My knee is shot. I'm just trying to make it to the end of the year when I retire to do the replacement. I've got a misshapen ankle that causes me to put more pressure on the inside (medial) meniscus. Years of sports have worn that side out. I've had a number of meniscus tears over the years as well. I have a number of braces. I have an unusual brace that is hard metal on the outside and plastic mesh elsewhere. It pushes my knee inward to put more pressure on the outside of the meniscus. I also have a brace with hinges on both sides and an inflatable section that holds the patella in place. I used that one for pickleball. I have a neoprene brace with elastic straps too.
Since I did the stupid "jump off a loading deck" and reinjured it, none of those braces helped much. I ended up getting a cheap patella tendon strap. That relieves a lot of pain when I'm walking around, but stairs and uneven ground are still a challenge. I thought it was improving, but I must have slept on it wrong last night. When I woke up this morning, I could hardly walk. No way I could drag out a deer the way it is today.
I found an even more satisfying activity this afternoon. I got a call from a neighbor boy yesterday morning. He had shot his first deer with a bow and could not find it. Unfortunately I was 80 miles away and had to work this morning. I drove down to the farm and installed the stirrup and then headed to the retirement property. I met with the neighbor boy. We went out and reenacted his shot and trailing from yesterday. Of course there was no real blood trail left and I knew we would not recover the deer. I just hobbled around with him and asked him questions and gave him pointers for next time. With the temperatures here, even if we had found it I knew the meat would be tainted. From his description, it sounds like it was a slight quartering toward shot (although he thought it was broadside) and he likely hit the liver and then had an exit through the paunch. He then only waited an hour before trailing it. He likely bumped it. It was more enjoyable to pass on tips and such to a youngster than for me to hunt anyway.
