Persistence

I WILL NOT BE DEFEATED.

So the tech that fitted my brace told me "Offloading knee braces can be really tricky to make them fit."

My friend Kathleen, who is an RN who works in a joint replacement hospital unit, told me "I only know of ONE person that likes that kind of brace."

My surgeon said, "Yeah, they have to be positioned exactly right on the joint to work."

Well, dang. I'm finding out that these three professionals are right. This thing is giving me fits. But. On occasion there have been amazing episodes when all the stars align and I get everything fitting correctly and the heavens open and the angels sing and ahhhhhhhhh. Walking without pain. It's a beautiful thing. Pain free walks are a very motivating force in keeping me tinkering in the hopes of creating more angels singing moments.

The problem arises when after the perfectly placed brace starts to slip out of position when I walk around for any length of time. The brace came with this high tech sleeve thing that's supposed to be the perfect thing to wear under all those straps and metal bars.

But I've tried two different versions and they both are just too slippery and tend to wander up and down my leg taking the brace with them. I can't wear the brace on bare skin, and even skinny jeans have too much give and take to allow it to stay put. Aaaaarrrrgggghhhh.

I'm hoping that I've finally found the answer: capri length cotton leggings that fit very snugly. The cotton is cool and comfy and seems to provide enough stick to my legs and the device to keep everything where it should be.

And then the only other article of clothing that fits over the whole contraption is a knit skirt.

Did y'all notice how I snuck the work surgeon in the first few sentences? Yes. This does indeed mean that I have decided to have a total knee replacement. I saw my orthopedic surgeon last Wednesday. After the exam and discussion, I asked him when I could have my surgery scheduled. He told me that he's booking three stinkin' months out.

Yikes.

Which brings me back to the brace conundrum. If I've got to live with it until November -- I've got to find a way to MAKE. IT. WORK.

The fight continues. Stay tuned.....