Snap, crackle and pop

I really like my orthopedist, but every time I speak to him I’m simply amazed I let the man slice my knee open and root around my patella with a scalpel. He’s not incompetent by any means. He’s just busy. He’s one guy with one receptionist who works out of an office that smells like a Motel 6. Every time I see him he never fails to tell me he’s been doing what he does for 32 years and every time I see him it’s as though I’m seeing him for the first time. Apparently he sees a lot of patients and my knee problems are no more memorable than the next Joe with arthritic joints.

Yesterday I called to let him know I was ready to start on the Synvisc injections he had talked me into a couple of months ago. I was actually supposed to call him a few weeks ago to set this up but I was a big chicken. The injections involve the 18 gauge Needle of Torture and seeing as my previous experiences with said needle were not pleasant, I opted to put the appointment off as long as possible.

My recovery has not been as speedy as I had hoped. I don’t walk with a limp much anymore, but I still can’t take stairs like I did before my accident. Yesterday I found myself on my hands and knees underneath my desk at work trying to plug my printer back in. Just being on my knees was painful enough, but trying to get back to a standing position was scary. Putting my weight on my bad knee and lifting myself with the good one was too painful so I tried the reverse. As I lifted myself up I heard a loud “CRACK!” in my bad knee that told me I was probably doing something I shouldn’t be doing. I’ve felt a lot of uncomfortable cracks and clicks in the area and thought I had probably put the injections off long enough.

When I called Dr. P’s office it was his friendly voice on the line answering the phone. I talked to him about the Synvisc and the cracks and clicks and he made some concerned noises that made me uncomfortable. “Before we start the Synvisc I think I should check the knee out to make sure you don’t have some scar tissue built up or more damage to your cartilage.” He told me if the clicks were because of scar tissue or cartilage damage, he’d have to go in with a scope again and clean things up.

Of course I went into worse case scenario mode and assumed I was destined for another trip to the operating room. I called Nathan and my mother and nearly broke down into tears both times. “I just want my life back,” I wailed. “I want to get back to normal.”

It seems the angst was for naught because my visit today revealed I’m really not in bad shape. I could be in better shape if I was actually doing the isometric exercises Dr. P. told me to do post-op. He’s a great guy and didn’t yell at me for being so lazy. He sighed, shook his head and told me in no uncertain terms that I won’t get back to normal if I don’t do the exercises and if I expect to take the stairs like a normal person again I have to get on my back and do those leg raises and heel presses.

He’s been in the business for 32 years. He knows what he’s talking about.