Bright and early tomorrow morning, I’m getting arthroscopic surgery on my knee. This morning I was off at the physical therapy place, getting mentally prepared for what is to come.
We went over my post-op exercises. I practiced using crutches. I got coached on the warning signs — if I see yellow pus leaking out of the incision, or red streaks emanating from the knee, go to the emergency room immediately. Uh, duh. I also got instructed on the pre-op routine for today, which mainly involves not eating or drinking tonight, and washing the surgical area with a special soap.
I was also getting prepared for the worst. Best case: I get a simple debridement, and face about two weeks of recovery. Worst case: if there is a lot of repair work done, I’m looking at 6 to 12 weeks of recovery. There is no option to look forward to.
After that depressing experience, I went to the lab and fed all the spiders to cheer myself up. Then I grabbed my laptop and set it up near my bed, since I’ll be spending at least the next couple of days there. I may be glued to the computer for a while.
I had it multiple times years after I tore my ACL and had ACL reconstructions. It wasn’t so bad for me, and I’m hoping for you, too.
Hope it goes well for you.
Hoping for the best.
Hope it goes well for you.
The human knee is a triumph of Intelligent Design. (Yes, this is sarcasm).
Butt-Head (hears “spending days in bed”) “This will be cool”
Tomorrow: “AAARGH!”
.https://youtube.com/watch?v=k8sc8XtEQFE
Make sure you understand in advance the instructions about pain meds. When I had ACL and meniscus repair in 2000 I misunderstood how much I could take. So I only took half of what I should have and it hurt like hell for several days.
I hope you have a successful surgery and your recovery goes as good as possible.
Good luck, PZ! I hope you’re soon on more spider-foraging field-trips!