After First Follow-Up Visit

Today I had my first post operative visit with my doctor to check the progress, remove the stitches, and take a new X-Ray.

My mom and I arrived a few minutes prior to the appointment. While we were in the waiting room, my Uncle Wayne came out and sat with us. He had just met with my doctor to discuss surgery on his knees. Apparently, all went well and he will be going under the knife in June. It's really good he'll be getting this taken care of.

He told them that he was my uncle, and he said the Physician's Assistant said that it was a terrible story of what happened to me. She also said she would try and think of a better one to tell people. Ha.

After we were called in, they immediately took me into X-Ray. After a few shots, I was back in the room.

The big unveiling was next... this was the moment for me to see how it looked. Remember, I hadn't opened up the brace to see the scar. I had no idea where they even did the incision.

Well, that was immediately answered when I saw it was smack dab in the middle... and it was about 5 inches in length. The assistant cut the top and bottom stitches out, but left the rest. She said it will eventually dissolve.

Next, Dr. Rutherford came in. Have you ever been to a doctor where it seemed like they were just wanting to make an appearance and then leave as quickly as they could? Well, Dr. Rutherford is NOT like that at all.

He sat down and talked about what happened in surgery. He then asked me how things were going, and if I had any concerns. He was interested in hearing all of the details - like my stamina, pain, sleeping patterns, etc. He then said, "OK... what questions do you have?" He was extremely patient and calm as my Mom went through her list.

It turns out that on June 1st I'll return to have a pin removed from the brace to allow 45 degrees of movement. A month later, he'll remove another pin to allow 60 degrees of movement. And so on and so forth.

I asked if I'll ever be able to run again, and he said "maybe... but not with the hardware in the knee." In 6-9 months I'll go in for another surgery to remove everything... and it will require another night in the hospital. Awesome.

He told me I can remove the brace to sponge wash my leg, but that it has to remain flat and that the brace needs to immediately go back on. He doesn't want this knee to bend at all to impact the kneecap.

Finally, because of the pain and stamina issues, he wants me to take one more week to recuperate. He will release me back to work on Tuesday, May 26... but I'll have to work from home for a while.

When I got home, I was wiped out. I ended up taking a 2-hour nap this afternoon... My parents say I was "sawing some serious logs." That can be translated as "You were snoring like a grizzly bear!"

For those that have been interested in seeing my pictures from Oklahoma City, the ER, post-surgery, and some I took today, I've uploaded them to Picasa. You can click the link below to view all of my pics. Enjoy:

LINK