18 Comments
Jul 10, 2021Liked by Elizabeth Aquino

Left side correlates to right brain, so maybe you yearn for more art and spatial intoxication. That’s very unscientific but I think you’re on to something with Roz Chast drawing the pain out and away with her paintbrushes and inks. I’m sorry you’re in pain.

Expand full comment

I hope you get relief from the knee pain soon. With the least amount of interruption of your daily goings on. Roz Chast creating on your knee would be something else! I love her work as I do yours. Be Well.

Expand full comment

Acupuncture might tell you more about what is going on with that left side of yours? Be Well, Dear Elizabeth, and keep writing so that we can read your musings. x0x0 N2

Expand full comment
Aug 3, 2021Liked by Elizabeth Aquino

You've probably seen this, but just in case: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kcUiBNeVVs&list=RDLV9kcUiBNeVVs&start_radio=1&rv=9kcUiBNeVVs&t=357 Worth a try, I guess. To early to tell for me. I love your writing! Here's wishing you all the best, dear.

Expand full comment
Jul 12, 2021Liked by Elizabeth Aquino

Sometimes when I drop deep into meditation I have the strong sensation that the right side of my body is swollen in comparison to the left. I can trace the outlines of both sides and in my mind's eye, the right side is enormous and unwieldy and the left side is quietly there, proportionate and still, while the right side feels like a bully, pushing through the quiet to make noise and get its way. I have come to know this as a sign that my ability to "be" and rest in knowing is out of whack - that there is a massive imbalance in my life and in order to bring the two sides back into harmony, I have to pay attention to what it is like to just exist and not do.

Expand full comment
Jul 12, 2021Liked by Elizabeth Aquino

My left and right knee had severe pain 24/7. Whether I was walking, sitting, or trying to sleep. I started having steroid shots in them for a couple of years, then tried stem cell (taken from my pelvic bone) injections. That helped for a short while, but was not enough relief for the cost of the stem cell procedure. Finally, my left knee and right knee told me I needed to have knee replacement surgery. I don't have the pain anymore. I have had some problems with healing in the left knee,but no pain. There is an over the counter pain reliever cream that used to be by prescription only. It is called Voltaren and it did help my knees for a while but as the cartilage went away, the cream stopped helping.

I hope you can find a way to relieve the pain in your knee. Some people have relatively quick healing after knee replacement surgery. I had a fairly quick, successful healing in one knee but my left knee is taking longer, but the pain is relieved.

Take care. I wish you well.

Expand full comment

I also weirdly have chronic left knee-specific pain. I wish I could give some magic advice (though also people giving a “have you tried this magic cure?” is one of my least favorite things on the internet). I can’t, though. I can say that I absolutely love your writing voice.

Expand full comment
Jul 10, 2021Liked by Elizabeth Aquino

I'm strongly right handed and the left side of my body is noticeably weaker, even when I was younger. When I downhill skied it was always harder for me to turn right because of this weakness. I have some arthitis in my left knee, in part because my the arch on my left foot is falling and now I pronate my left foot which affects my left knee. Orthotics helped that.

That's one story. My other and my aunts all had arthritis. My sisters have arthritis and so do I. Familial predisposition and age. Shit.

However, you my dear woman, have spent the last how many years caring for Sohpie? I can't remember how old she is. You've been doing manual labor for almost half your life, it takes it's toll. You'll need a knee replacement eventually and I can't even imagine how much that will cost in the land of plenty. Ice will help, a little. Anti inflammatories, but they're hard on your stomach and kidneys. We're getting older. Sadly, bodies don't last forever and like old houses and cars, our bodies require more upkeep as they age.

Expand full comment
Jul 10, 2021Liked by Elizabeth Aquino

There is nothing like the pain of bone on bone. I wish you relief. I love the idea that art might lift the pain from your body. For me, pain runs down the right side of my body. The nerve from my jaw runs like a hot cord down past the knot in my neck to my lower back and sends spasms down my hip and leg to the sole of my foot. The arthritis is in my hands and wrists. The pain is like a low-level hum that bursts into deafening howls when I least expect it. It is a feedback mechanism of sorts -- it is telling me a lot about the state of my body and my thoughts.

Expand full comment
Jul 10, 2021Liked by Elizabeth Aquino

I wonder how much Roz would charge for knee cartoons? She might really love the challenge. She seems like an adventurous type! I wonder if there's something about your posture or gait that puts more stress on the left side of your body? I guess that doesn't explain the eye, though.

Expand full comment
Jul 10, 2021Liked by Elizabeth Aquino

Left hip. Pops out for extra extension. A split? Bigger than that, but I’m not *flexible.* Just out of joint. Left shoulder pops out. My o e crown is on a left tooth. You’re right, it’s weird.

Expand full comment
Jul 10, 2021Liked by Elizabeth Aquino

My left knee is also a problem. Has been for years. Sometimes I can pop it back in. Sometimes ice helps but it'll never let me walk miles again. Infiltrates all parts of me.

Expand full comment

Dear Elizabeth-I remember walking with you and your caring for your left knee, having awareness, giving attention to your knee. It's a poorly designed joint, they say. After I had an ACL rebuild in my left knee some years ago (15 maybe?) I was in the locker room at the gym. A very elderly woman came up to me and pointed to her knees. She told me she had both knees replaced at the same time. If she had done only one, she wouldn't have gone back for the other. (ouch) But she could walk without pain and that was a blessing.

I have an articulated skeleton, a small one, that does yoga. Right now she's in downward dog. It helps remind me that inside this skin and flesh are bones. The whole miracle of this mortal body. The wearing away. The fact of our pain and suffering, the humility of aging. When do I decide my right knee needs replacing as I notice the clunk and creak of bending and kneeling? (kneeling-an interesting word..) My ortho guy said, as long as it doesn't hurt. sigh.

Love you,

Beth

Expand full comment