Onward...

Matt the physio has recommended I not use crutches, unless heading somewhere there is a lot of people, then use both of them as a visual cue to people that there is a reason I am walking slowly. He told me I have to learn to trust the new knee. I have to break myself of the habit of leaning towards the left, and start putting equal weight on the right leg. Wing and I went for a bit of a walk at the pet store, and the shops. And I'm "Post Physio Visit" sore as usual. Should pass in a day or so.

Also showed him my right hand, the one I fell on when I was in Denmark two years ago.  After examining it, he said I had sustained a scaphoid fracture.  The only thing that could've been done for it, was what I did for it. Wear a wrist brace to limit movement.

I see Mr Skinner next week for my 12 week post op check up. 

Two weeks off for good or bad behavior

Saw Matt, the physio/nicest sadist ever.  I can bend my knee to 120 degrees unassisted. I showed him that my left leg, the uninjured one, and the right knee both bent back the same amount.  Then I showed him how I could put my feet, sole to sole, with knees bent.  He agreed that I might be as far as I can go for now, but for 11 weeks post op, it's excellent recuperation.  I have been told to leave the crutches home, unless I go to a crowded area. Not so much for my need, but the need of a visual cue for those who think I am walking too slow for their liking.

But now we have to work on the tendons on the right side of the knee and calf. It's not stretching enough to be able to lay my leg flat. I have been sent home with new exercises.  I will keep up doing the ones I have been doing, as they will keep my progress heading in the right direction.

Just because you don't like the answer doesn't mean it's wrong

A guy made an announcement on an Olympus users page, to not use the Panasonic 100-400 lens, as it would grind and cause metal shavings.  I told him we had tried that very lens on 3 different Olympus M43 cameras without any problems.  I even got one for my birthday.

I told him I even bought the ex demo, showed him photos as proof that there was no problem metal shavings when mounting the lens.

He then said he tried several of them, and they all did the same thing.

I replied that if the same thing happened with several of the same make and model lens, the problem is more than likely the mount on his camera body, NOT the Panasonic lenses.

He was not happy with that.

Another learning moment

Standing around, not walking, makes my knee very painful the next day, more painful than if I had been walking around the same amount of time.

Wing and I headed into Camera Electronic, and got my birthday present. We were in the store a little over an hour, most of the time just standing in place

Then, I forgot to take anti-inflammatory/pain meds before going to bed.  Up at 4am with very sore knee.  Lesson learned.

Out with the old, and not so old, too.

The past few weeks Wing and I have been doing massive 'spring cleaning', rather like a small version of "The bonfire of the vanities" type. Going through closets/cupboards/bookcases/nooks/corners and sorting, dusting, and throwing a lot out.

We have never been the type to keep something just for the sake of keeping something. I had been giving so much stuff away and selling things cheap, that I had gotten concerned for my well being emails (rest assured, wasn't planning on doing something to myself, just unloaded things that were in good to excellent condition, but wasn't being used)

What was funny, though, is when Loki came out of my office, and stopped dead in his tracks, crouched down slightly and started looking around.  Yes, we changed his known universe without consulting him. *laughing*

That one one tough physio session, but with a lot of Q&A.

Turns out the twitching of my leg at night is normal, as there's always nerve damage during the surgery.  The feeling of rug burn on one part of my knee is over-sensitized nerves. To get it calmed down, I have to rub it with cold, warm, and textured things at different times.

Bending: Didn't have much improvement at all, but when Matt worked on the knee, I showed him the only place it was 'catching'... directly on top of the knee cap.  Off to the leg press, and gave it 20+ weighted bends to as far as I could go. (Pain level 4).  Then was shown new exercise, 'Split Bend'.. right leg curled behind me, foot resting on a surface, while holding onto a stable surface, bend knee and slightly sit back with the hips to increase the degree of knee bending.  Was not fun, but I went from 114 degrees of bend to 120.  Matt is still aiming for 130 for my next review.

Here's hoping!

The "Car Accident Insurance" scammers are baa-aaaack?

Wing  answered the phone the first time, but they were speaking with such heavily accented English, he ended up hanging up.

He headed out to his mom's house to check to see why the DVD player wasn't working right. 5 minutes later, the scammers called back.

"Hello, I am calling from the Automobile Accident Insurance hotline, about the accident you have a few years ago.."

I replied, LOUDLY in an anguished voice "I was cleared of vehicular manslaughter! Thanks for f**king reminding me!" and before I hung up I heard her stuttering and stammering.

The scammers phone number is 02 9456 7122

Moving to a different part of rehab

I have pretty much plateaued out with the post-op rehab exercises, and I'm now moving into the harder yards of weights and stationary bicycle.  These are needed to get more flexing done, that will get me to 130 degree bend.

