2018 Life Logs, Day 282—A Trip to See My Orthopedic Surgeon
Date: Tuesday, October 9, 2018
Weather: Overcast Early, Beautiful Afternoon; High 73, Low 65 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Today was my day to deal with my left knee issue. I had a 3 pm appointment in Hyannis and somehow this took the whole day. Since I was going to Hyannis, I had made an appointment to get a new passenger side airbag installed since the one I have was recalled. I was also supposed to get a new key fob cut and programmed, but for the second time in a few days, I got there and they still did not have the right key. I had explained what I wanted as graphically as possible, but they ordered only a regular key. I need a replacement for what I call ‘the clicker’ to remotely open and lock doors. I will have to return again for that and now that they say they understand what I need, the cost has gone up to about $275. Losing your keys is an expensive proposition.
I had some time between the car appointment and the knee appointment, so I headed to Whole Foods to do some food shopping. I got to the orthopedic center right on time, but I had to wait an hour and a half to see the doctor. I had a book with me and I enjoyed the reading time. The doctor assures me that the x-rays of my knee don’t match what he sees when I enter the room. He says I look fit and energetic, even though my left knee is beyond bone on bone and he doesn’t understand how I am walking without a cane based on those x-rays. He feels that I am an excellent candidate for surgery and promises that I will be so much happier when I can once again really use that knee. But he is also willing to go along with my attempts to do whatever I can to put off the surgery. I have not been a patient in a hospital for over 50 years and I am not looking forward to being one. But since his surgeries are booked six months out, he is suggesting that if I have a time that I prefer, I should book the surgery and then back out if I decide against it. I really don’t have time to get this done until February and he did say that he has an opening in that month as someone just cancelled. I will work with his scheduler to come up with a date. In the meantime, I got a cortisone shot to help with the pain, scheduled some PT sessions, and met with the technician to help me adjust the brace I have. I stopped wearing it, even though it helps, because it just felt too tight. The technician fixed that problem. So, I will continue to limp along with these supports, work hard at getting back to a scheduled exercise program, and hope for a miracle. The doctor tells me the evidence says this is just not going to happen, but I appreciate his patience in letting me try.
