Going Under the Knife

Sorry to hear it Peter ,but do it man !!! You are in great shape otherwise and have the mental toughness to endure PT and discomfort.

It's wise advice to put everything on one level in your home because mobility is definitely going to be a challenge for some time.

3 weeks ago I had a good friend of mine who is 81 years old and physically active who has two horrible knees . Mike has lost bone density and had internal bone spurs that didn't show up until the actual surgery go through knee replacement.

He had a top level surgeon do it tl.. the guy was formerly a United States women's Olympic ski team orthopedist.

He recommended to do the one at a time.


Mike during the procedure actually had to have artificial bone added to his body to compensate for the serious deterioration that had occurred

The pre op x-rays didn't show some of the internal bone spurs that materialized, so it made a one and a half hour operation a three and a half hour operation to fix that issue in addition to the prosthetic

Now the good news : after 2 and 1/2 Weeks Mike is able to do the stairs he's driving he's sleeping upstairs in his own bed and he's ready to get the other one done as soon as he gets a green light from his Dr.

Since I have no personal experience with this issue it's hard for me to give advice as to whether to do one or two simultaneously.

but my guess is if you were to do two simultaneously it would be damn hard for you to drive and if you don't have help that could be a serious issue.

Best of luck with the situation I know you got this!!

I got to have minor surgery in a couple of weeks myself I have some kind of a lesion on my arm . I call it my arm nipple 😉. it doesn't want to seem to go away so hopefully it's benign but with all the chemo s*** that I've had to endure for the last year I'm a little concerned.

Hang in there buddy you got it
 
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Campgottagopee said:
As someone who's had 3 knee surgery's I'd suggest getting them both done at the same time. A good friend of mine did that and he said it was the way to go. As you mentioned, no since in being on the sideline for 2 years having one done at a time.

You're in good shape and know the importance of PT --- my bet is you'll recover quickly

The first 2 weeks after replacement suck balls. No other way to describe it. It's gonna be painful, after that you'll notice that with each day the pain starts to get more tolerable and eventually you'll be pain free. My knee replacement was the best thing I've done.

I have permanent bruises on my left leg after skiing in a brace for years and years. It sucks.

Prepare your house to be able to live all on one level, sleep, bathroom, etc for at least a week. It will be that long before stairs are an option.
Click to expand...
I had the right knee replaced 6/20 and the left 8 weeks later. Started skiing in December.
 
All of a sudden the knife comes close to you...

Short version: my wife has injuries that are not life threatening but she is badly hurt.

Well, our life took a turn in a different direction yesterday. Blue Toes was working and visiting a potential rental cottage (she works at a cottage rental agency). While taking pictures on the deck, she braced herself against one of those tempered glass (maybe plastic) deck railing panels, and the wood framing holding the panel gave way. She and the panel fell about 7 feet to the ground, she landed on the panel (which didn't break). Ouch.

She called for help but her colleague and the cottage owner were inside and did not hear her, so she managed to get up, stagger up the steps and enter the cottage, where they found her in shock and in a lot of pain. They got her to lie flat and called 911. Paramedics took her to Bracebridge hospital. She called me from there around 1 pm. Her colleague Mary Lou followed along and stayed with her till I got there around 6 pm. She had a CT scan there, revealing broken ribs and a lumbar disc injury. The decision was made to transfer her to St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto. She thought she might get a helicopter ride but they went in an ambulance instead. No sirens even!

I got to Bracebridge just before the ambulance left, they advised me to follow along but don't rush. (it's a 2+ hour drive from where we live to thhe downtown hospital, ugh). So I had something to eat, got gas and the GPS took me on a direct but slow route to the hospital, which is right downtown, close to the Eaton Centre and across the street from Massey Hall. (400, Black Creek, Weston Rd, Dundas St, for those that know the city). Extra hazard from the million people buzzing by on e-bikes along Dundas Street, me stuck behind a streetcar.

Long story but parking was a challenge and I ended up in the Eaton Centre garage. Finally found BT in a private cubicle in the sprawling emerg area of St. Mike's. She was stable, still lying flat (and still is!) and the emerg doc was stitching a wound on her ear, likely caused by her metal earring. That Dr opined that she likely had a fractured disc but didn't think surgery would be necessary. Terrific people at the hospital, all very helpful and professional.

She had one more CT scan by that point and we had to wait for the neuro doc to finish up in surgery to visit and make an assessment. This finally happened and that doctor wants to wait for MRI results before making any decisions about surgery. As of now (3.30 on Friday), she is still waiting. I just talked to her and they have told her that they will do the MRI tonight or in the wee hours tomorrow when things are quieter. I was thinking of heading back down this afternoon but we decided that it would be better to wait till the morning when we have a more concrete diagnosis. I need more sleep anyway, as I didn't get home until 3:45 am, and have been napping on and off. We have some great neighbours who can dogsit Moira if needed.

She is very tired and doped up on painkillers (she's had some good stuff: Halodol, Fentanyl, some intravenous potent Ibuprofen, etc.). She is out of emerg in in a regular room on the ninth floor, with a nice view of a construction site.

There are still lots of questions! Surgery or not; workplace injury stuff; do we sue the cottage owner; return to work plan; physiotherapy, etc, etc. No answers yet.

That's all for now, don't lean on any deck railings!

Update: headed for the MRI soon, these results will determine whether surgery is required. Driving to the city tomorrow morning!
 
So sorry about Blue Toes SBR.

In the US that would have lawsuit written all over it.
 
That’s crazy. I hope Blue Toes is able to be comfortable. Prayers from down south for the power of healing.
 
Thanks for the well wishes. She is is still in the Toronto hospital. Good news is that it is not asbad as originally thought, bad news is that it is still bad. Likely one fractured vertebra (L1). Plus four broken ribs. Doc wants an x-ray before final final surgery decision despite two CT scans and MRI. This is the best hospital in the Hinterlands for spinal injuries so we will be patient. She is on good drugs and the doc told her not be shy about asking for more.

Lawsuit not out of the question.
 
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