I sure did not "kneed" this now!

But when is it ever good to have knee problems? Last time I was heading north it was my weary back giving me a fit and this time, my knee is acting up. Some of my friends think I might be allergic to traveling to WI! Or even NYC, since I had a gimpy knee when Lynn, Justin and I went to the Macy's ThanksLiving Day parade in 2004.

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It all started when I was at the pediatrician's office with A'Keila. The only seats in the small waiting room were low upholstered benches, about the height and shape of a bench-style backseat in a car. The appointment was at 8:45 and they were taken back to the exam room in short order. I had my Bible study booklet with me and read through that while waiting but more and more people were coming with kids, making it difficult to read. Jill called me and the signs on the wall, walls covered with handmade notices, said not to use cell phones in the waiting room, so I went outside. At least I tried to---my knee locked up and begged me not to walk on it. Eventually I worked the popped knee into place and got outside to talk to Jill.

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I kept working it back and forth as I stood in the sun by my car, feeling quite upset that this had to happen now, when I am ready to go on a trip. Another sign in the office said "No food or drinks" so I took my unopened soda with me outside and sat in the car in the sun. Nice and warm in there! By now, it was getting to be nearly 9:45 a.m., and I looked up in time to see a nicely dressed man enter the office from a side door on the building. My thought was, "This had better not be the doctor, first showing up now!" An hour after Sheila's scheduled appointment, the doctor shows up at the office. Huh? About 30 minutes later, the two came out of the office and got in the car. I asked Sheila is the doctor was Caucasian and she said he was (most of the staff and patients were not white). I told her what I saw and she said she wondered why she had to sit back there so long. He might have been making rounds or something medically related, but it still seems inconsiderate to have patients with sick children, waiting over an hour before he is even in the building.

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As we drove off, I noticed she had prescriptions in her hand and asked if we should stop at the drug store on the way home. Sheila said, "No, but can you drop us off at Wolfson?" I asked, incredulously, "Wolfson? Downtown? The children's hospital???" That was hardly on the way home, but, of course, I would take them there. The doctor wanted to have A'Keila's lungs x-rayed to see if she has pneumonia, but it seems to me a place in Orange Park could do that for her, right? Well, I am guessing Wolfson accepts the Medicaid insurance Sheila has for her granddaughter, which would not pay for her transportation to the pediatrician. A paperwork glitch occurred which is why I was taking them to appointments.

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After I got them downtown and deposited, I asked about the child's seat, still in my car. She did not want to take it with her because she was not sure how they would get home...ouch! I told her I would take it to church with me later and leave it just inside the door. I stopped at SteinMart and hobbled in with my returns. My other plans to take down the Luther display could wait until before choir, as I just wanted to get home.

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My health insurance was due for renewal the 8th of next month and I figured I would take care of that in the afternoon. Not so fast! While I have used this same short-term insurance since my COBRA ended in 2005, they are not all that anxious to take me back! I reapply every year like a new client, not an actual renewal, which is not untypical with individual policies. So, now the search is on for a new policy for me, in a short period of time. More to fret about!

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Last night I met Suzanne for dinner and was walking fairly well. Jessica, my upstairs neighbor who borrowed a cup of Internet a week ago, has her Masters Degree in physical therapy and I called her to pick her brain about the knee thing. She assured me over the phone and later in person, to keep walking on it, exercise it and the muscle in the thigh which supports the knee cap, etc. No wrapping it up, though, which was the reason I had called her in the first place. It would be like putting a cast on a broken bone not properly set---you stop the flopping but is not healing. After choir rehearsal, which we whipped through, I came home and changed my pants to capris so Jessica could see what she was working with. She had me lie down on the lounge chair and manipulated, worked, twisted, asked questions, had me do a few things, to figure out what was going on. I had to stand and sit over and over again, to strengthen the thigh muscle, clench the muscle, etc. She was so helpful and above all, reassuring that I will be okay. Originally I had made an appointment with the PA at my doctor's office but since have cancelled that since Jessica saw me. I do not want another "problem" to show up on my application for insurance, which Jessica's spouse is going to help me with. I love my neighbors! She gave me other "lifestyle" advice, too, when I brought it up and after I return from my travels, plan to incorporate nearly all the suggestions. I shall have to overcome my fear of the exercise bike and start riding, at her suggestion, 30 minutes at a time, working up a sweat. No worries, I will sweat just trying to get on!

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Martie just called me with terribly sad news...Our shared friend, Chris, who had back surgery yesterday, came out of her operating room to hear that her son had died. Wade, in his 30's, had numerous health problems stemming from juvenile diabetes including kidney failure, heart problems, and pancreatic troubles. He had experienced several serious seizures since he had moved in with Chris and her husband and younger son, but this time, it seems to have been a massive coronary that took his life. Oh, my goodness! There she is, lying in the hospital after serious surgery, and now her son has died. I asked Martie to please represent me at the funeral service as I will be away. When I think I have problems......