Knee Replacement

Yesterday my older sister went with me to do all the pre-op for my knee replacement surgery. We went to the surgeon first. They had papers for me to fill out. The best one was for a handicap parking sticker. It was downhill from there. They gave me final instructions on getting ready for the surgery and answered all my questions.

The first question was "where will he cut, and how big will the scar be?" She said he will cut from the knob at the top of my shin bone, up across the knee but not through the muscle, and will make a cut from the middle of that one to the inside of my knee. Apparently, he will not cut through any muscles or tendons, but will open the skin and push them aside so he can get to the joint. Then he will shave the bones, remove what cartilidge is left, cap the femur with a metal cap, attach a plastic insert to the tibia, put a plastic piece behind the knee cap and I'll be good as new. (Ouch!) And sound like the scar will be 5-6" in length.

She didn't sound as optimistic as he did about my driving. Hope that doesn't screw up my plans for going back to work fairly soon.

It'll be walker or crutches for 3 weeks, cane or one crutch for 3 weeks then another appointment with the doctor to see how I'm doing. There will be a physical therapist involved. I plan on working on rehab as if it were a job so I can get back to the real world ASAP.

Second, we had pre-op at the hospital. More papers to fill out and sign, many many instructions on prescriptions, what to take, what not to take, which ones to bring with me, how to bathe (!) to get ready. What to bring (my walker), what to bring to wear (big legged shorts), how long I'll stay (probably 3 nights).

Now I'm just wishing it was over. But I'll try to be a good patient. Nothing I hate more than a cry-baby whiner.

I was planning on having my own private nurse/coach/trainer/driver to help me through this, but that wasn't to be. He would have wanted me to go ahead and get this done. In fact, he had been harassing me for a couple of years to get it fixed. So the time is right and I'm going for it. I'll need lots of prayers and the help of my sisters and a few good friends.

After those two appointments, we picked up our aunt and took her for an MRI on her lower back. It was a difficult appointment for her. Afterward, she treated us to dinner.

Today I meet my friends from grade school and junior high (two of them) for lunch. We haven't seen each other since we were 18 (and that's a long time.) We are meeting at an Amish restaurant between my home and their homes. I'm excited but I can't decide what to wear. Oh, well, that won't matter in the long run. We will just be happy to be together after all these years.

Keep me in your prayers for the next few weeks. I have a feeling I'm going to need lots of encouragement.