2023 has been a tough one. This spring and summer, I have been dealing with one or both of my knees. In February, I was working on a Boeing 777. As we prepared to depart, I headed for “my” assigned door. We all realize the seats can get a little cramped for someone who is rather tall. Being tall myself, I feel for them… I truly do. However, flight crews must traverse these aisles and it can, at times, be hazardous when passengers put their legs out into the aisle. We generally look as we walk, but sometimes it happens in an instant. Well, that “instant” happened as I came down the aisle that fateful day in February. A gentleman stuck his knee out just as I passed through… and yeah, our knees collided. And it wasn’t pretty. I kept going forward but unfortunately, my left knee did not. The pain was excruciating, and my knee was now turned at a rather odd angle. As you can now guess, a full 777 heading to Chicago with more than 200 connecting passengers, was now delayed. I was mortified! How could this happen! I am always so very careful walking through he aisles, for this very reason. The truth is… I am careful, but things can happen in a split second. I immediately asked if the gentleman was okay and he said yes… he felt terrible for me, which I explained that it simply isn’t his fault. It was just something that happened. The EMT’s arrived with an aisle chair to help get me down the aisle. But unfortunately, they couldn’t stabilize my leg, so a “board” had to the airplane. More humiliation! It took the EMT’s quite some time to get the board to me, then even more time to get an airstairs to the back door of this 777. I was so unbelievably embarrassed as I looked at the passengers who were now an hour late departing Houston. The Houston Emergency Room found no “breaks” but insisted that I go to an orthopedist as soon as I get home. (Yeah baby! The power of taking vitamin D every day!) The ER Doctor properly stabilized my knee, gave me a set of crutches, and sent me on my way. My company sent me to the Marriot for the night then on a flight back to Denver the next day. Within a day, the company had me on my way to the company doctor where an MRI was ordered, and a nasty meniscal tear was found. *** Here lies the problem with this diagnosis. A meniscus tear generally requires surgery. However, if the tear isn’t terribly bad it can be “dealt” with or even ignored. But this one was large and painful. My other (left) knee HOWEVER was scheduled for a total replacement in just 10 weeks. So, eventually we made the decision NOT to postpone my replacement surgery and tend to my occupational injury as best as possible so I could return to work and earn a living (make money – LOL) prior to being out on medical leave for several months with my replacement. We gave my right knee a “gel” injection and hoped that this along with pain cream and a knee sleeve would get me by. As scheduled, on May 9th, my right knee was replaced, but by this time my left knee (work injury) was showing severe signs of resisting the steps we took to be pain free and back to work. It caused problems with my physical therapy because I could not depend on its strength to help the knee that had just been replaced. Now, here we are going into August, and I will now need surgery on my left knee too… sigh.
But as I said in an earlier post, down time means writing time! These last few months of being laid up and unable to fly has afforded me the chance to work with my fabulous web designer De Harris at AllBiz Web Marketing to get this website up and running. It has ALSO given me the opportunity to start my FOURTH BOOK! Gosh! Can you believe it! The Carruth Chronicles has really developed into an all-out series! With 20,000 words down already…
The Alchemist’s Secret Journal is well on its way!
Donna Fera
AuthorDonna Fera‘s writing invites readers to explore unknown worlds alongside courageous heroes as they face thrilling challenges and uncover hidden secrets. With a Bachelor of Arts in History and Anthropology from University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Donna is able to take her readers on amazing journeys that draw upon her background in research and learning practices. Combined with her experience in the airline industry and special projects, Donna creates stories that captivate readers with their combination of organizational detail and customer service resolution. Join Donna on this remarkable journey!
Hang in there and keep on writing!
Definately! 🙂