It Just Doesn't Stop.

Just as I was getting over the bout with bronchitis, I woke up one morning and could not move my left ankle at all. The pain is actually what woke me up around 0600. The first thought that came to mind was, "I'm not supposed to go back to the company more broke than when I left." So, that's when the adventure started. This pain was worse than the actual surgery I had on the ankle back in October 2009. And, it wasn't the first time I had dealt with it. I called for my mom to go get my boot from the surgery. It was the only way I could see me walking. I called my old surgeon (who did both the knee and ankle surgery) and they told me to go see someone ASAP. Went back to that Urgent Care Place (Doctors Express). They took xrays, and told me that it looked like I had broken the graft site and the tendon had fallen out of the bone. Grrreattt. They thought it was the horrible sprain I had had back in basic training. They ordered an MRI. The only problem is that my TriCare, only has Direct Service at the moment, meaning I can only get treatment at MTFs (military treatment facilities). I went home with a prescription for Vicodin and rested the rest of the day. Then, nighttime. I was in so much pain I cried most of the night, not getting any more than 1 hour of sleep the whole night. Off to the hospital the next day at 0700. Except with the ER, they wont do MRIs for something so "simple." So, we eventually called Fort Hood. They said come on in, we will get it taken care of. Took the 30 minute drive there, sat a bit, got more xrays, and then went to see the doctor. He thought it was a rather simple case, after hearing about my previous reconstruction surgery. He came in after seeing the xrays and does the normal meet and greet. He goes, "You have arthritis." I went, "Huh?" as my mom goes, "What?". "You have arthritis," he repeated. Oh. Turns out I have severe arthritis resulting from the surgery. This episode of pain was just a flare-up. He gave me some Vicodin and some Prednisone. I wish he was my first doctor in this mess.
So, after a couple days of the Prednisone treatment and still taking a Vicodin when I need it, the arthritis is slowly going back into remission. He told me it would keep flaring up at random times for the rest of my life. But, at least next time, I'll know exactly what to do.
As for my military career, I don't know where this will take me. I guess I'll find out when I go back to Fort Jackson and talk to my doctor. I love the military. It's my life and I don't want it taken away from me.