Way back on the 26th July 2016, I received a message from my friend Sasha – asking if I was available and willing to exhibit my photography during SALA 2016!
I have 10 A2-framed photos in SALA2016 !
ASIDE: 2010 was the last time I participated in SALA. There has not been a day since that I haven’t thought about doing it again. But money is strict, so I never imagined I’d ever get another chance.
But it appears to be true that “after flood there is drought“.
About 30 minutes later, I somehow managed to twist my right knee left and right, dislocating the knee plate TWICE! Aaaaaaaaaaaaargh!
There is more to this story regarding the ambulance ride and the hospital time, but that is reserved for close friends and family on Facebook.
Since then I have been on crutches and other leg wrapping to decrease the severe inflammation within my right knee. How the hell did I do that?
Thankfully it appears (according to X-Rays and an MRI) I did not tear my ACL. The Orthopaedic surgeon determined I only had a patello femoral dislocation .
Initially we believed I had wedged my knee between the cupboard handles beneath the sink I was standing in front of . Turns out I’d have to be 10cm taller in my lower leg to do that! So I suspect now that the weight of child in my left arm was a contributing factor.
The MRI showed “a stretched muscle around the right of the knee with a tear along its length, not across its width“. That was the best news for me. It meant the muscle will heal quicker, though there will be a knotted feeling. I can live with that. So no surgery required, only lots of physiotherapy. Good, because that I can do.
At the first hospital visit they gave me a solid reinforced black leg brace. It had only one purpose – to keep my leg straight. But that was getting more painful – because the muscles were not moving, they were going solid under the skin.
Without consultation, I changed to a skin-toned compression band. Oh, the pain has lessened dramatically and it’s so much easier to get around. It’s going to heal quicker now.
My Orthopaedic specialist changed to the 0-90degree knee brace [IMG]. This forces the knee to sit up without falling left or right whilst the plasma buildup reduces, yet enabling me to bend the knee sufficiently. This is a much better way to recover, particularly that I can walk just a little bit. Well, with crutches. Because initially is was ever so painful to put any weight on the leg at all!
So I am slowly on the mend.
Well, Balm Me, That Soothes the Pain!
Thanks to a new friend, Tim McGrath CEO of VitalXan , I am now applying Mangosteen Muscle & Joint Balm [IMG] upon my swollen knee up to three times a day.
The product is cooling, relaxing and makes a noticeable difference to the swelling each time I apply it.
If anyone is interested in trying this product for similar problems, contact me via social media.
Curb Negotiation on Crutches
On the downside, I had to negotiate this curb at the Flinders Private Admin to get from a ‘faux parking zone’ across to the orthopaedic clinic – and back again.
If you look closely, they seem to have removed the sloped path and rebuilt the concrete edging. Yet there is still painted lines for pedestrians on the car-park bitumen!
I wonder how much repeat business they get from customers who don’t survive the car-park obstacle course?
Creativity & Artwork of Stephen Mitchell 
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