This is considerably less interesting than the ride but I thought I'd share a little of the after story.
I met yet another orthopedist today (the first I could get in to see since getting back) to try to root out the trouble that clearly was not solved by the last flock of doctors I had.
After a lot of explaining of injuries, pains, therapies and so on he had two hypotheses. There is very little evidence of damage in both my CT scans and my x-rays (annoying). One possibility is, the original injury (3+ years ago), bruised and crushed the cartilage under my kneecap. This kind of thing doesn't show up on scans usually and doesn't become apparent, visually, for years. Trouble is, it's the beginnings of arthritis and there's nothing to be done to fix it. It just gets continually worse until I won't be able to ride or run at all, much less 50 miles a day. This, of course, terrifies me. So lets all pretend for now it's not that.
Option B, usually shows up on scans but may not. The injury clearly tore some stuff up and it's possible that the remaining scar tissue is grinding around in there and inflaming things. This is a little less likely in that we should see it, but it's made a little more likely in that it seems to fit my description of pain location a little better than option A. This can possibly be fixed. So. Go tissue damage.
To figure out which it is, we picked one to shoot up with cortisone. Top of the kneecap or bottom. Since I want it to be the top, that's what we did first. I'll wait a few days for it to kick in fully then go for a ride. If we're right (and I'm lucky) the cortisone will have numbed the pain the scar tissue was causing and I'll be temporarily ok and we'll know its tissue and not cartilage. If not, we'll let the first stuff wear off then shoot more cortisone in under the kneecap and try again. In case you're curious, the first hour after the shot hurt like hell. Good lord. I don't recommend it.
This would be fascinating if the thought of a permanently arthritic knee didn't have me scared shitless.
Any more news about the knee? Come back to Portland since school is out now. Well, when I come back.
ReplyDeletep.s. I am pretty much drinking enough Philz for the both of us.
Hey Adam!
ReplyDeleteI know it's almost two years since the events on this blog. I ran into you towards the end of this adventure, in various spots from Santiam Pass to Baker City. I ran into you in Baker City the night I rode in, when you were dealing with the Greyhound/bike box quandary.
So...just wondering what's happened to you in the past two years. Did the knee heal up? Did you attempt to finish the tour? Or other tours? Inquiring minds want to know.