I have been struggling with a type of pain that I have not yet described here, so I thought I would enlighten you.

Sometimes it feels as if the bones in the top of my right food are grinding together. Walking on it and even just moving it are quite painful experiences. It comes upon me suddenly, sometimes lasting several days, sometimes a week or more. I feel a twinge at first, and I know how my life will be for the next short while.

I think that the pain comes when I am tired, but I am not quite sure if that is always the case. When I am really tired, my muscles do not do a great job of holding things in place. One of the worst experiences I have is when I am doing dishes and turn to put something in the dishwasher. When I am tired, if I do not purposely pick up my foot as I pivot my leg, my foot will be facing still be facing forward when the top of my thigh is actually facing toward the dishwasher. The pain is intense, but even worse is the knowledge that I have to slowly rotate my leg back before I really hurt myself, even though doing so will be more painful than when I first turned because I always move quite slowly even though the initial twist was a quick movement.

In any case, my right knee hurts when I am tired because it loosens up somehow. Walking on stairs, sitting down, rising up, and kneeling are quite difficult.

The pain in my knee is always sharp and accompanied by the fear that I might do permanent damage during these times.

Sometimes when I am tired, the knuckle at the bottom of my left index finger hurts. It aches and feels swollen and hot when it is not. A knuckle is much easier to stare at than a knee during these times, but nothing looks different about it. The blasted thing just hurts.

These two body parts susceptible to bouts of pain are accompanied by my left shoulder and my right hip. I've written before of how my right hip has a tendency to partially slip from its socket and how I have learned to push, twist, and abruptly sit so as to remedy the situation and avoid a trip in an ambulance. My shoulder is just basically a nuisance, but the hip thing is enough to make me scream when it happens. The only real help I received from a visiting a string of ortho docs was the technique described above.

So, this right foot thing is new here, but has been a part of my life for about a year now. When it happens, I am near convinced that something is broken. That the bones really are crunching together. However, it only feels that way. Eventually the feeling (and pain) passes, and I forget about it until the next time.

It has been crunch time for most of this day.

I must say, that given how my right foot feels, I have been particularly grateful for the magnificent play of Tiger Woods to hold my attention during some of this day. I am very much looking forward to another swash-buckling victory tomorrow. I am quite sure that I will not be disappointed.