I have created a new word for what I have been doing for the
last six weeks of my life: prehabilitation. Of course
this is not all I have been doing, but it has been my focus while I have been
to Tennessee, South Carolina, and Pennsylvania.
I decided to blog about my upcoming bilateral knee replacement, but not to
publish it until the day I went into the hospital. I thought, perhaps that would be one way for
me to be abstract my thinking about it instead of dealing in my imagination
what it is going to be like to wake up with both of my knees forever changed
and go through the pain of learning to do everything like get out of bed and
get on my feet when the legs are going to be yelling, “No, no, no! Go back to sleep and just stay there! Dream!
But whatever you do, don’t move!”
I have not come to the decision to have both knees done at
the same time easily. In fact, I have
not come to the decision to have even one of the knees done EASILY. I have known for at least twenty years that
the cartilage in the right knee was gone and I have been quite aware of the
left knee now for eleven years, some days more than others. I have pretty much had pain from them for
some time, but I have lived with it, trying not to complain overly much and
trying to do the same things I have always done. Gradually, more and more things that I enjoyed
doing or needed to do have been done less.
The first thing to go in 2006 was the three miles each morning on the
treadmill. Even at slow rates, I
discovered after my recovery from the automobile accident of December 27, 2005,
that even slow speeds on the treadmill hurt the left knee terribly. When I went to see Dr. Aguerro with the
problem, he gave me a shot of cortisone, explaining that I had probably torn
the meniscus and that while I could have surgery for it that might not do away
with the pain. He also said that the
pain would come and go.
At this time I already knew the right one was in bad shape
and there was no quick and easy fix. The
shot helped and I got through that year in pretty good shape as I became a
grandmother. The next cortisone shot and
the next spread out over a couple of years gave me a headache so severe that I
said “To heck with that,” started not doing or walking as much as I would like
and took the steps to my back door, one foot up and then the next, haltingly,
much to my mother’s chagrin who told me that it grieved her to see me take the
steps that way. To save her feelings, in
her presence, I bit my lower lip, straightened my shoulders and sucked it
up. Klep, bless him, had our steps
rebuilt so that the rise was more manageable.
Last year, our trip to Ireland and England was
wonderful. We had agreed that I would do
what I could comfortably before we went and I had the extra challenge of having
ripped a toenail off my right foot and badly bruised my right hip in two
separate freak accidents on the same day.
Once again, I made a choice to bite the bullet and keep going and I did,
even the day in London when we found ourselves walking miles and doing flight
after flight of stairs in the parliament building and various tube
stations. I came home with an infected
toe but some good strong antibiotics cleared that up and by the bruise had
started to fade from my thigh.
This year, we went on our dream river cruise on the Danube
from Budapest to Bucharest. Even though
I had made peace with having a few activities that I could not do, I did not
make peace with the fact that I felt I was limiting others, too. When we got home, I knew that it was time to
either know that the rest of my life was going to be severely limited in some
ways or do something about it.
I had decided that I wanted to use a surgeon who had
actually done someone’s knees that I knew.
Dr. Brook Bearden did the knees of one of my doctors and he had had a
good recovery. I had discussed this with
him a year ago and gotten the name, but I had never followed up. I did in late July of this year. They had a cancellation on the 21st
of August, but that was the great eclipse.
The next appointment was September 11 and we all know what happened in
Florida that day as Irma ripped up the state destroying power lines and
creating havoc. I was rescheduled for
that Friday.
The appointment went well.
First I was examined by Aaron, the nurse practitioner and then both my
legs were x-rayed every angle possible. Since this was not my first trip to an
orthopedist, I had dressed appropriately for the occasion in a pair of white
Bermuda’s, even though it was after Labor Day. (Forgive me, fashion police!)
After that, Dr. Bearden came in. He showed me the e-rays and told me a lot of
what I had known for years except now the cartilage is gone from both
knees. He also pointed out all the bone
spurs, some quite spectacular in their size and we talked. He said I was a good candidate for a
bilateral if I wanted to go that way. He
went through all the pros and cons and the risks and the results that were
likely.
He said that Aaron would call to get my final decision. On Tuesday of the following week, we
scheduled the surgery for November 9 at SGMC.
I went into the office on the first of November for pre-op and to the
hospital the next day for the hospital pre-op.
Both appointments were sobering and picking up the walker that I will
have to use during rehabilitation was even more sobering. I was taken off all over the counter pain
meds in preparation for the big day. The
week following once again convinced me that this was the right way to go.
I started my prehabilitation for the surgery when I decided
to make the appointment. I continued my
pool exercises, but increased the duration of them. I also, on the suggestion of my other doctor
who has been through this, to added some muscle strengthening exercises I found
on the internet .
After the appointment, during which Dr. Bearden wanted to
know if I could walk a mile without getting short of breath, I decided I’d
better find out. I did. I could.
I added that to my regimen. Each day until the pre-op appointment,
I walked.
I discussed good vitamins for healing with my local
pharmacist and added the ones he suggested to my regimen. I also thought about losing ten pounds, but
that did not happen!
I made the decision that I would not share this widely
before the time I go into the hospital.
My decision was affirmed after I told a few close friends who were
rather aghast that I would do a bilateral.
This is not something I want to do, but it is something that I feel I
need to do. With the Lord’s help, I will
get through it. I fear that if I do one
at a time, the second one will never get done.
So, I press on. I have spent some good time the last six weeks reminding myself of the promises of my God and focusing on those Bible Verses which have helped me in the past.
So later today, I will check into SGMC. I will not take my laptop with me, so the
next part of my journey will appear early next week. I know better than to write while under the
influence of strong pain meds and I plan to take what my doctor says I need!
I do ask you all to please pray for Klep as he sees me
through this!
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