No Better

And the knee injury saga continues ─ still no improvement. Profound swelling, and still unable to even begin to elevate my lower leg.

I am losing out on not only walks, but even exercising. I dare not leave home in my state.

I went out in the early afternoon on a 'beer run' with my younger brother to the nearest government liquor store two miles hence. He had borrowed a six-pack of my preferred Cariboo Malt (7.9% alcohol) yesterday once his supply ran dry due to remaining home for a change instead of busing off to social drink.

I don't like using my debit card to shop, but I had no choice until I am able to walk again and access ATMs.

I bought my usual two flats of four dozen Cariboo Malts, painstakingly walking to one of the two female cashiers ─ the same one my brother had gone to, since I was expecting of course that he would be assisting me to get the beer to his van once he took care of his purchases.

But the other female cashier ─ a friendly Asian woman ─ came over upon seeing that I was crippled, and she fetched an empty box that all four dozen cans of beer would fit neatly into. It had a couple of handholds, whereas the topmost flat of beer was easily slid if the two stacked flats were not carried with even steadiness.

And then the sweetheart insisted on carrying the 40 pounds of beer out to my brother's van! Unbelievable kindness! I have generally had excellent accommodation and friendliness from the staff at that outlet at 108th Avenue & King George Boulevard (Google Map) in Whalley over the years.

The sympathetic woman offered that she lost three years of employment due to a knee injury that required two surgeries.

This sort of selflessness ─ and from a woman, no less ─ is so damned touching.

I will give my knee another day ─ tomorrow ─ to see if I am at last finding it possible to begin elevating my lower leg on its own. If there is no improvement, then I just may have to return to Surrey Memorial for further assessment, because if a tendon requires reattachment, it is crucial that surgery be arranged quickly or the tendon will become 'healed' ─ basically frozen ─ as is. Reattachment will require stretching of the tendon, but if too much time passes, a tendon can be too difficult to stretch anymore.

Or that's my understanding.

I had a bath early last evening for the first time since my early A.M. accident Saturday ─ I cannot describe properly how awkward it is when even elevating my leg enough to climb into the tub seems almost impossible. I cannot even remember how I finally managed it.

At some point when I bath, I like to lie down in the water, but that was not possible. I can bend my knee quite a lot, but not enough to lie down in a bath tub.

Yesterday morning I had of course watched shows with my brother via our Android TV Box. One that was surprisingly good was just over half an hour, and had been uploaded September 9, 2013, to YouTube's The Best Film Archives channel: Top Secret US Military Base in Greenland | City Under the Ice: Camp Century | Documentary | 1963.

This 1963 US Army documentary film shows the story of the construction of Camp Century, a remote US military base in Greenland. The ultimate objective of Camp Century was kept secret until 1997...

Historical background:
After 1945, the United States developed a geopolitical interest in Greenland. In 1946 the United States offered to buy Greenland from Denmark for $100,000,000, but Denmark refused to sell it. In 1950 Greenland was reintroduced into the sphere of military influence of the United States when Denmark agreed to allow the US to reestablish Thule Air Base, which was greatly expanded between 1951 and 1953 as part of a unified NATO defense strategy.

In 1960, The United States Army launched a top-secret program code named Project Iceworm to build a network of mobile nuclear missile launch sites under the Greenland ice sheet. The ultimate objective of placing medium-range missiles under the ice - close enough to reach targets within the Soviet Union - was kept secret from the Danish government. To study the feasibility of working under the ice, a highly publicized "cover" project, known as Camp Century, was launched in 1960 as well. However, unsteady ice conditions within the ice sheet caused the Project Iceworm to be canceled in 1966. The Danish government did not become aware of the actual objective of Camp Century until 1997. Camp Century is now an arctic research center.

We also watched a movie that I had previously downloaded ─ 2011's Waking Madison. I suppose that it just barely managed to keep my brother interested; and I have to admit some surprise that at one point he correctly conjectured that Madison was 'imagining' the various gals she was institutionalized with.

Then around 10 p.m. last evening once Bev retired to the bedroom for the night, I joined my brother in the living room for some further T.V. ─ again, via our Android TV Box. Our entertainment was as follows in this sequence:

• Route 66 ─ episode three ("The Swan Bed") of season one.
• 1923 ─ episode one ("The Killing Season") of season two.
• Lawmen: Bass Reeves ─ the only season's "Part V".

Route 66 seems to be available on YouTube, so my source for this episode was likely this one at Classic Films & Serials Now! channel: Route 66 S1E03 The Swan Bed (October 21, 1960). As far as I am concerned, 15-year-old Zina Bethune had the lead guest star role. Apparently the actress portraying her mother ─ actress Betty Field ─ was once a beauty, but there was no evidence of that former beauty in this episode.

And of course, more T.V. this morning, but I shall only mention the better than an hour (1:08:30) video uploaded November 27, 2020, to YouTube's Free Documentary - History channel: Who Sank The Titanic? - The Secrets Behind the History | Free Documentary History.

Everyone knows that an iceberg sank the unsinkable Titanic leaving more than 1,500 people to perish in what is now known to be one of the greatest maritime disasters in history. But this striking new film argues that it was actually a long chain of misjudgments, human errors and misfortunes that sealed the fate of the largest liner of its day, her passengers and crew. Had just one link in that chain been missing, this historic disaster may have been averted

My wife had a full workday today, but she never rose until nigh 9:45 a.m. (usually she gets up around 9:30 a.m.). She had her shower and quickly readied, and was on her fairly long drive a little past 10 a.m.

At least she was in good spirits.

Due to the liquor store trip, and then having to help Bev get set up with two different B.C. government website accounts that may have cost us an hour, I have been short of time. I seem to burn out more quickly than before ─ maybe my knee is proving oppressive for my body, always a burden threatening pain and clearly endlessly inflamed if the monstrous swelling is an indicator.

My brother had gone out via a bus to engage his nearly daily social drinking, but he returned around 7 p.m. and is presently passed out in his comfort chair in the living room. Bev doesn't seem interested in rousing him, so long as she gets to watch her T.V. and enjoy her white wine.

I spent 10 minutes inhaling nebulized hydrogen peroxide just before my brother got home. I have been wondering if there might be a penalty to pay for being shut up with so many ailing people this past Saturday and into the wee a.m. hours of Sunday ─ I would say 14 hours are no exaggeration. Today, I began to suspect that I might have a vague sore throat, and my nose is a little runny.

So I hope the threat ─ if there is something there ─ is not too advanced, and that I have eradicated it. No doubt, tomorrow will tell.

It is presently 8:12 p.m., and I need to lie down in the dark a while. Maybe later I will end up watching shows with my brother, and having a couple of cans of Cariboo Malt.