Height challenge at bedtime

Before I left for SC I went to the orthopedic Dr. because my left knee has been killing me and he inform me that I might have a small tear in my meniscus(sp?) and that if it was still bothering me when I got home, we could try a cortisone shot.  Well, it still hurts like h.... on and off (more on than off) which causes me to adjust how I'm sitting/standing/walking which then affects my back.  Needless to say, I am not a happy camper.

The timeshare where we are staying  at Hilton Head is lovely, however, it has one shortfall - no footrest so I've been trying to find the right number of pillows to prop up my legs to support the knee.  If that's not enough, this place has those overstuffed mattresses and the bed is so high that I need a footstool to get into bed.  The first night we had no footstool, and Tim just laid there laughing while I tried to dive into the bed, missing about 4 times, sliding off to the floor.  We finally devised a stool of sofa cushions so that I could get into bed, by which time I was completely exhausted just getting there.  Tim thought it was hilarious, I, however, did not.

Why do places like this never think about short people?  If my Mom had been able to come, there's no way she could have gotten into the beds here without a stool. Granted the mattresses are very comfortable once you get on them, but getting on them is a bit tricky for a height-challenged person. Needless to say when they called checking on how everything was, I informed them that they needed to think about things like this.

PC woes

On February 1st I started having problems with my laptop which I use everyday to communicate with the outside world and for some of my hobbies.  I thought the problem was from sitting out in the car  with the cold weather, but apparently not.

I took it to the PC doctor on Sunday the 3rd and on the 4th he called with the bad news.  He can't get the data from my hard drive (150+ audiobooks and all my photos) without sending it off to a specialist. They told me at the store it could take up to 3 weeks before my baby is well and can come home to me. It could also cost up to $1,500 to recover the data. 

In the meantime, I've been trying  to recreate my working file for my reading reviews and book selection. My old PC that I am using now, is much slower, smaller screen, and on an old Operating System. I feel like I'm back in the dark ages already. :-(

For all my friends out there, learn my lesson - BACKUP! BACKUP! BACKUP!

TODAY, Well, the verdict is in on my PC and the news is not good.

The hard drive failed and to recover my pictures and data files it will be $1,300 and 4-8 weeks.  That's just the data files. However, if they can't recover what I want/need,  I can refuse the files and it will only cost me $250.

The pictures are what I  really want so I told them to go ahead with the recovery but now I have to get a new PC because this one won't be back and functioning anytime soon (no software programs until I can find the keys from 3½ years - do you think that's going to happen? That's the kind of info I stored on my PC.), my backup is lacking some of the programs that I need for the projects that I use for my other activities and I'm not sure I want to trust the sick one again when it eventually returns.  I think I need to sell some of my stock to pay for this expenditure unless I can find a good deal out there.

WHAT A BUMMER!!   

I guess it could be worse, I could be without a PC completely, right?
Well, I think I'll go try to lose myself in a book.  Maybe I'll feel better then.

I don't know where to start.

Last Saturday (after Tim headed off to Florida for 5 days) my left knee started to hurt/ache.  I tried all kinds of things, ice/heat/elevation/massage - one day it was better, another no, so I made an appointment with the regular doctor for Thursday but by Wednesday I could barely walk.  So when I went to the back doctor on Wednesday, he asked me how I was doing and I told him that my knee was killing me, and he replied "I can't help you there."  We talked and decided that a set of regular steroid shots might reactivate the rhizotomy loss (I still fell that I'm about 45% improved from before the rhizotomy) so we scheduled them for March 1st.  He only does that procedure on Fridays - This coming Friday (2/8) I'm getting ready to leave for Hilton Head with my Mom, 2/15 I'll be coming back from HH, 2/22 I already have 2 other DR appts. scheduled so 3/1 was the first opening.
On Thursday morning when I was headed to the doctor for my knee (of course it felt better because I had the doctor's  appointment )  he said that it could be several things but to try increasing my arthritis medication first before heading off to the orthopedic doctor. Friday it was horrible again and today a little better.  I'm beginning to think that I should just give it up and live on drugs.  No I won't.
Worse than the pain in my knee is my computer is not working (I'm on my backup) so I can't access any of the things I regularly use. Thank God the Internet is not computer specific.  LT withdraw along with knee and back pain would be unimaginable!

But good news - little (?) Miller Patrick made his appearance on January 21st weighing at 8 lbs. 7 ozs.!  I'll get to see him in a week!