Dear Readers,
I hope this week’s edition finds you in good health, fine spirits, happy in your nappies and feeling like you want to do something constructive with your weekend ahead. In my case, I don’t wear a nappy, but if I did suppose I would be happy. Anyway, being constructive with my weekends either means cleaning, gardening, repairing something or going out to buy some ingredients to while away some very peaceful and therapeutic hours in the kitchen either cooking or baking something. It can be a main dish or some sort of dessert or cake recipe I’ve recently come across, it doesn’t matter, I’ll have a go at anything; whether it ends up being edible is quite another matter, but in general, I take my time, sometimes a bit too much time (let’s put it this way, I would quickly get fired for being too slow if I were ever to work in a restaurant kitchen) and by the time my food gets to the table my family members or guests are either full from eating the nibbles I’ve put out or they’ve fallen asleep.
I generally put together a 3 course meal and for the grown-ups I’ll always have a few good bottles of wine at hand ready to uncork and pour out to try to compliment the meal I’ve made. I know a bit about pairing wines with food just from watching cooking programmes, reading food and wine books and also from doing some research on the internet, so when I am cooking and baking for family and friends I can usually come across as knowing my onions so to speak (knowing ones onions basically means having a sufficient amount of knowledge to be able to carry out a task to a reasonable level). I’m no sommelier, but I can generally hold my own when it comes to talking about and drinking wine, especially Italian wines.
This weekend will see me trying to recreate some of my mum’s Victoria scones (the very crumbly type) that she always used to make when I was a kid at home; it’s really difficult to find tasty scones and the ones my mum used to make linger in my mind as the best ones I’ve ever tasted. I’ve recently come across a recipe in an old Be-Ro cook book that I think will help me to create something similar to the ones I had when I was a kid, so part of my weekend will be devoted to baking scones; if they come out okay, I will share a few pictures with you next week. Until next week, keep safe and enjoy your weekend.
And now on to the continuation of my knee story; now, where was I with it? Ah yes, I was up to the point of seeking out a second opinion and that’s exactly what I did. I visited the hospital to see the specialist that my wife had checked out and I do remember very clearly on the day feeling quite sceptical about going to see him. I think we all know that feeling we get when no matter where you go or who you see the chances of meeting that one person that can make us all start believing that there are people out there in all walks of life and professions that can from time to time give us hope when we feel all is lost.
Whenever you go to a new hospital you have to go through the rigmarole of filling in various forms which includes placing circles on drawings of the human anatomy (back and front) to indicate where you have aches and pains so when you meet with the doctor they at least have an inkling of where to focus their attention when you enter into their rooms, which I think is a great idea and it’s something that I am very familiar with doing. On this particular occasion, I went through an additional process to this before meeting the doctor, I had a consultation with a junior doctor.
I had been waiting a while, but not as long I had grown used to waiting in the previous hospital, before being called in to the junior doctor’s room which was a kind of side room to the main doctor’s room. He looked at my documents, in particular at the circles I had placed on the pictures of the human anatomy, and looked straight at my knee. He asked me if I had pain and instructed me to roll up my trouser leg; I had decided not to wear any bandage or sport’s supporter, so what the doctor saw was a knee with fluid in that had not been compressed at all. It really looked very puffy and swollen and after having a bit of a feel and asking me if I had any pain when walking and bending my knee in general, he asked me to take another seat outside and wait for the doctor to call me in.
Whenever I go to the hospital I usually take something to read with me because I know it can take ages sometimes before you get seen, but on this day, even though I had a book in my bag I was so nervous and apprehensive that I couldn’t really concentrate on anything but my knee and before I knew it my name was being called out to go in to see the doctor. After the usual gentle knock on the door to let the doctor know that I am about to slide the door open and go in, I went in and was told to sit down. Fortunately, this doctor spoke a bit of English and seemed genuinely interested in foreign people which was a promising sign; in the previous hospital the doctor did not speak in English at all and seemed not to be interested in wanting to try even though I was trying to make myself understood in Japanese.
The new doctor asked me to explain how my problem had happened and I told him that I had knelt on a stone whilst tending to my late mother’s garden and although the stone had not pierced my flesh it had been pushed deeply into the soft tissue of the knee with the weight of my kneeling down. He then asked me about the treatment I had had thus far and I explained about the many aspirations I had had and the one hydrocortisone injection as well. I told him that I had decided to go in search of a second opinion regarding me knee as I was not satisfied with the previous doctor’s care and attention. I then showed the doctor the letter of introduction I had received from the previous doctor and also the MRI data I had been given and he looked carefully at both whilst thinking about his next move.
I was then told by doctor that I had a bursitis, specifically a prepatellar bursitis, which I already knew, and he told me that the bursitis I had would probably not be cured without having an operation to remove the actual bursa sac. He told me that the operation to remove the bursa sac was not recommended because there were certain complications attached which he seemed concerned about, but he told me that if I wanted to have an operation he would perform it. At this point, although I kind of liked the proactive approach of this new doctor, he had firmly planted into my mind that I would probably need an operation to cure my problem and it was just a matter of time before I would be going under the knife so to speak.
To be honest all this talk about having operations and there being complications in terms of post operation recovery just made me feel pretty down yet again and when he asked me what I would like him to do for me I was a bit taken back so I replied “What do you think you should do for me?” He then asked me if I wanted him to aspirate my knee and if I would like another shot of hydrocortisone. He told me that he thought that the hydrocortisone shot I had had in the previous hospital may not have been carried out correctly and he wanted to try another one. I thought for a couple of minutes and then settled for just the aspiration, I told him that I would consider having another hydrocortisone shot the next time I visited him. He reiterated that my problem was difficult to cure and without trying another hydrocortisone injection there would ne no change after the aspiration.
I was then asked by the doctor to position myself on to the examination table and with the help of a nurse he proceeded to aspirate my knee which resulted in quite a large volume of fluid being shown to me in the vile after the procedure had been carried out. He then popped a plaster on my knee and a then wrapped a bandage around it and told me to see how it goes for a couple of weeks and then return back to see him. He reiterated that without trying another hydrocortisone shot the fluid would likely return very quickly. I asked him about the routine I had been carrying out using rolled up towels and knee stretches and he said it was a good idea to continue on, but I should refrain from gardening or going jogging as these two activities would make my situation much worse. I made a return appointment there and then and left the hospital; I left with a feeling that the doctor seemed to care, he seemed interested in wanting to help me and he made me feel comfortable, way more comfortable than the previous doctor.
By the time I got home I was expecting the build-up of fluid to have started and low and behold when I took off the plaster and bandage there it was; I felt like going back to the hospital there and then for an other aspiration, but I didn’t, I thought I would endure the situation until my next appointment and then have another hydrocortisone injection. To be continued next week.