Here are a few things I’m grateful for today that have nothing to do with my business, but they do relate to today’s other post:

1. Grateful for timing:
   The orthopedic surgeon’s office took pity on me and let me sneak in this morning for an appointment. If I hadn’t seen him today, it would have been more than a week.
2. Grateful for a diagnosis:
   I have a nasty case of a fairly common running injury: patellar maltracking. It’s in both knees. The x-ray was cool because it looked like two mountains that had had the tops blown off. My knees look a little worse than the bottom picture to the right.
3. Grateful for perceptions:
   The cute lab tech looked at me and handed me a SMALL/MEDIUM pair of hospital shorts to put on for the exam. SMALL/MEDIUM! Not PUDGY/RIDICULOUS! I love that man.
4. Grateful for knowledge:
   Now I know what’s wrong with my knees. I know it’s not all in my head. It’s repairable, but it’s going to take some time and patience. I have neither, but at least I know.
5. Grateful for being back on track:
   The doctor told me I can keep training with the running team. I just need to start physical therapy to make my inner thigh as strong as my outer thigh and perhaps get my hips into alignment.
6. Grateful for small chances:
   There’s a chance I’ll have to have surgery, but it’s small. PT should fix things, he hopes.
7. Grateful for bad hearing:
   My left ear seems to be losing some hearing. If I lose a little more hearing, I probably won’t hear the grinding like I do now. The grinding won’t ever go away, the doctor said.
8. Grateful for stubborn boyfriends and supportive coaches and running buds:
   D.J. bugged the heck out of me to get to the doctor. Pete gave me the name of this specialist and helped keep my spirits up. Coach James (who is in the March issue of Runner’s World) keeps checking on me, and Coach Joe said I better keep smiling or else. What wonderful friends to have.