painful day, painful week... painful knees

Today was the most excruciatingly painful day with my knees I've ever had:  so much so, in fact, that I took a green sheet day off for tomorrow, and a vacation day on Friday.  I have an appointment with a nurse-practicioner tomorrow morning, and will discuss the whole problem with her.  I'm hoping the doctor can give me a cortizone shot in each knee, to get me by until the Syn-visc injections in October.  I'm also going to put in for FMLA, which would let me take off work when I'm in too much pain; my doctor will have to fill it out and sign it.  Today it was all I could do to keep from crying, at times.  I got through it by reminding myself that Christopher Reeves would dearly LOVE to feel pain in his knees and be able to limp along... and also, I told myself, pain never killed anybody.  Linda L. gave me a couple of prescription pain pills that took a little of the edge off and made me not care if I got any work done or not.  I was at the point where I'd have taken anything, just to get through the day.  Thank God, I now have four days to rest.  All day long I thought of quitting, but I'd have to give up so many fun things.  I hope I can get through a couple more years, till age 62.