Welcome back campers. Big day tomorrow (for me, not for most of you). I am having yet another surgery on my right knee. This will be the final surgery....well, final corrective surgery that is. There will be more to come years down the line to replace that which will be replaced tomorrow. Have I confused any of you yet?
The name of the surgery is Patello Femoral Arthroplasty. If you are a Roosevelt graduate as your humble narrator is, you need to look that up. That is a replacement of the knee cap and the trochlea (the part that the cap rides on). They have promised to make me better, stronger, faster than I was before. I will be the world's second Bionic Man.
I am both excited and a bit worried about this surgery. I have been through 3 other surgeries on this same knee, each one more extreme than the last. All of which were performed to avoid doing this one. Surprise...we are going to do it anyway! I am excited at the idea of being able to walk without a cane. Of being able to run again. Of being able to pitch batting practice and hit infield/outfield practice to my little league team. Of being able to do all the normal, daily activities that most of you take for granted...without pain. I have lived my last 5 years or so in such excruciating pain that I don't honestly know how I have survived. Oh yes I do...a healthy daily intake of 10 Percocet! No one should live their life eating more pain killers in a day than members of the Brady Bunch! And yes...I am including Alice in that count. So...excited is an understatement.
Worried....I am worried because if for some reason this surgery doesn't go right, I may be worse off than I am now. Last surgery they gave me some dead guy's cartilage. I felt pretty damned good for the first couple of months, and then my body decided to destroy it. So all of the pain I went through to rehab after the last surgery was for nothing. This time I have foreign parts being installed. Plastic, titanium, Teflon...who knows how well they are going to take. I do know that I will do my best to take care of these new parts, and follow all rehab instructions to the letter. I am just worried that it may not be enough. I guess what I am worried about is the unknown. I am a math guy. I like being able to figure out the equations. This one has too many undefined variables and it makes me a bit uneasy. I don't doubt the doctor's ability. I have researched the surgery over and over, and it seems promising. I just wish tomorrow would get here so we can get this thing over with.
I am always a little jittery the night before surgery, but this one is a biggy. This could be the answer to all of my knee problems. This could put me back on track for a "normal" life. This could be "The One". So it is logical that I am a little more on edge than normal. I will be out of work until October 10th or so, so I am sure that there will be time to update you all on the recovery process in between PS3 time and pain killer induced naps. For those that follow me regularly (all one or two of you), this will explain my disappearance for the next couple of days or so. I am hoping to get some good pictures once the bandages can come off. I, of course, will share these with all of you. So...until next time all....Stay Salty!
-Salty Dog
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment