I made it to the Big Show...got my first cortisone injection...

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Nilesh had an opening first thing in the morning and since I really wanted to get the verdict, I jumped all over it. We went through the physical exam…he twisted, probed and moved my knee in every direction saying that he detected a little fluid and that it was clearly sensitive to the probing and twisting. He took some x-rays and looked them over. “You’ve got really young knees for such an old guy – no signs of arthritis,” he said. I called him something other than ‘Nilesh’ or ‘doc’ and he went on talking about what he could…and couldn’t see. “An MRI would tell the story, but I don’t want to go that route because of the expense. We could inject you with cortisone and see what happens. Even if it is a torn meniscus…and I think it is…it could heal on its own with the cortisone helping to bring down the inflammation and getting you back to full power in three days.”

Now...my first thought was 'cool...cortisone...that's what the pro athletes use for injuries'.  Then...I started using my big brain again.  “Okay…yeah…wait…what?  You’re not saying I can’t do anything for three days…are you?” I was panicking and he knew it. “John…no running,” he said. “Oh…okay…so I can ride…” I said. I could see him struggling with what he really thought I should do or if he should give in to my compulsive behavior. I could see him twisting in the wind and decided to help him out. “If I’m good to go on Friday, I won’t do anything,” I said. He looked relieved and threw me a bone. “You can work out the upper body.”

So…I got that going for me. He injected me with cortisone…my maiden voyage…and it felt very strange. My knee was kind of…squishy (medical term for knee joint injected with cortisone). He told me it wouldn’t make it feel better for, at the earliest, three days, but after that I would likely be symptom-free. It didn’t stop hurting right away…in fact it hurt a little more…probably from the way he was twisting, pushing and tossing it around. I spent the day and evening being a good boy, keeping it up in the air and doing nothing…something I do really well between bouts of exercise. It’s only three days…which is much shorter than the time they’re likely to keep me inactive if it requires surgery.

Oh…and how about that Tribe? Spanked KC 19 to 1 and here we are half way through May and they still have the best record in the Major Leagues. Gloat while it lasts, I always say…