I came up with the title for this post and then realized that it is the name of a Pink Floyd album/song as well as a movie. Not to be interpreted as a sign that I am spiraling into depression, it simply refers to the fact that I am having one (actually two, keep reading) last surgery to close out 2013.
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| Celebrating the start of 2011 in Vientiane, Laos, before my body started falling apart! |
Yes, it's true, I go under the knife once again today, the very last day of the year. Despite my & my various doctors' best efforts, my knees are a constant source of pain & discomfort and are severely limiting my ability to do the things I love (e.g. biking, going for long walks). I became aware of the problem about
three months into my hip rehab (I had
surgery to repair a torn labrum on 1/15/13) and it steadily grew worse as my level of physical activity progressed. Iontophoresis didn't diminish the pain so my doctor,
Andrea Herzka, recommended a series of three Synvisc injections which I started just before my
39th birthday in July. Unfortunately, those didn't help either, and having exhausted the number of physical therapy visits allowed by insurance, I was left with few options. At that point Dr Herzka ordered MRIs of both knees, and when we finally viewed them together in late September, it was very obvious why I was/am in so much pain. The cartilage under both kneecaps has deteriorated significantly which is causing friction in the joints. This is accompanied by a grotesque grinding sound which can be clearly heard when I climb stairs or crouch down. For some people the Synvisc injections provide enough of a "false cartilage" buffer to reduce the pain significantly. Sadly, my knees only felt worse after this treatment! Dr Herzka said I needed surgery and so here we are today.
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| Greg & I rode our bikes to the top of Mount Tabor on New Years Day 2013. I don't think I'll be doing that tomorrow! |
Considering I also had
sinus surgery (to correct a deviated septum on 4/23/13), I was quite reluctant to go through another surgery this year. I asked Dr Herzka if there were any other alternatives and she referred me to a chiropractor,
Phillip Snell, who specializes in sports medicine (and was still covered by my insurance). I saw him a handful of times over the past two months and he definitely has the knowledge & skills to help me. But we ran into the same obstacle as with physical therapy; the pain in my knees is too intense to make any progress with the other musculoskeletal issues I have.
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| Recovering from sinus surgery. It was not fun. |
Bearing in mind that I reached the out-of-pocket maximum for my health insurance plan mid-way through the year, and all of those numbers will be reset to a higher deductible & out-of-pocket maximum on January 1st, it made the most sense to schedule the surgery in 2013. It was a bit of a challenge to get everything lined up in a fairly short amount of time, but OHSU's Center for Health & Healing was able to squeeze me in on today's surgery rotation even though they're only using one outpatient operating room.
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| Heading out to catch the bus to physical therapy after my hip surgery. |
It was also a tough decision whether or not to have both
knees operated on the same day. While the recovery time for this surgery, called bilateral
arthroscopic chondroplasty, is relatively short (5+ weeks) compared to my hip (6 months), it will certainly be a bit harder to get around with two banged up knees. I figure I have been in pain for so long it can't feel that much worse and hopefully I'll be in much better shape sooner than later!
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| I almost passed out from the pain during the first round of Synvisc injections! |
Greg jokingly says I should win the "Patient of the Year" award at OHSU (mainly because they've gotten so much money from us & our insurance company). It
is a bit disconcerting when so many people in a medical building call you by your first name in passing! But I am certainly thankful that my health issues, albeit when considered cumulatively have been challenging, are nowhere near as serious as so many of my friends & family have gone through this year or are currently battling.
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| I do enjoy the view from OHSU's Center for Health & Healing! |
I'll close out this post by wishing all of you a very
Happy New Year! Hopefully I will come up with some meaningful resolutions as I spend the first week post-op recuperating at home. I know what one of them will be: try to get through 2014 without any surgeries!!!
