First off, I have to say thank you for all of the well wishes I have received during this whole ordeal.

My knee is healing well! My pain levels (in my knees) are lower than they have been in years. I’m taking things slowly with the healing process, so I don’t damage what has been recently fixed. This means I am down to using one crutch, and that is mainly to help with balance. I have to remember that I am only (almost) 4 months out of the surgery, with the total healing time for this procedure being 12 months.

In the ramp up to my surgery, my Dr ordered some blood work to look into the possibility that I may also have rheumatoid arthritis on top of my pre existing osteoarthritis. The tests came back positive – ish, so off to my family Dr I go! Family Dr refers me to a Rheumatologist for a full screen. That appointment was today.

Let me say this, the thought of the possibility that I may have RA scares the crap out of me. I make jewelry, and lots of other things with my hands. The thought of losing the use of my hands is one of the most frightening things I’ve had to ponder in a while. How can I continue to do the things I love if my hands will not cooperate?

The appointment went well. The Rheumatologist  (Dr. Lynda Lee) ordered more blood work, to see if the previous positive result was a false positive before proceeding with any kind of treatment. While there, she did a full exam, and was manipulating various joints throughout my body. She did let me know that I am indeed hyperflexive (“double jointed”) and that has added to the problems of the OA. She gave me some pointers, and suggested that I really start making my workspace more ergonomic when I told her that I do bead work. She quickly rattled off all sorts of helpful suggestions to make beading easier on my hands, turns out she also makes jewelry along with other crafty ventures!

Why am I so excited about this whole ergonomic lesson? It’s the perfect reason for me to invest in some nice Lindstrom pliers! Hubby was there with me, listening to her advice, so…HE HEARD the Dr say I NEED ergonomic tools. One piece at a time, I’ll replace my current tools with the Lindstrom tools. They’re much too expensive to replace all of my tools at once!

Good job finding a silver lining there, don’t ya think?

Now it’s just a two week wait for the blood work results. She seems to think it was indeed a false positive. Cross your fingers for me, ‘k?

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