It's a miracle!

Twenty-four hours after the cortisone shot to both knees, I awoke in the early hours of the morning, climbed out of bed and took a couple of cautious steps. What?! No pain? No collapsible knees? Was this a dream or was I really awake? Had I truly gone to bed with aching knees and while I was sleeping, the pain fairy stole the pain and left me functioning knees?

If there had been a televangelist in my living room, he'd have shouted, "Praise the Lord! She's cured!" And then taken credit for it, no doubt. This was great. This was perfect. My cold was in the waning stages and I was walking, not like an Egyptian, but like a human. Now I really was ready for my Florida trip.

I had met with the radiologist earlier in the week in preparation for my radiation therapy, which would begin sometime during the week following my vacation. I had expressed to him my concerns about the compounding effects of radiation exposure with all the CT scans, X-rays and mammograms I'd had in the past five months. He countered that I'd probably be exposed to more radiation while flying above the clouds than from any medical test. I didn't know that, although the following week I did read about that very same subject in the newspaper. Well, swell, 5 months of compounded testing plus two radiating airline flights to get to Florida. Someone literally could tell me I had a glow about me.

In the meantime, I had functioning knees, followed by succeeding nights of sound sleep, thanks to the thieving pain fairy. That alone had lifted my spirits enough that I could have flown myself to Florida -- below the clouds, naturally.