One week to go.....

Just one week before knee surgery, I have a list a mile long of things to do before I go "under the knife." Most critical, I have finished grading my final papers from the spring class, and final course grades are figured and ready to submit to the seminary. Whew. There are only two students with extensions on the course, so I will wrap up those grades later, closer to the end of June. Second most critical, I have had a hair-cut and a manicure.....

Kaiser Health has prepared me well for the surgery. We attended a "joint replacement class" at the hospital early in May that was very helpful. The hospital is the "Good Samaritan" Hospital in Lafayette, about 40 minutes north and east of our house. The timing is only important because I have to be there at 5:30 AM for a 7:30 surgery! Truly, for a "non-morning person," this could be the hardest part ....

We learned a lot about knee replacement and hip replacement as well (really glad it is not my hip...). I had no idea that I would be on a pain management (medication) program for about a month, as well as a blood-thinner for a few weeks to avoid blood clots. Kaiser will send physical therapists to my home to aid in my rehabilitation after surgery about two or three times a week; in addition, they will send someone to take blood samples to evaluate my pain meds and blood thinner. The key to recovery (I am told) is to keep the knee moving, eventually gaining full range of motion. That means managing pain and a lot of hard work.

Then, I had a pre-op appointment with a nurse practitioner and a final appointment with my surgeon. The nurse took a battery of tests and checked all my vital signs. Within a few days, the test results were e-mailed to me; I like that about Kaiser. Fortunately, I appear to be very "normal" on all accounts, which is a good sign. I liked that, too. I am a very "low-risk" patient with no severe medical or physical problems. I am pretty darn healthy (need I say, "for my age..."?) and for that I am very grateful.

My surgeon was succinct and confident. I guess you want a confident person as your surgeon or your quarterback! I am unable to straighten my bad knee. It also curves out, making me look quite bow-legged. In order to get it as straight as possible, the doctor told me to straighten it (in a sitting position) and push down on either side of it. That's Dave's job and he is good at inflicting pain as instructed. At this point, I am not allowed to take any pain medicine with aspirin, but I can (thankfully) take Tylenol to sleep at night. No vitamins, or herbal pills allowed.

So this coming week is filled with preparations and pain, dinners with friends and family (each one feeling like my "last supper..."). Life as I now know it will come to a screeching halt at midnight on May 27-28. After surgery, I will have new opportunities, new feelings, new schedules, new goals, new attitudes and a brand-new titanium knee. Praise God. I am ready.
As they used to say, "stayed tuned for more up-dates...."