Knee Surgery

My knee surgery went very well.  It was done as an out-patient procedure – I checked in at 12:00 and was home by 3:30.  The clinic staff was wonderful, and I was a much better patient than I usually am.  Dr. Yao cleaned out some floating cartilage fragments (which we didn’t know were there), repaired some fraying cartilage (which we did know was there), and performed a micro-fracture on the top of my lateral tibia bone (which we were hoping he could do but he wouldn’t know for sure until he got in there).  Basically, he poked 4 microscopic holes in the bone to promote healing and growth of some new "pseudo-cartilage".    

My recovery has been great, but the biggest part of it includes not putting any weight on my right leg until the holes have a chance to do their thing properly.  So while my knee feels like I could walk just fine, I am confined to a whole lot of sitting around, and can't walk without crutches.  It is a little strange to only have two small holes on the outside of my knee, and be relatively pain-free, yet still unable to walk or do anything I normally would.  I have no previous experience using crutches, so I am not exactly graceful or capable on the things.  Austin called them my stems when I first got home, and Leah calls them my sticks.  All three of the kids were lectured on how crutches were not toys, to avoid broken TV’s and windows.

My dear mother came back to town, on the heels of just having been here for Jake’s baptism, to help take care of me/us.  She stayed with me at the clinic during the procedure, so Brian could be at home with the kids and get Jake from school.  Brian shouldered the house-and-kid-work, and mom cooked and took care of me, including giving me a pedicure and washing my hair for me, before I was allowed to shower.  She entertained the kids with crafts and shadow puppets, ran errands for us, and got to see Austin off on his first day of Kindergarten.    In short, she was fabulous as usual!

As is par for the course when I have time on my hands, I started making a list, mostly of random things I have become more aware of during my “recuperation”.  Some good, some bad, such as:

•  You can’t truly appreciate the luxury of taking a shower until you are forced to only take baths.
•  My body does not like large doses of Vicodin.
•  My kids have very caring natures.  Whether it’s Jacob ever willing to be my legs, Austin very tenderly putting new Band-Aids over my stitches, or Leah being the first to jump up and hand me my crutches, my kids want to be helpful.
• It is important to set your crutches at the right height from the get-go, to avoid having to endure new soreness after figuring out they are set 2” too short.
• The generosity of my friends is remarkable.
•  It is sometimes easier than I thought it would be to sit around and do nothing, and sometimes harder.
•  I loved being home to see Austin after his first few days of Kindergarten.  I also love the one-on-one time I have had with Leah while the boys are at school.
• Betadine makes you look like an Oompa Loompa.
• Getting down on the floor is relatively easy, getting up is another thing entirely.
• While I am a self-admitted control freak, there are some things I am perfectly okay turning over to other people, such as letting my mom decorate my house for fall. 
• Crutches and under-wire bras are not a good combination.
• I can waste a remarkable amount of time playing Bubble Blast on my phone.

Most importantly, I realized, once again, how truly blessed I am.  I have a loving father, who along with my husband gave me a beautiful blessing of comfort and healing prior to my surgery.  I have a wonderful husband, who has not let me do a thing but rest and recuperate.  He brings me ice cream and dinner in my chair, and never lets me want for anything.  I have a selfless mother, who secretly delayed her own much needed knee surgery to come and care for me after mine.  Last but not least, I have sweet, sweet babies who love their mommy, even when she isn’t worth much.