Last week I slipped on some ice on the patio at the back of my house and landed full force on my knee. It was such a shock that it wasn’t necessarily painful at first, but the swelling and bruising were immediate. I did what you’re supposed to do – ice packs for 20 minutes every few hours, elevating it etc – but it just continued to get worse. 

The following day, we had a heavy snowfall that lasted for 24 hours which resulted in us being snowed in for three days, so I couldn’t get to the hospital for an X-ray. During that time the bruising grew to areas above and below my knee – an enormous 20cm galaxy of blue, yellow, purple and black. I could bend it slightly and hold weight on it for a period of time, but what concerned me was that the skin on my knee was completely numb. 

So as soon as the snow cleared, I took myself off to my local hospital.

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