The X-ray of the knee revealed a textbook case of the Perfect Joint. An absolute beauty, no indication of trauma, wear, tear, or imperfection. A proud moment for me.
The blood work? He pronounced the numbers "phenomenal" and said my liver & kidney function was perfect, my white and red blood cell count in harmony, and the measurements for inflammation off the charts GOOD. My SED rate was super low and some other inflammation variable was in the very lowest percentile. In short, there was nothing in the blood tests that led him to conclude that I have psoriatic arthritis. The numbers didn't bear it out.
In fact, I think he was even a little perplexed and almost annoyed that he wasn't able to explain my condition based on the data.
So the conclusion was inconclusive. Part of me was disappointed. I wanted to know that I had something! But apparently I don't "have" anything. Except a sore knee still.
He ordered an MRI just to rule out structural damage. "I want to see what's in there," he confessed, unwilling to settle for no diagnosis.
But it's increasingly looking like a pedestrian case of Repetitive Use Injury. Or an old-fashioned case of patella tendonitis. Just like they said the last time.
The prescription? Rest it another three weeks.
Argh! A grievous blow to Team Shad.
This puts my participation in the D2R2 and the Dirty 40 in jeopardy. On the current timeline, if I'm to stay off the bike for another three weeks, that will be TWO MONTHS without riding. Already my left quad has atrophied. It's like vanilla mousse inside that pink epidermal skein. Makes me nauseous to consider what putty it's become!
And how is the knee today? Tight. Not correct. A nag. How will it be tomorrow? It's anyone's guess.
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