Title: Shaken Up by a Broken Knee
Date: 23 February 2025

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Hello Gopher friends, it's been awhile! Coming to you with a bit of
a downer update after awhile - sorry for that. But it's been an 
inauspicious start to the year for me so far.

First, apologies for abandoning the phlogosphere for awhile. I'll 
be catching up on your updates over these next few months off my 
feet. Things got busy, technology challenges prevented me from being
connected to SDF as often, and various other things happened. I did
not get the job I was applying for when I was last posting in 2022.

In any case, getting to 2025 - my fortieth year, since last October.
It's already been a bit more of a grind than usual as I'm getting a
bit older, and three weeks into the spring semester, I managed to
slip on some morning ice and destroy my kneecap.

Less than 1 percent of bone fractures are kneecap, or patella,
fractures. I don't intend for this to be medical literature or
anything, but apparently the thing with kneecap fractures is, if the
pieces of kneecap are too far apart they won't ever heal naturally
and will require surgical intervention. Mine were far apart.

I broke my knee on the 6th, completed pre-surgery steps the 
following week, and successfully completed surgery this past Tuesday.
Fortunately, unlike many in my country, I have solid health coverage
and this will not significantly affect my finances, but it has made
a big impression on me and has spurred me to some significant 
introspection. Specifically:

- I'm too old to be thinking of myself as young and invincible.
- I probably could have gotten the surgery I needed sooner if I had
    a more up-to-date idea of my state of health so I didn't need as
    much pre-surgery screening.
- There was plenty of room for concern. Nicotine, for instance,
    apparently has a way of preventing bone healing. I've taken this
    as a chance to finally wrap up vaping while maybe the pain meds
    help with the withdrawal symptoms too.
- I've got to get out of my terrible one-bedroom apartment. Trying
    to get around there in crutches is impossible and harder because
    the handrails on the stairway are literally detached. I've ended
    up having to come stay with my retired mother for awhile so
    I can get around a bit more easily.
- Speaking of my poor mother, she's been helping a whole lot with
    this despite her own health and mobility challenges. I don't
    generally wish I were married or something but it sure would be
    better if I had someone my own age who could help in this
    kind of situation... sigh.

On the other hand there is a silver lining to every cloud...
- Just before my fall (like literally a day or two before) I got a
    new ThinkPad to be my main (Linux) computer and I guess this
    gives me some time to set it up.
- My job is being really considerate to what I need, which is a nice
    pleasant surprise. Aside from some HR forms I have no idea how
    to fill out, my coworkers are being just awesome and super
    helpful.
- If I can wrap up this recovery with no nicotine and a good 
    physical therapy routine, it might actually end up being a net 
    positive in terms of my ongoing wellness journey (I managed
    to lose about 40 pounds last year and have mostly kept it off)
- Maybe I can use some of this additional time off my feet to get
    some of the online things I still haven't gotten in order.

Thanks for listening to my rant. Hopefully it won't be another two
years and seven months before my next post like it has been since
my previous one. Thanks for reading, hope your 2025 is off to a 
smoother start than mine is!