1/26/11: Epic Fail.

So, today I got on Lord's Boy as my first ride since last Friday. He was wonderful, and I even jumped him over some small jumps, but the longer I rode, the more stabbing pain I got in my knee. When I got off, I was in tears walking back to the barn. Lena and Derren told me to sit down and promised to take me to the hospital later. My knee pounded for the next hour or two while I groomed a few horses, but once we finished in the barn and headed inside to get lunch, the pain subsided a lot. Lena and Opa took me to a hospital ("krankenhaus" in German) in Warstein called Maria Hilf. Thank goodness Lena stayed with me to translate for the doctors because no one at the hospital seemed to speak fluent English. We spent two full hours talking to doctors, nurses, and lots of assistants. A very nice female doctor looked over my knee, asked me some questions (or should I say, asked Lena some questions, since the whole conversation had to be translated), and sent me to get X-Rays. The diagnosis is that I have a strain or slight damage to the meniscus on the inside of my knee. It is not serious, so hopefully a few more days of rest and ice will fix it up completely. I'm perfectly mobile, but pushing weight into my stirrup and pressing my leg against the saddle seem to aggravate the issue. It is absolutely ridiculous that I have been in Warstein for over a week and have not ridden for half of the time. I am officially a mess!