What the Surgeon Said and Amy Joins My Teddy Bear Collection

Thank God, the visit with the surgeon is over. I met him in Letterkenny at 9 AM...I walked in there expecting an appt. for surgery, as two doctors told me I would need it. There was the surgeon...He was a very formidable, cold, icy, person, who was the caricature of what you would imagine a surgeon to be like.I know he wasn't 10 feet tall, but he sure looked like he was. Needless to say, I was scared as soon as I saw him. He examined me and boy did it hurt...He yanked and pulled and when I made a noise of pain, he asked me exactly where the pain was. In between the grimaces of pain, I told him what he wanted to know.

He told me that I had a minor miniscule tear in each knee, but more importantly, I had very severe arthritis in both knees. He then said if I opted for surgery, I only had a 50-50 chance, as I have severe arthritis and that would require extensive repairing. It could get better, but it also could get worse....50-50 didn't sound good. He didn't hesitate to tell me that my turning 60 was a big factor too. He was very surprised after he examined me and saw what my pain level was in each leg that I was still walking 4 miles a day. He commended me on that one, and that was the first time he smiled.My goodness, I thought, the man can smile. That didn't last long.

With a grim face, he then listed all of the complications of this type of surgery like blood clots, infection, etc...By then my jaw was dropping down further and further.Gee, why didn't I leave my hearing aid at home?I asked him what was my other option....He said that I could try physical therapy and hope that would stop the locking of my left leg and then continue to do excercises that would strengthen the muscle around my knee, so that the pain would be lessened hopefully. I would have to take pain medicine as needed and take anti-inflammatory medicine regularly. Funny enough, he was being blatantly honest with me, and though he wasn't saying it directly, he was steering me away from surgery, at least I felt he was. Knowing what surgeons get paid , I was surprised with this whole strategy. He then said that he wanted to see me after the month of physical therapy to see if there was an improvement, and then I could tell him if I wanted surgery or not....like I would even consider it after all he said. LOL Needless to say, I decided to try the other option.

I will be having therapy once a week for a month in a place in Falcarragh and then do more exercises at home...I start this week. I was told that the therapy would hurt, but I knew that. I have decided to then purchase the Pilates Aero 4695 from QVC UK, as it was developed for people who do have injuries like myself. It gives you the resistance training, but also has a cardio board for the cardiovascular excercise. The surgeon thought it would be the best, as it is so low impact.Here is a video to show what the Pilates is like:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIQCJZ-bVdY&NR=1 He ended it off with saying that he hoped all of this would slow down the process so I would not need knee replacements years from now...My jaw dropped a bit more, and I left his office.

Boy, was I glad to leave that office...I hope that all of this therapy and excercise will help the pain a lot. I don't know what the future holds for my two knees, but I will be trying very hard to reverse the process a bit or slow it down, if it kills me. LOL

Joe took me out for coffee and toast at The Quiet Moment, and boy did we need a bit of quiet. We left and passed a store with a teddy bear in the window, which I fell in love with immediately. Joe bought me the bear and here she is. I dubbed her Amy, and she is just so cute.

We are both watching the Rose of Tralee on tv, and we are cheering for the Kerry Rose. I did a lot of walking in Letterkenny, so I am in a bit of pain, but thrilled to be back home with Joe.