Six Weeks Post-Op and a Glorious Autumn Da Kine

Posted on November 16, 2018 by Mokihana

Three and a half weeks pass…

I can drive now!! I started on October 9th, a month minus a day post-op. Amazing. It felt great, though I kinda overdid it three days later driving too far, but with no lasting results. Mostly my knee was tired and stiff. I can now drive myself to the gym, to The Gathering, to knit group on Saturdays, and physical therapy. Freedom for me, freedom for Nolemana. He’s been absolutely fabulous getting me to where I need to go but now has more time for the stuffs he needs to do.

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2 1/2 Weeks Post-Op, OFFF, and Swan Island Dahlias

Posted on September 28, 2018 by Mokihana

And ten days fly by…

I’ve been working really, really, hard in physical therapy and with my exercises at home. And it’s paying off. I saw my surgeon’s assistant on the 21st, and she removed the dressing on the incision and swapped it out for Steri-strips. She showed me the x-rays they’d taken of my new knee so that I could see what it looks like now. Absolutely fascinating. I won’t post the photo here; no like gross anybody out. But you know, no wonder it hurts…there’s a bunch of metal in there! Best of all, she said I could hemo the compression hose!!! I was so happy!! They were were a pain in the ʻōkole! Oh yeah… and she confirmed that there’s such a thing as surgery brain. I could tell that all my cylinders weren’t firing quite right. It’s ‘way better now, though. Megan told me that she was really pleased with my progress; she’d wanted at least a 90° angle on my bent knee, and my PT told me the day before it was 115°!

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One Week Post-Op

Posted on September 19, 2018 by Mokihana

I’m still here. I made it through. Right now my days are taken up with exercises. And more exercises. And physical therapy. Then turn around and do it all over again.  Nolemana has been absolutely fantastic, helping me with almost everything.

I forgot I took so many photos in the hospital. Better living through chemistry, yeah?

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Mokipuaʻa

Posted on September 7, 2018 by Mokihana

Last Tuesday afternoon I had a pre-op appointment with my surgeon and his assistant, who’ll be in the OR with him.  That made surgery seem really real. By the time we were pau with the appointment, traffic on I-205 would’ve been awful going home, so Nolemana and I decided to stay in Vancouver and have dinner at Patrick’s Hawaiian Cafe, my favorite local kine food restaurant. I figured that comfort food would help ease my way into surgery on Monday.

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Posted in 'Ono Kine Grindz, Da Kine: Sometimes Full-on Pidgin | 4 Comments

Two Weeks Away

Posted on August 28, 2018 by Mokihana

Ack! Two weeks from yesterday I’m going in for a partial knee replacement surgery. And I’m feeling kinda nervous about it. I’m glad I get to have a spinal instead of general anesthetic. I’m glad I have a fantastic surgeon and a great medical team. But I’m still kinda sked.

I’ve been working hard at the gym to strengthen my legs and knees. Cuz my left knee isn’t the greatest, either. No ACL in that one. It’s gonna need (kneed???) surgery, too. See what happens when you’re fifteen years old playing tackle football back home in Mānoa Valley and you get tackled by a kid twice your size? We didn’t wear protective any kine. Those were the olden days, right? Sheesh.  Continue reading →

Posted in Da Kine: Sometimes Full-on Pidgin | 4 Comments

Hawaiian Time Post – Tour de Fleece

Posted on August 26, 2018 by Mokihana

Oh, I have the best of best intentions to write posts. And then life happens. I got bogged down during Tour de Fleece, so I’m gonna start up again with all dem photos.

At da coffee shop. Me spinning, and my friend from the My Knitting Has Cat Hair In It team was my cheerleader.

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Posted in Da Kine: Sometimes Full-on Pidgin, Handspinning, Tour de Fleece | 3 Comments

Sad News and Finding Spinning Solace

Posted on July 19, 2018 by Mokihana

Yesterday I got some bad news, that my dear friend Carol, who’s been battling cancer since 2005, now had a metastasized tumor in her brain. I was stunned, upset, and very teary and emotional. I’d been spinning some mixed fiber, which was a real challenge for me. There are both long and short fibers in the roving, and I’d never spun anything like it before. After getting the news about Carol from her husband, I came home and tried to spin for solace. It wasn’t going well. I thought that maybe I even hated the spinning I’d done from this pretty bump of roving:

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Posted in Da Kine: Sometimes Full-on Pidgin, Handspinning, Tour de Fleece | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Tour de Fleece, Chapter Chree

Posted on July 15, 2018 by Mokihana

I’ve been so busy spinning and photographing and posting my progress to Ravelry, that my poor bloggie gets left in the dust!

So here’s more photos of what I’ve been doing.  I finished spinning Beargrass from Raven Ridge Fiber Arts (my favorite indie dyer). I learned how to use an Andean plying tool from Gift of Grace Handspun, and Noelani supervised everything.  The Andean plying tool is made from Curly Koa from Maui, and I love it so much.

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Posted in Da Kine: Sometimes Full-on Pidgin, Handspinning, Tour de Fleece | 2 Comments

Speaking Of Knees…

Posted on July 12, 2018 by Mokihana

…I’m scheduled for a partial knee replacement on September 10th. Scary, yeah? For the last year, my right knee, which is actually in better shape than my left one, has really been hurting bad.  I had to give up spinning for awhile…horrors! Last year at Oregon Flock and Fiber I was hurting so bad I hardly saw anything at all. It was very disappointing, though it was wonderful being in that atmosphere.  My primary care doctor gave me a cortisone shot, which took the edge off, but ultimately he referred me to an orthopedic surgeon… Continue reading →

Posted in Da Kine: Sometimes Full-on Pidgin | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Tour de Fleece, Chapter 2

Posted on July 9, 2018 by Mokihana

Okay, this is what’s happened so far. Yesterday, Day 2, I finished spinning half of one braid and started on another. Kalakoa was helping by modeling my first bobbin. I saw one almost ripe blackberry in our driveway, too.

Day 3. Keola was my companion while I did more spinning.

The two bobbins don’t look that much different, but I did spin for about 45 minutes.

Posted in Da Kine: Sometimes Full-on Pidgin, Handspinning, Tour de Fleece | Tagged , , | 1 Comment