Bad Knees Blog - take 20

I had my last physical therapy session today. It was time. I was beginning to feel like a healthy man in a sick ward. Here's the verdict: my leg strength is nearly double what it was two months ago. The pain in my knee has dropped from a regular 4-6 on the pain scale to a 1-2 (and often a 0). I don't have to use the elevator at work anymore. I'll leave it for the increasingly heavy 20-something students in our building (I tell them it's healthier to use the stairs, but they aren't interested in what an old busy-body professor has to say).

I feel pretty good. It's easy to forget how bad it got a few months ago, but I'm going to follow the advice of an old friend who told me to spend some time working on my positive self-talk.

I'll be talking nicely to myself for the foreseeable future, and I'll be continuing to do the exercises on my own. Then, at the end of June, we'll drive to Pittsburgh to see my stoic stem-cell doctor.

He'll say, "It's better, but it's still a little swollen."

I'll say, "Yes. It feels better."

He'll say, "Then I guess I'll see you in a two months."

That exchange will take all of ten minutes, and I'll let you know if anything new emerges. Until then, the lilacs are in full, aromatic bloom, the rhubarb pie was out of this world, Reilly the wonder dog is still wonderful, and summer is here.

Take care of yourselves, be happy, and don't use the elevator if you don't have to.