H.P. Lovecraft - from "The Tomb"

From The Tomb, by H.P. Lovecraft 

Come hither my lads with your tankards of ale,

And drink to the present before it shall fail;

Pile each on your platter a mountain of beef,

For ‘tis eating and drinking that bring us relief:

So fill up your glass,

For life will soon pass;

When you’re dead ye’l l ne’er drink to your king or your lass!

Anacreon had a red nose, so they say;

But what’s a red nose if ye’re happy and gay?

Gad split me! I’d rather be red while I’m here,

Than white as a lily – and dead half a year!

So Betty, my miss,

Come give me a kiss;

In hell there’s no innkeeper’s daughter like this!

Torn Knee Cartilage

A torn knee cartilage is agony.  It is agony to sit, agony to lie down and just about impossible to walk.  This has slowed me up and frustrated me no end.   Six weeks have gone by since the original injury.  I was simply going to squat but I fell off balance, twisted to grab hold of the wall and that did it.  I really didn't feel too bad for a couple of days but I went around doing my normal activities because these things heal on their own.  But I found out different.

The first thing needed in a soft tissue injury is RICE - rest, ice, compression and elevation.  I did not do any of these things (maybe gave it a little rest) and I re-injured  my leg.  I felt a pop at the back of my leg and almighty pain.  That was six weeks ago.  I went back to the drawing board and for a week I applied the RICE method.  I also have had an ultra sound which is pretty much useless for soft tissue injury.  It is a bit cheaper than an MRI ( magnetic resonance imaging) but is not worth the trouble.  I found it is best to go for the MRI and see exactly what your injury is.  However, after spending money on the ultra sound I have forgone the MRI for present.  A must is the physio.  I am building the muscle up beside my knee joint and this has helped heaps.  At first all I did was take the weight off of my knee and slide my leg up and down on the bed.  I also pressed my knee to the bed and held this for ten seconds.  This has helped me keep the joint mobile and I will be forever grateful to my physio.

At present I am riding my exercise bike.  I've had to adjust the seat higher so that my leg can fully stretch.  I am also walking the pool.  This morning I took a ten minute walk and that was enough.  I will keep this going for a week and then look at increasing the distance.

Books and falling in love, 2nd May 2011

Discover the world of books through Kindle PC and it is free from Amazon.  Already I have over forty titles in my library and most of them are free.  They are classics such as Mark Twain, Walt Whitman, Oscar Wilde and more.  This is love at its finest.