Thursday, April 16, 2009

The S Word

I mentioned in my last post that I'm having knee surgery. Many of you have sent warm, kind and concerned thoughts which are so much appreciated. I thought I'd take a second and give you the 411. "That means information, people." (Any Monk fans in the house?)

At the end of January, I slipped and fell on a rubber mat that was turned upside down. Luckily, this happened at work. This means I don't have to pay for anything and I'll ultimately get reimbursed for my time. It also means this whole process has been dragged out 17 times longer than if I had to pay for this. All I'll say about that is...if you have to get hurt at work, don't do it in North Carolina.

It turns out that when I fell I tore my medial meniscus. I've had ice, compression, heat, NSAIDS, a cortisone injection, yoga, physical therapy, x-rays, an MRI and a glucosamine/condrointon supplement (when I can remember to take it). You name it, I've tried it. No dice. Nothing has worked. I'm still in a lot of pain, can't walk far, biking and running are out of the question, and I'm still wearing a knee brace. Without the brace, I feel things moving in ways most unnatural.

At my last doctor's appointment, it was decided that surgery was the next step. It will be arthroscopic surgery and should take about 20 minutes or so. They will go in and look around, take pictures and cut out the torn piece of cartilage. I'll be laid up for a few days and on crutches for a few more. They expect me to be as good as new in 4-5 months. Sadly, my hopes of a robotic knee transplant have been crushed. Perhaps next time. I do however get souvenir photos of the inside of my knee, which is a nice touch. I wonder if they do t-shirts too? "I went to Blue Ridge Surgical Center and all I got was this lousy t-shirt."

The surgery is scheduled for May 7. My mom will come stay for a few days. It will then be up to Elvis to care for me. I have three weeks to teach him how to open the fridge and turn on the oven. If that fails, I am certain a few friends will come over to feed me if absolutely necessary.

I appreciate the well wishes. I assure you I will be fine. My 89 year old grandmother always says, "you just don't die as easily as you think you do." In the past 9 years, she's had breast cancer and mastectomy, a broken hip and replacement, an exploding gall bladder, and recently 5 staples in the back of her noggin from a fall. She's never been in the hospital for more than 3 weeks. So, I think she'd know.

8 comments:

Me in Memphis said...

Good grief! At least it's free, so there is a bright side to it all. It stinks that it's taking so long though :-/

Kristina P. said...

Meg, I will be thinking about you! I think you need a Snuggie in the hospital.

Meg said...

E-I fell on January 28. You're not kidding!

K-Do you think they're let me wear a Snuggie instead of a hospital gown?

3 Bay B Chicks said...

You are so street, Meg. Thank you for explaining "4-1-1" to us old and unhip people. :)

Whoa! You tore your meniscus. Oh my goodness. I have heard that this is incredibly painful. I wish you a speedy recovery and agree that you are making the right decision with surgery.

Now, let's get cracking with Elvis' training.

-Francesca

Meg said...

Too bad you're so far away, or I'd send Clara Bow to help take care of you post surgery. She's so danged smart she could easily learn how to do anything, even make a souffle if she felt interested in learning. Except, wait, scratch that....she thinks kitties are the other white meat and would probably try to eat Elvis as an appetizer. That would definitely not work out, too much sighthound in that girl. She's amazingly good at giving sympathy and cuddles when you feel crappy, though!

Meg said...

Thanks everyone!

(F-that's a quote from my favorite episode of Monk!)

Anonymous said...

Ouch - hope all goes well and that it really is only a torn cartilage. I had to replace my knee ligament once and that was no fun!

I'll be thinking of you!

Kathy B! said...

I'll say it again... I'm just down the road :)