Great Content Abounds for Wine Julia in 2014

We’re into the fifth month of the year, but 2014 seems, for me, like it’s just beginning.  Since December 31, 2013, when I felt a strange pop in my knee, daily life as I knew it was instantly changed.  Since Christmas day, I had been experiencing tightness and pain in my left knee that progressively increased over the following week; climbing up a single flight of stairs in my home became nearly impossible by December 31.  When I felt the pop, I had instant relief and simply chalked up that wretched week to a twisted muscle…or whatever.

The following morning, January 1, 2014, I felt odd.  As I climbed out of bed, my left leg didn’t feel like my leg at all.  When I stood up, the pain was nearly unbearable, and I immediately noticed my calf was two times its normal size.  A visit to my doctor brought on an instant ultrasound of the calf area to rule out any blood clots, and the diagnosis was a ruptured Baker’s Cyst –  a cyst that forms behind the knee that can be caused by many factors.  Although they’re quite common, they rarely rupture like mine did.  I was told the swelling may stay with me for two days or two weeks – mine decided to stick around for about three weeks.

Meanwhile, I started experiencing joint pain – something I had never had before. Over the next several months, my knees, ankles, elbows and knuckles would be inflamed and intensely hot by nightfall, causing serious discomfort and distress.  Tests for Lymes Disease, Rheumetoid arthritis and everything else under the sun repeatedly came back negative.  A four week round of Prednisone (steroids) medication eased the night time swelling and pain, but as I tapered off of the Prednisone, the swelling and pain have been slowly returning.

Since the onset of the joint pain happened after the ruptured cyst, I insisted that the cyst and my pain had to be correlated, but doctors did not agree. In April, I finally saw an orthopedist who prescribed an immediate MRI of my left knee, and the results were stunning.  My meniscus is completely torn in half and not connected, and my knee cap has shifted out of place causing friction, pain and swelling; along with, another Baker’s cyst – one that could rupture at any time.  My joint swelling and pain, in theory, is likely caused by the fluid that came from the first cyst – fluid that my body could not identify.  This unidentified fluid caused my immune system to mistakenly attack and destroy healthy body tissue (also known as autoimmune disease) resulting in the unexplained joint swelling and pain.  

Although the correlation between my disastrous knee, joint pain and swelling is connected only in theory, I am relieved beyond words to have a solution on the horizon through a much needed surgery – for the first time in five months, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Why am I sharing all of this on my wine-centric website that is usually reserved for sharing my passion for wine?  Because 2014 has been rough, and the pain I’ve been enduring has caused me to write far less than I normally do.  Boxes of wine that line my upstairs hallway have yet to be sampled and written about.  I’ve participated in many exciting and delicious wine tastings, been heavily involved with incredible Brandlive tastings, visited many beautiful vineyards, attended some super special conferences and I was a wine judge for the very first time – all in these painful first five months of 2014.

Great content abounds for WineJulia.com in 2014.  I have so much to share with my readers about the excellent wine, food and travel adventures I’ve had so far this year.  I’ve got loads of incredible Oregon wines to write about, including Rieslings for my Best Case Scenario tab, and some really fun 1/2 Day Vacation articles that will involve beauties from Italy, Spain, Portugal, Chile, Argentina and Uruguay, to name just a few.  My In The Glass tab will feature daily sips that leave a lasting impression, and when I find a good food and wine pairing, check out the Pair This section.  My weekly Wine Down Eugene articles can be found each Wednesday on Eugene Daily News, and I’m also a mentor and contributor on Snooth.com, where I have over 50,000 followers.

I love what I’m doing, and I’m doing what I love.  My passion for what I do will shine through my articles…you’ll see.