Counting down the days now until my knee surgery, which takes place one week from today. I think I have all the business part straightened out. I've called the insurance company to make sure I have the benefits to cover the surgery, the doctor, the home health nurse, the durable medical equipment and the physical therapist. I've bought some XL men's shorts to accommodate the big bandage that will be on my leg. MT and I have made arrangements with our families so someone can be here to hang out with me the first couple of weeks that I am home from the hospital. T has offered to step up and take care of me the first day I'm home from the hospital. (That should be fun for both of us!) I've attended the pre-surgery class to learn about what's going to happen. I've met with the pharmacist and the pre-admissions nurse to go over the meds I'll be taking. I've had blood work done, peed in a cup and been subjected to a nasal swab, all in the name of preparing for the surgery.
And I'm not going to lie to you...I think it's coming at a good time. Not good in the work sense of the word; I'm very busy at work and I feel pretty bad about leaving my co-workers to cover for me in the heart of the construction season. But for me personally, the pain is getting worse each day. I don't know if it's a mental thing because I know the surgery is less than a week away or if the degeneration of the knee has just got the "that" point. Whatever it is, it's bad. There is hardly a position - sitting, standing, even laying down - where I don't feel some pain or discomfort in my right knee.
It makes me feel cranky and maybe even a little depressed. I don't even enjoy going to the gym anymore because it just hurts, even after a few minutes on a light machine setting or walking around the track. It's just no fun.
Here's a funny thing that happened at the meeting with the pharmacist. The pharmacist's name is Larry. Larry was looking through the list of medicines that I take and making a note of what I need (the hospital pharmacy supplies the meds while I'm in the hospital). He got to a medicine called Lutera. He said, "What is that? I'm not familiar with this one."
"It's a birth control pill," I replied.
Larry just started laughing and laughing. When he regained a little control, he said, "Yeah, most of our knee joint replacement patients don't have a need for birth control pills." You know, because most joint replacement patients are in their 60s or 70s. Hahahaha Larry.
Yes, I am about 15 - 20 years younger than most joint replacement patients. What can I say? I got the short end of the cartilage stick. It's a bummer. I can also tell you there is NO WAY IN HELL I could wait another 15 years to have this surgery.
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