Toffee Treats and Ortho Appointment

Just what I needed after my crazy week. A package was delivered to my house with my name on it. When I realized it was from English Toffee Anytime, I was so excited! Andrea from Swamp Suburbia had invited her readers to enter a contest to be the first of 40 readers to receive FREE toffee. I entered at the last minute, but was immediately contacted by Ron as being the 39th person. Woot!
And I cannot say enough good things about this decadent, rich toffee. It is the best toffee I have ever tasted, honest! It is the kind of toffee that you can feel generous about when giving to others as a gift. I love that the ingredients are pure. I asked for the dark chocolate version and the only ingredients are almonds, semi-sweet chocolate, sugar and butter and pure vanilla. The pieces are huge and delicious to the last bite. The quality truly shines through. Check out English Toffee Aytime to order some for yourself NOW!


Mmm...After wiping the chocolate off my lips, it was time for my hubby to drive me to the hospital in Albuquerque to the Orthopaedic Department, for my first visit to the Dr.
I was feeling pretty good seeing all the equine magazines, while waiting in the exam room. I realized that my Dr. must be a horse rider and/or owner. And he is.

Dr. Atler gave me a physical exam by manipulating my leg and knee. Some of the swelling has gone done a bit, but the knee is still very tender, painful and 'loose'. So the exam was quite uncomfortable.

Dr. Atler believes I've damaged or torn my meniscus.
I learned that there are two C-shaped pieces of cartilage known as the menisci (plural:meniscus) that curve around the inside and outside of the knee to stabilize and cushion the joint.
Any activity that causes forceful twists or rotates the knee can lead to a torn meniscus.
Signs and symptoms of this type of injury include:

~Pain (CHECK)
~Swelling that occurs slowly, as long as 24 to 36 hours after the injury. (CHECK)
~Inability to straighten the knee; the knee may feel locked in place.(CHECK)
This is a drawing showing the knee and miniscus.

The knee contains four ligaments — tough bands of tissue that connect the thighbone(femur) to the lower leg bones(tibia and fibula). One of my collateral ligaments — the one on the outside(lateral collateral ligament) is most likely sprained. The anterior cruciate ligament(ACL) stretches diagonally from the thigh bone and connects near the front of the shinbone. Dr. Atkins believes my ACL is torn.
An ACL tear is likely to cause:

~Immediate pain that worsens when trying to walk or bend the knee (CHECK)
~A popping sound (I CAN'T REMEMBER)
~An inability to bear weight on the injured knee (CHECK)
~A feeling that the knee might buckle(CHECK)

An injury to the anterior cruciate ligament can be a debilitating musculoskeletal injury.
Continued activity on a knee with an ACL injury can have devastating consequences, resulting in massive cartilage damage, leading to an increased risk of developing osteoarthritis later in life.

The ACL primarily serves to stabilize the knee in an extended position and when surrounding muscles are relaxed; so if the muscles are strong, many people can function without it.

The term for non-surgical treatment for ACL rupture is "conservative management", and it often includes physical therapy and using a knee brace. Lack of an ACL increases the risk of other knee injuries such as a torn meniscus, so activities with cutting and twisting motions are strongly discouraged. For patients who frequently participate in such sports, surgery is often indicated.

And for me, my Dr. recommends knee reconstruction and repair surgery.

The surgery is typically undertaken arthroscopically, with tunnels drilled into the femur and tibia at approximately the original ACL attachments. The graft is then placed into position and held in place. A variety of fixation devices are available, including screws, buttons and posts. The graft typically attaches to the bone within six to eight weeks. The original collagen tissue in the graft acts as a scaffold and new collagen tissue is laid down in the graft with time. Which is why the graft takes over six months to reach maximal strength.

After surgery, the knee joint loses flexibility, and the muscles around the knee and in the thigh atrophy. Treatment requires extensive physical therapy to regain muscle strength around the knee and restore range of motion (ROM). Often the lengthy rehabilitation period may be more difficult to deal with than the actual surgery.

A rehabilitation period of six months to a year is required to regain strength and use. After surgery no athletic activity is advised for 6 to 7 months. Whether the ACL deficient knee is reconstructed or not, the patient is susceptible to early onset of chronic degenerative joint disease.
I'm still waiting for my MRI and then we'll know the exact damages. I'm a realist, but I'm going to try thinking positive and hoping for the best outcome possible.

Here's a diagram showing the ACL location.

For some reason I believed the rehab period would only take about 6 weeks...not 6months to a year! Gah! That's half a year to get back to normal. And worst of all, that's 6 months before I can even sit on my horse's back or ride the trails again.
I was on bedrest for a month when I was prego with my twins and thought I would go insane! And it's only been a week since my fall, and I am SO through with these freaking crutches and not being able to go freely up and down the stairs. I'm already tired of being tired, sore, and weak. I'm fed up with having to let everyone else do the things I used to do.

I sat in the exam room with tears streaming down my face, letting the news sink in. I felt like an elephant had sat on my chest. My heart ached. Not being able to play with my goats, snuggle with my llamas, feed my sheep, gather the chicken eggs is tough enough.

But having lost the ability to groom my beautiful painted mare, give her cookies, apples and carrots, halter her and take her for a walk, wrap my arms around her neck, tucking my face into her fuzzy fur and breathing in that earthy
horse smell is absolutely killing me.

I consider myself a pretty tough cookie, but I can't help from crying, especially when I see my horse and other critters out in the paddock. Please. Can someone tell me how I'm going to survive this ordeal?

I know this picture is awful, but can you sort of see my mare trying to figure out where my voice is coming from? Too cute! Do you think she misses me as much as I miss her?

John took this photo of me as we were leaving the hospital. My face was a puffy mess after all my crying.
And you can bet that, as soon as I got home from the Ortho, I burrowed into the English Toffee Anytime box. Made me feel just a tiny bit better.


Happy New Year from