One Year Check-up With Dr. Kerina

It may be a month early, but since my left knee (the one that is real bone and is no longer the good one) has been giving me problems of late (it locks up),  I moved my appointment up a month, and visited Dr. Kerina.   Bill and I arrived early, as is our normal behavior, and seats in the waiting room were at a premium.  After the obligatory wait, we were ushered into the examining room in order to. . . . .wait some more.  But the big guy appeared, looked at me and said, "oh, it's Arden's Knee."  And, was I there for the annual check up or because I need the other knee replaced?  Dr. Kerina has a sense of humor.  Anyway, the correct answer was:   both.

So he checked the xray on the new knee, and congratulated himself on what a good job he did.  And then he looked at the xray of the other knee, and could see the torn meniscus, along with the arthritis.  At my age, and with the arthritis already eating away the cartilage, arthroscopic repair surgery is not an option, since in essence, all that does is scale away additional good cartilage in order to even it out, and what I don't need is less cartilage.  So far, it is not painful. . .unless it locks up, which is what it does.  Usually, I can maneuver it out of the locked position, and as long as I can do that, and as long as I can stay on the tennis court, that is ok.  But the net net is that I am looking at another knee replacement.

Considering the success of the first one, it may be an improvement.  But, prior success does not guarantee a future success, so the mere thought of doing it again is scary.  For the time being, though, I'll just plod along.

11 Months Post-Op

My last post was in May, at six months post-op.  Now, five month later, the knee is still great, still pain-free, and still getting me around on the tennis courts.  I am playing tennis five to six days a week.  All the other new-knee related aches and pains have resolved themselves, for the most part.  I take no medications at all, i.e. no Mobic (meloxicam) or Tylenol or anything, except vitamins and glucosamine, but I do go regularly to the chiropractor to keep everything in alignment.  Of course, my left knee is now making its own complaints, but hopefully, it will hold out for a few more years.  But, I am a 67 year old woman with arthritis and osteoporosis, so there is no telling how long it will last.

Recently, I spent a long weekend in New York and Boston, and for the first time in many years, I could walk the cities for hours.  And of course, both cities are vertical, so if the pub/restaurant dining room is on the street level, rest assured the bathrooms are in the basement.  I no longer think twice about heading to the rest room, and the steps into the girls' apartments are a ho-hummer.  I relish going up and down stairs!