The Machine is Breaking Down

This hiatus has been very weird for me because I've actually had to take a hiatus from skating derby. My knee said so.

To be honest, despite all the work I've done in the past to keep me physically able to do derby, this season has been rough on my knees. Especially the right knee. It feels...loose. Like it'll buckle under me when I'm walking. And it pops almost every time I sit down. The pain doesn't help, either. I'm walking with a gimp like an OG pimp and it's driving me completely batshit crazy.

I knew it was bad after the Fight Crew/Tough Cookies game at the beginning of June when I didn't skate for two weeks afterwards but my knee was still killing me. WTF. THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE. 


So I visited one of the Derby Dolls chiropractors on my week off at the end of June. He promptly said the ligaments look good, but I might have a meniscus tear and that I should get an MRI to find out.

What's a meniscus? See gross photo:

After doing some reading up on the meniscus, so far I'd say he's right on the money. But I need to see an orthopedic surgeon to concur with this diagnosis. So off I go to see a doctor that has had several Derby Doll patients. He knows about derby, he knows how we don't want to stop moving, he knows that we're totally insane.

The first thing he says to me as he stepped into the examination room is, You're one of them, aren't you? meaning a derby skater. Because I name-dropped a bit when making the appointment. He looked at my x-rays(nothing to see there---totally normal), looked at my knee, asked me a few questions, wondered if the bruises on my legs were permanent(how it is that I haven't skated derby in weeks but I actually have MORE bruises than if I had been is a mystery even to me), and poked at the swelling on my knee.

He then tells me I'm old.

NO SHIT.

Btw, he's the same age as me. He says that he stopped playing sports because he was getting too competitive doing them, and blew out an ACL in the process. Grrr, I don't want to hear that.

Again, the ligaments are fine. The swelling is indicative that something is not right, but from the x-rays and examination, it's hard to tell what it is. I could either suck it up and just deal with things the way they are, or I could get an MRI to see if I have a meniscal tear. I said that I was hoping to get an MRI, because this pain thing is NOT working for me.

Fine. He gives me a 'scrip for an MRI and I get a list of places to go get one. He says that he'll call me two to three days after he receives the MRI imaging to tell me what's going on.

I get home, feeling a little conflicted because so far the meniscus outlook is most likely, but DAMMIT I don't feel old! Well, not too old! I tell the Dear Husband about all this, and he says, Well, you keep saying you're old, and now you have vindication! THAT'S NOT THE RIGHT THING TO SAY.

Tomorrow morning at ohfuckit'searly o'clock, I'm getting the MRI. Woohoo! I hope it's something visible so that I can GET IT FIXED ASAP!