April 25 2006 - The day of the Surgery - Meidal Meniscus

10:15 am review appointment with the Doctor.

He explains what he is looking for and how the repair will be done. While MRI's show a lot, the exact detail is hard to pin point.

From the review appointment, I move on to the Pre Admission at the Hospital. I arrive at 11:00 am, weighed, questioned, and meet with the Anesthesiologist; who has further questions and who outlines his role in the operation. He determines that I need no further x-rays, ewe's or lab work - what a relief.

From here I am walked to the Same Day Surgery area. It's approximately 11:45 am. Here, I put my gown on, an I.V. drip is started, and Im hooked up to the heart and oxygen monitor.

12:25 pm - Showtime - I am wheeled down to surgery where I am properly put to sleep.

1:25 pm - I am awaken by a little boy crying for his mother - I feel sorry for him, but realize he's very much ok - he's almost standing on the bed and moving about - He gets his wish and is wheeled out of the recovery room. I talk with the nurses about baseball and different things. I am wheeled out around 2:00 pm, back to the Same Day Surgery bay.

Here I meet my wife and some relatives drop in. We chat for awhile. My wife teels me the Doctor has removed 90% of the Meniscus.
3:00 pm I've been asked to use the restroom to make sure my bladder is awake and working. I say goodbye to my relatives and head for the restroom. Every thing works, I pull the help cord and the nurse comes to wheel me back to my room. The pharmacy delivers my pain medication and I'm dressing and out the door at 3:30 pm.

4:10 I am at home - I can walk by myself with no pain in my knee - The nurse instructed me to walk gingerly on the knee, while the Doc's order allows full weight bearing on the knee. So far the most pain I have had to endure is the initial IV in the Same Day Surgery room.

I prop my knee up and ice it for awhile and watch tv. I am amazed that I can walk with no restriction in my knee; before surgery the knee would not operate proper. - Keep in mind I am walking slowly.

I have not felt sick or dizzy at all. I have a baked potato and chicken noodle soup for supper around 5:30 pm; a bowl of cereal and an ice cream bar latter in the night. I have had no pain and can move around slow. We watched the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pirates, and some of the Royals game before going to bed.

April 15, 2006 - The MRI process
We are off for our scheduled MRI appointment at the Radiology Department of the local hospital, for a 9:30 appointment.

Upon arrives around 9:20, we sign in and wait - we are told they are a little behind. About 10:15 I was wheeled from the waiting area back to the MRI room. The MRI decision explained the procedure, a very unobtrusive procedure. While staying fully clothed, I was placed on a sliding table, my knee was positioned into a small holding area on the table to minimize movent and fitted with a formed cousin to hold it in place. The table slid back, so that my knee was fully in the middle; which left my chest and head out of the machine. I was told to lay perfectly still while the machine did its thing - nothing more than a lot of ultrasonic sounds - none loud enough to keep a person from sleeping, which did cause my knee to jerk, which in turn prompted the technician to stop the machine and start that series scanning over.

I was take from the machine around 11:15 with MRI film in hand and was ready to leave. The results were being read by a Radiology group, who would report the findings to my orthopedic Doctor.

Waiting for the results.

April 14, 2006

Trip to Orthopedic Doctor

Office is busy, we had about 45 minute wait to get in to see the doctor. He performed an examine, stated he thought the the cartlidge was torn, and ordered a MRI.

April 11, 2006

It happens again!

Coaching a little league team, we are taking infield. As I turn left to retrieve a past ball, it happens. Instead of a loud pop, I feel and hear a grinding noise on the inside of my knee cap.
Im' down and can not walk. I use a bat to get to the truck to set down. Practice winds down and I am drivin home.

Off to the Emergency room we go. I am wheeled in, registered, and back in the prep room in 15 minutes from arriving at the hospital. Upon a visit from the Doc, x-rays are ordered and taken, I am given a pain pill and cruthces and an emobilizer.

X-rays show no broken bones. With paper work and accessories I leave with instructions to see an Orhtopedic Doctor.

April 7, 2006Sore knee has been doing fine up till April 7, 2006.

While at a job site, I was bent down to examine a product, upon stanidng up, I had to duck for cover because I thought somebody was shooting at me. No shots were fired, but my knee had popped so loud I was still looking for a sniper. Very little pain was felt, and the knee felt fine when I left the job site.

March 2nd 2006 - Needed a new Dishwasher - ordered a Kitchen Aid - Whipser Quite - Stainless Steel interior with all the bells and whistles - $1075.oo delivered with tax. Installation extra - $75.00.

Now, do I pay for the install, or do it myself? How hard can I dishwasher be - I put in the first one. I decided to save the $75.00 and install it myself. Started at 4:30 pm and finished around 9:oo pm. Here's where the sore knee started.

While bending and conforming to the work area, I sat with my knee bent for quite some time to hook up the drain and water lines, had to redo because of a leak. When everything was complete and I went to stand up to push the dishwasher end, it happened. A loud crack of the knee - WOW, I never heard my knee pop that loud. I was able to finish the installation job and put my tools away. I went to bed with a sore knee.

Upon awakeining knee was a little sore, struggled through the day, and with in 2 days the pain was gone and knee was funcioning proper.