Friday, November 4, 2011

Knee Surgery

Well, I guess I am, after all, one of those guys who thought things could just continue on as they are forever. Although I've had a few aches and pains in my knees over the years, it's never been anything that didn't go right away. This time it didn't go away.

After quite a lot of flying over the summer, in late August I got off a flight with a stiff right knee. This kind of thing would usually go away after walking a bit. But it didn't go away, and got progressively stiffer. Eventually painful. By the 2nd week of September, I couldn't walk without a lot of pain. An MRI showed I had a torn meniscus, as well as a damaged MCL. The only way to correct the cartilage tear was surgery. I hadn't had surgery since I had my tonsils removed when I was a kid! So the idea freaked me out a bit.

Pretty amazing in the end. Just 2 little "vampire" marks on my knee, and zero pain. Just a little stiffness. My knee actually feels better than it has in months. But since they corrected some unanticipated bone wear by causing what they call a "micro fracture",  I have to keep the weight off it for at least 6 weeks, and walk with crutches. CRUTCHES HURT! I also can't drive. After 6 weeks, I can start physical therapy.

Anyway, I look forward to this episode being over.