want to-
May of 2010, leading up to my diagnosis.
July 2010, right after my diagnosis.
And, if you know me, you know I went out and started a blog about my fibro.
Pahz lives with Fibro(I did that banner myself).
After I started getting treated for the fibro, my surgical recovery flew into fast-forward. And I'm doing so much better. You all know I do photography now. I'm walking three to four times a week. I figured out that if I walk a little less, I can walk a little more often- which is better, I think, than longer walks that hurt more and that I would do less frequently.
Along with the photography, I'm going to the ren faire more often. This summer, I'll go every single weekend because I'm getting a season pass. And soon, I'll be completely back to my old self, which of course, is my younger self. This whole thing is related to the fibro though, not the knee. I have absolutely no pain in my knee. And I can go up and down stairs. I can walk normally. I can do all the slightly physical things that are required for me to do photography. I've walked through deep snow, I've sprawled out, face-down on my deck, I've stood for long periods of time in the bitter cold, in the summer heat. When I get into the "zone" taking photos, I can forget how the fibro makes me feel. I pay for it later, but during that half-hour or hour when I'm standing in the bitter cold or sprawled out on my deck or leaning over to reach a shot in macro... I forget how shitty I feel. But the knee is fantastic.
By the way, Doc Bones liked the photograph I gave him. I chose a 5x7 in a black matte in a broad black wooden frame. And now I don't have to go back for another two to three years (unless I have a problem, of course). And with the way things are going, there will be significantly less of me the next time I visit. We talked about the skin numbness (will probably always be there) and the sensitivity I feel when I try to kneel down is all normal. I said that I was going to try biking again and he said, "Be careful not to crash!" and I promised if I did, I'd fling my body in the opposite direction of my knee.
If you're on the fence about getting your knee or hip replaced, just slide off that fence and get it done. I would have done mine sooner, but I was stuck with that doctor. I had to wait for him to give me a referral letter. But if you're not hindered by that, then go. Take the classes, research it. See the good and the bad and be prepared for a long recovery... but also be prepared to get your life back. Also, you can find some fantastic support here: BoneSmart-dot-org. I'm not even the youngest person on the board (I'm 41, in case you didn't know. I was 39 when I became a cyborg). So even if you don't want to get medical advice, this is a good place for support. The main site is loaded with information as well.
Now, on to the pictures!
These are from September 2010-
Steve Austin!
![Steve Austin, the bionic knee]()
![Handsome devil, isn't he?]()
And here is Fronkensteen from last year and from when he was a newborn.
![]()
These photos were taken yesterday at my appointment.
![March 17, 2011- front view]()
![March 17, 2011- profile view]()
And... I present to you, FRONKENSTEEN on his second birthday!
![33 of 365/2- Two years ago today I was given this beautiful scar]()
Oh, wait, where was I?
So, two years ago today, I went into my impending replacement with the rosiest rose-colored glasses ever. "It may take as long as a year to fully recover"... not me! "You will have setbacks and may have to re-learn how to walk properly again"... not me! "This is major surgery and it will change your life"... NOT ME!
Oh, how silly was I? Don't get me wrong, I knew what I was getting into. I took the joint-replacement class that I was required to take. My doctor knew I was an Internet geek and gave me some links to read. And I did. I took notes in that class- which, by the way, showed some of the most hilariously low-budget videos of such quality it reminded me of the drunk-driving videos I saw in the bartender licensing class I took about six years ago. I understood this was a huge thing and what the risks were. But, I'd also spent so long in pain that I didn't care. When I got to the point where I was able to have the surgery, I'd been walking with two canes for almost two years. I had been walking with crutches, then a cane, since March 3, 2006 (when I slipped on the icy frost outside my door on my deck and tore up my right knee). Wow, I hear you thinking, How the hell can you remember the date? Well, we live on a fixed income and the third of the month is one of the Social Security disability paydays and I had parent/teacher conferences for Ceej and Jase at 8 AM. I slipped at 7 AM (while, ironically, taking my cane to the disabled guy's shop so he could sand it down for repainting). I went to the conferences on crutches and then drove myself to the hospital.
Why did I drive myself? Because the disabled guy doesn't handle stressful emergency-ish situations very well. While I was gone, he cleaned the entire bathroom. He was angry and snapped at me for a long while, but that's part of his stroke. Don't hate him for that. In his logical mind, he was "helping" by cleaning the bathroom.
So, back to this... My recovery from surgery was a slow process. I would feel better, then push a little harder, then have a setback. So for every two steps forward, I'd take one back. Finally, a year and three months after the surgery, I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. I knew I had this problem for years. I begged my doctor for help. But, this was that jerk doctor I had to deal with who blamed all my problems on my weight. Despite the fact that my weight was good till I started to be in pain, then I had the knee injury and bam, Patty is a fatty again. But that doctor refused to see that and just sort of kept me in limbo, giving me just enough treatment to make me think he was helping.
When Jerk Doctor moved on, I was given a new doctor and looky here... proper diagnosis. Here are a few links for you to read if'n you want to-
May of 2010, leading up to my diagnosis.
July 2010, right after my diagnosis.
And, if you know me, you know I went out and started a blog about my fibro.
Pahz lives with Fibro(I did that banner myself).
After I started getting treated for the fibro, my surgical recovery flew into fast-forward. And I'm doing so much better. You all know I do photography now. I'm walking three to four times a week. I figured out that if I walk a little less, I can walk a little more often- which is better, I think, than longer walks that hurt more and that I would do less frequently.
Along with the photography, I'm going to the ren faire more often. This summer, I'll go every single weekend because I'm getting a season pass. And soon, I'll be completely back to my old self, which of course, is my younger self. This whole thing is related to the fibro though, not the knee. I have absolutely no pain in my knee. And I can go up and down stairs. I can walk normally. I can do all the slightly physical things that are required for me to do photography. I've walked through deep snow, I've sprawled out, face-down on my deck, I've stood for long periods of time in the bitter cold, in the summer heat. When I get into the "zone" taking photos, I can forget how the fibro makes me feel. I pay for it later, but during that half-hour or hour when I'm standing in the bitter cold or sprawled out on my deck or leaning over to reach a shot in macro... I forget how shitty I feel. But the knee is fantastic.
By the way, Doc Bones liked the photograph I gave him. I chose a 5x7 in a black matte in a broad black wooden frame. And now I don't have to go back for another two to three years (unless I have a problem, of course). And with the way things are going, there will be significantly less of me the next time I visit. We talked about the skin numbness (will probably always be there) and the sensitivity I feel when I try to kneel down is all normal. I said that I was going to try biking again and he said, "Be careful not to crash!" and I promised if I did, I'd fling my body in the opposite direction of my knee.
If you're on the fence about getting your knee or hip replaced, just slide off that fence and get it done. I would have done mine sooner, but I was stuck with that doctor. I had to wait for him to give me a referral letter. But if you're not hindered by that, then go. Take the classes, research it. See the good and the bad and be prepared for a long recovery... but also be prepared to get your life back. Also, you can find some fantastic support here: BoneSmart-dot-org. I'm not even the youngest person on the board (I'm 41, in case you didn't know. I was 39 when I became a cyborg). So even if you don't want to get medical advice, this is a good place for support. The main site is loaded with information as well.
Now, on to the pictures!
These are from September 2010-
Steve Austin!
And here is Fronkensteen from last year and from when he was a newborn.
These photos were taken yesterday at my appointment.
And... I present to you, FRONKENSTEEN on his second birthday!
