Good News from Oz!

I had to smile yesterday as I sat in my chiropractor's waiting room. On the TV screen was "The Wizard of Oz", and it was the scene where Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion were ushered in to the presence of the Wizard of Oz...but something was going wrong with his projection screen and they saw the man at the controls, who cried out "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!"

On this unexpected journey that I'm on, there really isn't a wizard behind a curtain trying to be something he is not. My orthopedic surgeon makes it very clear that he has no idea what the outcome regarding my knee will be. He doesn't try to "be God" and act like he can fix it or see into the future. And I'm not looking to him to do that.

But it WAS with a good deal of anticipation that John and I went to a recent appointment to see Dr. Moscovitz. It had been 12 weeks of being completely off my left leg, followed by 12 days of very slight weight-bearing, and still no pain of any kind! What would Dr. M. say?

Good news! First of all, the good doctor was so surprised about the "no pain"...and pleased! He broke into a big grin and kept poking my knee saying "Does this hurt?" and when I'd say "No", he'd poke some more and say "Are you sure it doesn't hurt? Really?"

Still acknowledging that he really doesn't know what's happening inside my knee, he said that he was so happy with how I was doing.... and, with a laugh, said "I think you may have cheated me out of a surgery!" He explained that there are three possible outcomes:
1. a very tiny chance that my knee will completely heal
2. the possibility that there will be no healing, and the pain and disability will be chronic
3. the middle ground ("This is where I'm pretty sure you'll land, Joanna")- my knee will be OK most of the time and sometimes will give me trouble, which John says is always true of his knee!

Dr. M. also agreed to order another MRI at some point down the road and he left us with another laugh and smile and "You don't need to come in and see me unless the pain returns and, as a matter of fact, I don't ever want to see you again!" :-)

Now under the guidance of my chiropractor, I am slowly and gradually adding weight and distance while I continue to be on my crutches. Every other day I can "walk" around the block! Next week I hope to be able to begin "water walking" in the pool, which will be the first time walking without crutches since July.

Still no pain, except for a little muscle soreness now and then which actually feels really good...

Thank God for a doctor who trusts in the miracle of a body that can heal itself, just as it was created to do. And thank you for your continuing prayers and encouragement...I will keep you posted every couple of weeks or so on how the journey is going.

Have a blessed Christmas!

Love,
Joanna