Oh the pain!!
Ok, ok!! I know they told me that the first few days following surgery would be the most difficult. Why is it that I always think I am the exception to the rule?? It is well known by friends and family that it is extremely hard for me to admit any form of weakness......but this is PAINFUL.....and EXHAUSTING! Being an independent creature, it is difficult to accept I need help....well, with everything.
For those of you waiting for an update, I'm happy to oblige. My surgery went very well and was considered a success. However, there were some unexpected factors. (Why wouldn't there be, right??!) My knee was in worse shape than originally conceived.
The first part of the surgery involved an arthroscopic procedure to examine and clean up the cartilage under my patella. What they found were 50+ floaters (cartilage that has sheared off, hardened and is floating around independently within the joint) wreaking havoc under my knee cap. They act like bits of gravel sanding away at the healthy cartilage. This was a good explanation for the grinding, snapping and swelling I was experiencing.
The last portion of the surgery involved the Tibial Tubercle Osteotomy. It was originally thought that my tubercle (the upper portion of the tibia) was rotated out approximately 14 degrees. Zero degrees is considered normal and helps ensure that the femur, knee joint and tibia are in a straight line. However, my tubercle was found to be somewhere in the ballpark of 20 degrees, much more severe than anticipated. What does this all mean? It means that because of the severity, they were unable to place my tubercle back to the 0 degree position. However, I still should notice significant relief upon my recovery. And I am very thankful for this. Doctor T. assures me that we made the right decision performing this radical surgery opposed to another that would simply act as a band-aid. This procedure should help preserve my knee function and delay a knee replacement until I am at an appropriate age (or never!).
I am taking things hour by hour at this point, but know that with every day I should be feeling better. Thank you for all of the well wishes! They do a great deal for the morale!
