I'm so smart I could diagnose myself

Yesterday will probably go down as one of the not so greatest days in my life. Why? Because I pretended I was a healthy person. And it didn't end up so well.

Allow me to provide some of the story. We had to dig up a lot of the plants in our garden because our retaining walls are collapsing and we have to pay big bucks to a mason to fix them. It has been very hot and dry here for the past few weeks. 90s for the last few days even - which rarely happens in Boston. My poor plants which should be in the ground and in the shade are in pots in the back yard in the hot sun.

I noticed yesterday that some of them were very dry and wanted to water them. The spigot in the back yard was put up by giants and I have to stand on something to reach it. I pulled out my usual little 12" high little table to stand on. As I reached up, the table collapsed and I felt my knee bend sideways. That was a very bad moment. No one was home but the mason's assistant but he came to help me get back to the front door and inside. I could hobble.

But because of my extensive medical background, I knew exactly what to do. I went to the freezer and got an ice pack. Then I picked up the phone and called my doctor's office. I knew I needed an x-ray and possibly more. They suggested I go to the walk in clinic last evening but I declined and asked for an appointment today instead. But as I sat with my knee elevated it really started to hurt (even through all my RA/fibromyalgia meds) and I asked my husband to take me to the walk in clinic.

I saw a doctor and got an x-ray as I expected. The bones look fine (as I expected) but the doctor thinks there is ligament/muscle damage (as I also thought) and referred me to an orthopedic doctor. This is exactly as I assumed would happen. I need to call today if I do not hear from them by noon to get to see a knee doctor. (Maybe I should have just called my knee doctor first -  yes I have a knee doctor, and an ankle doctor, and many other specialists.)

They did send me home with a knee immobilizer, a totally worthless piece of equipment as it forces me to overwork my hip (and my bursitis) and causes more pain than is in my knee. They also recommended crutches or a cane, both of which I declined. But I did ask my husband to find one of the crutches in the basement as it turns out I need it for stability and weight bearing.

So one moment of pretending I was healthy allowed me to sprawl on the backyard in pain. The good side? I really need a positive here. I have a reason to sit around on my butt all day (except going to the dr and possibly getting my nails done) with an ice pack on my knee during this 90 degree weather. I am not discussing the downside at this point because I am pretending it doesn't exist. Denial? Yes. But I did know what to do and what I needed medically right away. 

Wash Your Hands

What is the single most important easy thing you can do to improve your health? Wash your hands. Often.

Now that I have rheumatoid arthritis and am on immune suppressing drugs that make me much more susceptible to colds and infections, I am becoming a germaphobe. I will not alter my lifestyle and avoid crowds, malls, movie theaters, and other groups of people. Nor do I believe in those stupid hand sanitizers which help create super bugs which are resistant to treatment.

But I do believe in hand washing. When I go to the gym, I wash my hands before I work out and I wash my hands as soon as I am done with my work out. And I try to remember to wash my hands when I come home from being out. As well as when cooking, before eating, etc.

Friday at the gym I was speaking with a woman as she was washing her hands after working out. She said that since she started washing her hands regularly, she has had fewer colds herself.

It amazes me how many people do not wash their hands, even after using the bathroom. I am particularly disgusted by people who do not wash their hands after using the bathroom and then use the gym or eat in a restaurant or other places. Speaking of restaurants, menus are disgustingly germ covered.

You can try all kinds of arguments with me about washing your hands and how it might dry out your skins or any other silly reason. The real reason for washing your hands is to clean germs (and dirt) off of them so you don't carry them around with you and on to other places. You can always put lotion on your hands if you are concerned about dry skin.

I was quite pleased to read this article about hospitals do to prevent infections and the top item on the list was hand washing.

If you get home at the end of the day and can't remember washing your hands, do yourself a favor and wash them.