Bracing Myself

The more I walk, the better it gets, or one would hope. At least my right leg is doing well. It has mostly healed from my Mexico City fall, and I am back to walking around the house sans cane.

Unfortunately, the more I walk, the more my left leg, with its 22-year-old knee replacement, is not happy. It gives, which contributed to several near-falls in Mexico City, and may have resulted in that pretty bad fall I took. It also locks, clicks and is altogether not a happy knee.

A couple weeks ago I saw a physican's assistant and today I saw an orthopedic surgeon. Unhappy with previous x-rays and a CT scan, he accompanied me back to x-ray, and he had them take quite a few until he was satisfied.

When we got back to the exam room he showed me what he and the PA had suspected: the plastic piece in the replacement had worn down, causing me trouble.

We discussed options: the first, which I am starting immediately, is wearing a brace. He admitted though, that this would be a temporary fix, as the plastic will continue to wear down, and a brace will not be enough.

His next option is to see if he can get replacement parts from the company who made the knee replacement. He will also discuss my situation with his colleagues to see if they have any ideas.

The third, and least attractive option, is to do a full revision. Revision, in other words, is removing the current replacement and putting in a new one. It is a more difficult surgery and recovery than a new knee replacement, so I am hoping he can find spare parts and fix the one I have.

He asked me where I had my original replacement,and I told him UCSF, and that Kevin Bozic had done it. His eyes got wide and I so I asked, oh, do you know Kevin? His response was-- know him? Everyone knows Kevin Bozic! I told him the story how Kevin had squeezed me in for surgery because I was "family."

Having the brace before we go to Tbilisi makes me feel I will have an easier time walking than I had in Mexico City. I also feel that it buys me time to get my right leg walking better and more confidently before I am once again back to a walker, at least temporarily.

Before my original knee replacement I worked incredibly hard to get my quads strong, which I am sure contributed to my success. Myplan is to do that again. Jerry and I just joined the Y, so along with Pilates, I will do all I can to get strong.

Feeling like my appointment was good news, Jerry and I celebrated by having one of our very few bottles of Valle de Guadelupe Mexican wines with dinner this evening.

I figure rather than looking at this as, Holy Crap, not another health issue, I prefer to think of it as something that will result in me being stronger, and in the long run, healthier. After all, what choice do I really have?

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