It’s Good to Go Slow
I went to the orthopedic surgeon today to try to get a sense of what I will need in terms of a support network when I have to get my arthritic knee(s) replaced. (My house only has one bathroom and it’s on the second floor.)
The bad news is that, yes, both knees are worse than they were the last time I visited the surgeon (a year-and-a-half ago), and yes, we’re pretty much down to bone-on-bone (not to mention the hideous meniscus!).
But the good news is that the knee(s) are not SO bad that I have to have surgery done right away, or even that it has to be done any time soon! There are still pain meds that can help. (So far I’ve only been taking over-the-counter NSAIDs.) And if the new meds don’t help, there are shots I can get that could offer relief for as much as 6 months at a time. (I hate shots, but I hate being cut up a whole lot more.)
Of course, I’m sure I could find another surgeon who would we happy to go right ahead and do the surgery — NOW. But I’m really kind of loving that I’ve got a surgeon who’s not really in a hurry to do surgery!
Also, that he and my brother were roommates in med school. When the surgeon realized who I was, he told me he had a picture at home of him and my brother together, posing like like they were Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (my brother looked/looks just like Robert Redford!), so I feel like I’m getting the best “this-is-what-I-would-do-for-my-own-sister” kind of treatment.