Worked out on a leg press, and Matt was rather impressed with my flexibility. I had to have the seat moved fairly close to the foot rest to get a knee bend that felt like I was taking it as far as I go.

Then, same thing with the stationary bike, but more for smooth movement and flexing. 

Something more than 'Thoughts and Prayers" needs to be done.

“Evil is evil and will use the weaponry that is available.” Senator Cruz. Exactly! So, stop making guns readily available!  All these mass shootings have been done with AR 15s and similar weapons that have NO business in civilian hands. They used to be banned, but thank GOP for letting that ban lapse. Ever since, the mass shootings have been increasing the body count.

People use Drunk Driving is illegal but it doesn't stop drunk driving. Red Herring/strawman argument. Drunk driving laws & penalties have reduced the number of drunk drivers/drunk driver fatalities. Just because it doesn't stop 100% of them doesn't mean those laws/penalties should be gotten rid of. Schooling, testing licensing, registration and insurance. If you have to have this for vehicles, which weren't specifically designed for killing things, then the same criteria needs to be applied for guns, which were specifically designed to kill things/people. Universal background checks. Closing the gun shows/private sale loopholes on background checks.

A lot of people are trying to claim it's a mental health issue. Not always. Sometimes it's an anger issue. Texas shooter was angry at his ex mother in law. Orlando shooter was angry about his own sexuality. One of the college shooters was angry that women kept saying no to him. Another was angry that his professor was failing him. Even it it was mental health, OTHER countries have mental health issues too, but they don't have mass murders with AR 15s or similar weapons. Why? Gun Control laws!

Even if it was mental health, then contact you Republican rep, as they are the ones that orchestrated removing the ban on people with mental illness history from buying guns.

"A well regulated militia".. that is the part that is ignored from the 2nd amendment, compliments of NRA propaganda. (go read up what Chief Justice Warren Burger said regarding the scam the NRA did regarding this)  You want to be part of a militia? Head to a recruiters' office.

Australia used to have the same "Guns are part of our lives!" attitude. And the same weak gun laws that varied from state to state. ONE mass shooting, Port Arthur, in 1996 is all it took to change gun laws nationally.  It wasn't easy, but it was done. And yes, the same complaints about "our rights!"... screw that, what about the rights of the people being slaughtered? "The right to LIFE, liberty and pursuit of happiness." 

And before someone lays "You're just a gun hating libtard!" or othersuch...I enlisted and was in the Army. My DD214 says Honorable Discharge. I see no need to tote an AR 15 or ANY weapon into a McDonalds

With the last Adobe product going subscription only

Now that Lightroom has gone subscription only, no longer offering a stand alone, many people are looking for alternatives again. 

So far, I find AlienSkin Exposure 3, On1 Photo Raw, and Topaz Studio to be the strongest contenders.  Exposure 3 and On1 have a feature that Topaz doesn't at this time. The ability to have different versions, virtual copies, of the same image, with different edits, without filling your HDD with multiple image files.

On1 had more tools/Effects than AlienSkin, but AlienSkin works faster on older computers, or with machine with only 16gb of memory. 

All three have plugins that work with CS6 (there is a way to get them to work with CS5. Download trial version of Photoshop CC, install On1/Alienskin/Topaz, and then copy/paste the plugins from the CC plugin folder to CS5 plugin folder. If you get any error message about a specific DLL missing, copy it from the Photoshop CC directory into the CS5 directory. Nothing says you have to uninstall the CC trial version, so leave it there to install updates)

My personal favorite is On1 Photo Raw, followed very closely by AlienSkin Exposure 3. I do like editing my RAW photos with these two, and then in Photoshop, using the Topaz Studio/Labs plugs to add extras.

7 weeks post op Physio visit

Although I didn't go backward, not much improvement this week.  Discussion was regarding how the skin/scar over the knee was painfully tight when trying to bend it as far as I could, and how the hamstring on the right side of the back of the knee was still stiff.

Matt looked, and my knee is a bit swollen, but nothing to worry about. As he had said before, progress is an up and down thing, and can be affected by the cold (Photo session under the Narrows Bridge at night, in the rain), and other things (like dipsy woman opening her car door without checking her sideview mirror for oncoming traffic, making Wing slam on the brakes to prevent her car door from being taken off, jamming my knee from the sudden stop. NOT HIS FAULT!)

Matt worked on the scar area, and also moved the lower leg, getting the prosthetic to slide a bit easier. The good news is, not as much 'clicking' when I walk, meaning the muscles/tendons aren't getting caught on anything.

He said overall I am progressing well above average.

Have been given a few more things to do to help with both the tight scar and tight tendons. Go back again next week.