The Saga Continues

"When last we heard from our injured hero, he had an appointment in orthopedics... "

I went to orthopedics and talked to the PA there. After moving my leg around a bit to see how the knee felt, he diagnosed a probable meniscal tear and possible ACL damage. But, he'd like to see an MRI. So, he puts a referral in the system and tells me to call and make an appointment in a couple of days, then make an appointment back in ortho about a week after that.

I made my appointment, and was told to get a copy of my x-rays on the way to Portsmouth so the MRI tech can compare the two images. Ok. On my way to Portsmouth, I stop at the hospital and go find where they store the radiology images. It takes them an entire hour to drop them to disk (computer problems). I only allotted 5-15 minutes for it, so I was late. They stick me in the limb machine (much nicer than the claustrophobia machine). They've got me leaned back in a seat with one leg in the tube and the other comfortably supported on the side of the machine. I slept.

"Later, back at Langley Orthopedics..."

I again see my PA, but in hindsight, this appointment could have been conducted over the phone. He says that the report from the MRI confirms the meniscal tear and the ACL. So, do you want to have surgery to repair it? This is a question that, to me, doesn't even need to be asked. Would you like to stop hurting everytime you use stairs? Would you like to carry things without pain? Sure doc, what have you got? Granted, rehab won't be pleasant, but 6 months post-surgery, I'll likely be 100%. Uh, yeah. I want the surgery. Ok, so I'll make another appointment to talk to the orthopedic surgeon.

Which brings us to Tuesday.

I get to talk to the surgeon, Dr. D. He looks at the report, fiddles with my knee a bit, and verifies with me that I want the surgery. I do, so he gives me a quick lowdown on the 3 options. (1) Taking some tendon from the front of my kneecap to use as an ACL, (2) taking some tendon from my hamstring to use as an ACL, or (3) taking some ACL from a dead guy to use as my ACL. Number 1 doesn't look so cool, cause it can weaken the kneecap and cause pain there. I am trying to avoid pain in the first place, so that's out. There's a small chance of infection with number 3, since it's not my tissue, so we'll put that on the back burner. Number 2 sounds like our best bet, and we'll be ready for 3 if my hamstring's not long or strong enough. So, the good doctor asks when would be good for me to have the surgery. I quipped that next Wednesday's bad for me, but he may have taken it to heart because I'm scheduled for 12 Oct. Then comes some recoup time, then lots of rehab. Welcome to the good pain!

--Beav