Too many broken parts!

So, it’s 6pm on a Friday night, and I think we all know where I’d like to be right now. No, not a bar — my Friday night kickboxing class. Taught by a man with a striking resemblance to Tracy Morgan, it’s an hour of jumping rope and punching things — and is my favorite way to start the weekend. The teacher, Charles, likes to compliment me on my shoulders, which does great things for my self esteem. But more importantly, the class does great things for my blood sugar, especially on a day like today, when it gets stuck in the low 200s and will not come down.

So I’m very frustrated that I am not at kickboxing right now. Instead, I am in front of my computer. Why? Because my knees are messed up. I have a disturbing amount of arthritis going on under my knee caps, especially considering the fact that I’m all of 31 years old — but I also have this cute thing where occasionally my right knee sort of locks in place, making it very painful, if not impossible, to bend it. I originally thought I’d torn my meniscus in a hip hop dance class (go figure), but it turns out I’ve just irritated some tissue/tendon thing that flares up every once in a while. One of the doctors I visited compared it to what happens when you bite the inside of your mouth — once it’s swollen, you keep on biting it. Fair enough, but at least munching on your cheek doesn’t prevent you from walking.

Anyway, I’m feeling very annoyed right now at the general damaged state of my body and, as a result, the screwed up state of my blood sugar. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe I’m supposed to be in the heyday of my youth (or at least the day of my youth) — but instead I’m an arthritic diabetic, waiting for my best friend to arrive for dinner carrying a bottle of ibuprofen.

Speaking of defects, an update on my hematoma/staph infection: it’s getting smaller. Not gone yet, but definitely diminished, and it never did get red or hot. I had the brilliant idea this morning that I should massage it — you know, to increase blood flow and healing? — but the wisdom of that is as yet unclear. Regardless, I’m relieved not to have an abscess next to my belly button. Combined with my messed up knee, that would really make me feel like damaged goods.

Catherine Price

Catherine Price (www.catherine-price.com) was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when she was 22 years old. She has written for publications including The Best American Science Catherine Price is a professional journalist who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when she was 22 years old. Her work has been featured in publications including The Best American Science Writing, The New York Times, Popular Science, The Los Angeles Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Washington Post Magazine, Salon, Slate, Men’s Journal, Health Magazine, The Oprah Magazine, and Outside, among others. A graduate of Yale and UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism

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Catherine Price

Catherine Price was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when she was 22 years old. She has written for publications including The Best American Science Catherine Price is a professional journalist who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when she was 22 years old. Her work has been featured in publications including The Best American Science Writing, The New York Times, Popular Science, The Los Angeles Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Washington Post Magazine, Salon, Slate, Men’s Journal, Health Magazine, The Oprah Magazine, and Outside, among others. A graduate of Yale and UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism