Three Opinions and The "D's"

I have mentioned, probably more than necessary, that the accident in December changed my life.  It convinced me to travel on the RMS QUEEN MARY 2, originally for NYC and back, which kept getting extended until May.  During this time, I had some right knee/right leg pains but only when I was inactive.  I could dance, walk around the deck, go up and down the stairs - quickly - but sitting for long periods seemed to freeze my knee and make the entire leg throb.

So, after absolutely no consideration and a very long time, I began the rounds of doctors, specialists, physical therapists.  The surgeon was very cute, 40-something, with a deep, well-modulated voice guaranteed to send women my age into a swoon, but not before signing the consent form.

After enough x-rays to cause my knee to glow in the dark, the surgeon began to describe the injury:  when I fell, the top of the fibula was split but no one in the ER noticed it - he skipped over the not-noticing part.  Actually the ER doctor didn't notice the blood caked on my left leg even though I was wearing a skirt.   I told her that I didn't want to get blood on the clothes so I didn't wear trousers - the temperature was close to freezing, "it being winter and all".  She was more surprised about my not feeling the cold and kept telling me that.  I kept telling her that my knees hurt and finally she said, "Of course, you just fell down!" - in parentheses, "You Dummy!"

So, everything healed, new bone grew but all in the wrong places.  By the time I got my knee looked at in July, it was no longer possible to prove that the injury was from the December accident.

So, the surgeon began, in deep, reassuring tones, to describe the proposed (7+ hour) operation, which seemed to involve shaving the new growth........that's when I tuned out and simply smiled at him.  When he was finished, I asked him what he would recommend if I were his mother.  For a moment, he lost his "cool" so I repeated my question, pointing out that I was more than old enough to be his mother.  He sighed and said, "Lose weight and live with some pain and take aspirin on a full stomach if the pain interferes with sleep".   Sounds like a winner to me!  We parted, if not as lovers, certainly as friends.

So, back to the ship, for my "reward" - a continuation of the voyage and meeting the  4 D's and 1 E -  five barking mad, extremely warm, welcoming and wonderful people.  More about them when I get their permission.