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I'm fine, thanks!
Last summer, at the end of hay harvest, I hurt my knee. I had climbed to the top of a stack of hay bales to help put a tarp up. On my way down, my right foot found a secure purchase between bales, but my left foot slipped and I twisted and fell to the ground. It was only a few feet, the fall itself was pretty minor. Actually, I think it put my back in place! It had been really sore the few days before, now it felt fine! Unfortunately, my right knee made this weird sound. I rubbed it and hoped it was only a sprain. I iced it and took some anti-inflamatories. A few months later, it was still sore and I couldn't squat or kneel worth a darn, I could only run a dozen steps without knee pain, and I didn't feel secure working around the horses.

I saw a doctor who referred me to an orthopedist. "Probably a torn meniscus" was his pronouncement. I had a few options: 1) give it time - well, after 3 months, it probably was as improved as it was going to be; 2) MRI - to see exactly what the problem was; or 3) arthroscopic surgery - could both see exactly what the problem was and fix it at the same time. I opted for #3. Here's a webpage about it: http://www.arthroscopy.com/sp05005.htm.

So, I had the arthroscopy done in a local hospital last Thursday. The hospital was a small county one, very nice and the level of care was pretty neat. Before the procedure, the physical therapist came by to give me a sheet of exercises and explain how to do them. He also brought some crutches so I could learn how to use them. Various support people came by, introduced themselves and explained what they would be doing. The recovery nurse came; I liked her, but I don't remember anything about being in the recovery room! Dick was there and said I looked and sounded pretty aware, but I just don't remember anything before waking up in my room.

I got to come home Friday at noontime. I'm doing some of the exercises. I find I can walk pretty well indoors without the crutches but I use them outside just in case. The horses are fine, the dogs are a little worried, and the cats like to get right in front of me. Everything's pretty much back to normal!