Sunday Story…The Bionic Man
I hope it didn’t cost 6 million dollars, but I am now in possession of a new knee. It turns out that what I got was not exactly a new knee…as in, out with the old and in with the new—but a resurfaced knee.
What that means is the doctor moves the kneecap out
of the way, takes both the tibia end and the femur end of the leg bones and “resurfaces”
them, attaches a cap to both, and then places a poly-carbonate pad between the
two caps. The kneecap goes back in place. All the ligaments and tendons are
left intact, except the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) which got severed in
the process. So, my skiing career is over. But an ACL isn’t necessary for most
of my activities (I am not a skier! Here’s a video of the physician
assistant explaining what was done: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kayVY2qMB7M
Easy peasy, right? Well not so fast. The incision is
about 12” long from above the knee to below. The trauma to the area was fairly
intense. When it was all said and done the knee was about the size of a small
soccer ball. Worse, the ability to move the leg overall was minimal and the mobility
in the knee itself was non-existent.
As I sit here, 3 days post-op the swelling has diminished
by more than half. I can lift the leg independently and bend the knee to 90
degrees with some effort. The rehab exercises are getting easier every time I
do them (3x a day) and I can walk without assistance (although not easily).
The whole process has been very simple and straightforward. But it has not been easy. And it is going to get harder over the next few weeks and months as I get deeper into physical therapy and try to regain
the strength and mobility in my right leg.
Steve Austin I’m not…yet!
John Mariotti
