At a doctor’s appointment this week, the medical assistant asked if my health history had changed. I told her about my surgeries. I wasn’t sure if they needed to know about my knee surgery, and said as much, but she told me that they wanted to hear about any surgery that required anesthesia.
She was interested in my knee surgery on a personal note, too, because she had just had knee surgery herself. Our stories were similar: a knee injury as a teen, a subsequently unstable knee that had to be periodically popped back into place, serious knee problems later in life, and finally, surgery. Where our story differed was that her knee totally disintegrated (as she put it). She was unable to walk and was out of easy options for treatment. So, even though she’s only about 40, her doctor recommended a total knee replacement.
She had an easy recovery and she’s thrilled with her new knee, but she knows she’s probably going to have to do it all over again someday, since knee replacements don’t last forever. She also had to take a few months off from work. She didn’t mention the scars, but I’ve seen how much cutting is involved in that surgery, and it ain’t pretty.
So I guess I got lucky. It’s still hard to think of it that way, but clearly things could have been worse. My knee is still in usable shape, and I still have nonsurgical treatment options available. Assuming I live a long life, knee replacement surgery is almost certainly in my future, but that’s far away and not something I have to deal with today!