We Have a Surgical Date!!!

Do you know what today is? Exactly 6 months ago to the day, I broke my kneecap. April 26th... my how time flies....

WRONG!!!

I don't know what your 6 months have been like, but I've seen better...

Dr. Rutherford took some new X-Rays and moved the knee around. He took a measurement to see how far I could bend it (had a funky ruler), and then really examined the film.

Diagnosis: "It's really healed up quite nicely, and the wires can come out whenever you want them to."

(I could hear Angels playing harps in the distance...)

Now this is where it gets weird: Remember how I saw him on a Monday and the surgery was scheduled for Wednesday back in April? Well, mine is more like "elective" surgery. As odd to me as this sounds, some people choose to leave the wires in. I assume because of age or inactivity. However, I want these suckers out!

I next had to meet with the scheduler. She asked, "So... when do you want to have the surgery?" I said, "Well, either this week or next is fine by me... or December." My thought was to do it in plenty of time prior to my vacation to San Diego (Thanksgiving).

Turns out, there are only 2 days from now until the end of the year that I can have the surgery (based upon availability): November 11 or December 23.

Hmmm.... decisions decisions...

So not wanting to have a Christmas with stitches, I opted for the 11th. Now, I'm sure I won't answer everyone's questions, but I can at least tell you "This is all I know about what awaits me" and then you can ask your 20+ questions (which I'll respond, "I don't know):

November 5, I go in for my pre-op. Registration, blood work, etc. This is what I did on that Monday when I hobbled around the hospital with a dangling lower leg... Should take half the day.

November 11: Surgery. I do not know the time, but it should be in the morning. I'll be out and will awake in the recovery room. If there aren't complications, I go home. Most people go home. I don't know what the complications would be.

I'll stay with my folks for a few days... taking those days off. I will have stitches and a bandage, but no brace. I'll probably be on crutches for a few days. Assuming I'm feeling fine, I will work from home on the following Monday.

Three weeks after the surgery, I return to see Dr. Rutherford. He'll snip the ends of the stitches, check the incision, probably take another X-Ray, and if all goes well, that's it. He said, "You won't see me again until you break another bone." Good Lord!

At that point, I'm on my own. I'm thinking towards the end of December, I should be ready to start doing some therapy/working out. Probably will go to the gym... might look into getting a trainer. We shall see...

I have simple goals... walk without a limp, walk up/down stairs without pain... anything above that is just gravy.

Lean into the Pain...

In the past two weeks, several people have displayed... in a word... "shock"... that I still have pain in my left knee.

I then followed it up, "Look... I haven't had a day without pain since April 25th." (Day before accident)

I was actually surprised at their surprised reaction...

Maybe I'm covering it up... or maybe I don't think about it as much anymore... but it's there. It's always there. It hasn't left... It's just a part of the whole wonderful experience I call "Recovery."

Pain is the name of the game...

So I'll just clarify: Yes, if you see me sitting or standing, there is some level of pain going on. It hurts much worse if I'm walking, much less if I'm sitting. It hurts even more if I have to walk fast (to cross a quickly changing crosswalk sign). If I have to use stairs, either climbing or going down, it hurts like a mother...

Think about your daily "commute," which I use loosely to describe "your daily walking routine." If you have stairs or ramps (going up or going down) or curbs or steps, you're gonna have problems if you break your kneecap.

My daily commute includes:

• Climbing into and out of my truck.
• Walking for about 10 minutes to the train... which I then have to climb stairs to get on.
• Oh yeah, and go down those stairs when I get off.
• Walk about 10 minutes... crossing streets, going up/down curbs... climbing 10 steps into the building.
• Reversing the process on the way home.

Last month I walked on sand for the first time since the accident. While we may think, "Oh... sand... that's nice and soft." Sure... but it's also "nice and unstable." When your leg goes down on something unstable, the knee takes the adjustment. Not a lot of fun, believe you me...

Anyhoo, one of the "shocked individuals" was my mom. She, of course, immediately said I should try and go see my doctor. Remember, she's the hypochondriac of the fam. I go on October 27... that's when I'm going. Nothing earlier... nothing later. Got it? Good.

Others that made the remark were either coworkers or friends. They expressed surprise because they think I'm walking somewhat normal. Well, I am... so to speak... but each step is a blast of pain that I'm just accepting and sparing them the "Sweet Mother of Crap" whimper.

How do you tell people, "It's like walking around with a big wad of metal in your knee?" It doesn't really translate. I think when I heard people who had wires in their body, I never imagined what it really felt like. Well, now I know... and it sucks.

Again, let me assure everyone, I'm not in some state of "woe..." I'm actually more in a state of "whoa." As in, "Whoa... I better re-think if I'm going to walk that distance... go up those stairs... etc."

Today I turned down tickets to the State Fair. Our office is going for a few hours next week. I told them that it's just not where I want to be - walking around (grinding around) a big crowd and trying not to get bumped by anyone.

Wouldn't that be painful??? Even if I didn't fall, my knee would be swelled up like a grapefruit at the end of the day...

So there you go. I haven't written much because there really isn't a lot to report. Leg still hurts. Leg always hurts. Doctor visit on October 27 to schedule next surgery. Surgery could be November 5 or the first week in December. Leg will probably hurt for the remainder of the year...

It's just something you deal with...

I Feel Your Pain...

My football team was hit with a major setback when our starting quarterback, Robert Griffin, went down with an injured knee. It happened on the first drive - he was hit and hyper-extended the knee. The result: A torn ACL.

Remarkably, nobody knew it was that severe. He actually went back into the game on the next series. In one half, he passed for 226 yards and 3 TD's... on a torn ACL!

When it was discovered that he had a season-ending injury, he (and everybody else!) was shocked. He said when it happened, it was about a 10 on the pain scale. But later, while he was running around on it, it felt like a 4-5.

Losing Griffin is a major blow to a program that has struggled for the past 15 years. We haven't had a winning record in that amount of time... which means, we haven't been to a bowl. This was our year. The prognosticators felt that we could get the minimum 6 wins to be eligible for a bowl game. Why? Because we had all of the cogs working together... and the key was Robert Griffin.

That picture says it all to me. It probably speaks to him and the team. You see, that's kinda what I looked like when I crashed down on the pavement and lost all chances of running not just the marathon... but for the remainder of 2009. In an instant, your dreams and goals are dashed.

Fortunately for him, his injury isn't as severe as mine. He didn't break his kneecap into 2 pieces... and he only has 1 surgery to fix his problem. However, I know it's a heartbreak for him... the team... and the fans.

I believe he'll recover... I believe my Bears will fight for those last remaining 3 wins needed to reach a bowl... and I believe we still have the cogs in place to surprise people.

I believe all of this because I have to... if I didn't, then that would mean, in some ways, that I don't believe in myself... and I think I've shared enough of my life to each of you to prove that I DO believe in me.

So as painful as it is right now, Baylor Bears, it will get better... things will improve... and you WILL be triumphant!