DAMN SWEET GUM BALLS

I HATE sweet gum balls. I had a beautiful tree full of them growing in my front yard and I had the tree cut down - a healthy tree at that. That was hard for me to do. I love trees (even as I hate raking their ever-falling leaves). I love trees but those balls they drop.

Last week, when I was about as far away from home on a walk in the neighborhood as I can get, in broad daylight, I stepped on one of the darn things and twisted my ankle. I gingerly stepped forward and everything seemed alright. Thought I had gotten lucky. Walked on home - a little over a mile - without difficulty.

The next morning, I discovered I had not been so lucky. The first step out of bed proved extremely painful. What I think is the Medial Collateral Ligament hurts like crazy. This is the same area that hurt for about a year after my knee replacement. At that time, I figured it was because the knee prosthesis had been implanted a bit off the alignment originally given me by nature. I had always toed-in. Now, I toe-out a slight bit. So, it took a year for that ligament to stop protesting. Now, it's protesting like crazy.

I didn't dance Thursday as I usually do. I had walked that morning, so I had my exercise for the day. And, the Cardinals were playing in town, so the traffic flow was especially heavy in the direction I would have been traveling. Instead, I sat and iced my knee.

This afternoon, I walked a bit, but it hurt. So, I headed home. It got worse as I walked the half mile or so home. By the time I arrived home, my knee was squealing! So, more ice. It's calmed down a bit, but the first two to three steps every time I get up are killers.

Will try again tomorrow. But, first, I'll bust out a new pair of shoes. The ones I'm wearing have a bunch of miles on them so I'll see if a new pair offers any relief. Usually, I know when to replace my shoes because an old pair of shoes will result in low back pain for me. Switching to a new pair of shoes eliminates that. Since I know that my New Balance shoes are the right size and style and require no 'breaking in', I should be able to tell if they'll help my knee.

BTW - never buy a pair of shoes that requires 'breaking in'. They are not the right shoes for you if they need to be stretched or loosened. The right shoes will feel right from the very first step.



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