More Snow

You may have seen Arizona on the news because of the record snowfalls last week. Even Tucson got snow! Flagstaff had a record 35″ of snow in a 24 hour period. We dodged a bullet and only got 20″.  I was prepared for being snowed in for up to three weeks with three full tanks of propane and 10 gallons of drinking water.

I parked my car out near the road and I think I made a tactical error. I haven’t been out there because the snow was over my boot tops. We’ve had a couple nice sunny days though and now the snow is only about a foot deep so today I’m going to shovel it away from the car to give me a clear path to the road, so if the snowplow ever shows up I can get out. I really should have shoveled it while it was nice and fluffy. Now it’s wet and heavy and it will take a lot more work.  Thank goodness it’s only about 6′ from the road!

Last week right before the snow, I injured my GOOD knee! So my bad knee had to become the good knee, and that’s bad.  I could barely bend that knee. I went to my doctor (well he’s really an FNP but who’s counting?) and got Traumeel anti-inflammatory injections in both knees and by the next morning, I was good to go! My range of motion had increased a lot and it no longer hurt to walk on it. I love that stuff! It’s homeopathic so won’t do any harm, unlike steroids which can actually make your condition worse over time.

But I’m facing some tough decisions about my knees. He had already told me a couple weeks ago that if I didn’t do something, I would continue to have breakdowns and injuries one after another, and every time that happened I’d be chipping away at the little bit of meniscus and cartilage I’ve got left. And it’s already coming true. (Did he jinx me?) There is no possible way I could afford knee replacement, and really am resistant to that idea anyway. So I’m seriously contemplating getting a cash advance on my VISA card and getting hyaluronic acid injections and stem cell therapy in both knees. It’s about $4000. I hate like heck to go into debt any more than I already am, but it’s important.

I had stem cell therapy in my right knee about 8 years ago and it was like a miracle cure! It should have lasted about the same length as a knee replacement (15-20 years) but I’m sure my weight had a big factor in it not lasting that long. Per my recent x-rays, it’s still much smoother than the other knee and doesn’t have the bone spurs.

I also MUST get some weight off these poor knees! Did you know that every pound of excess weight puts 4# of extra pressure on your knees? In my case, that’s a LOT of pressure. My A1C, cholesterol and blood pressure have been a little bit high so it’s time. Watching what I eat will take care of all three of those problems. Sigh. I love candy! But I’ve been very good for the last month and have lost 11# already.  It hasn’t been that hard once the carb cravings quit.

He also said I need to get hinged knee braces for both knees and wear them all the time. I ordered a Vie Vibrante Knee Brace for fat legs from Amazon and it is surprisingly comfortable and never slips down like my old knee immobilizer. It’s amazing how embarrassing it is to have your knee brace fall down in public,  I have to wait til I get more money before I can order the second one.

As for the house, nothing has been done. The roof is next and the only thing I can do until Wyatt comes back is to get all the roof rafters cut. I got about half of them done but my saw was having a really hard time. I think the off-brand batteries I bought are losing their oomph. They work fine for the drills and sawz-all but I think the circular saw requires more power. So I bought two Dewalt brand batteries. (wow, really expensive and they don’t sell them individually, you have to buy two). Once I got them we started getting high winds for days on end and then a little rain, some snow days and I never did get back to the project. Now everything is blanketed in snow and once it melts it’ll be godawful muddy for a week or so, but one of these days I’ll get them done.

My helper Wyatt is really busy with his full-time job, pregnant wife and 3 kids plus taking care of his own homestead, and now that he’s volunteering his time I don’t feel I can call him up and order him back to work, LOL! I’m afraid coordinating a time when he has some spare time on the same day that the weather’s good will be a real challenge. We’re about to go into the windy season too, and I don’t think we can do the roof in 25 mph wind! I have faith that it will get done eventually; hopefully before the really hot weather hits.

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