Surgery Eve

The proverbial, "action speaks louder than words," becomes crystal clear as you prepare for surgery. Whether corrective surgery or cosmetic surgery, any procedure that requires anesthesia causes mild to major concern. Who knows what truly goes on while one is sedated, right?

Actually, there were many factors to consider when my husband and I were offered the option to undergo a total knee replacement procedure. Primarily because I've needed the surgery since before we met, however, due to guidelines imposed by the "powers that be," stated my health options were limited. "Go figure." At the genesis of my orthopedic woes, in my mid-forties, the devices were not as advanced as the current materials used, so it seems the "greater-later," factor proved beneficial. "Go figure!"
The wear and tear on my knee cap continued to react defiantly even though I lost, as the saying goes, "mad weight," the clicking, burning, buckling, and the excruciating pain was beyond what I could personally bear. Thankfully, in preparing for the inevitable I took a long mental survey of how this temporary bed-rest might affect our household. Mind you, I don't have small children to consider, well human children. We do however parent to lovies; Pearl and Emma a dog and cat respectfully. But, their well-being is mandatory. Next, was the more important of my immediate family concerns, my loving husband. How would my surgery affect his livelihood and more importantly his health? My husband is epileptic however by the grace of God, we have maintained a minimal season of seizures. Stress is definitely a concern when caring for a loved one, and also a gateway to provoking seizures. Ensuring he maintains a low-glucose diet has been his personal goal for years before we met, so we're good in the aspect.

Next, there's the subject of insufferable post-surgery. Mentally preparing for the rehab and the pain induced at the mention of rehab becomes all too surreal. I've actually been there before in a more life-threatening turn of events; acute compartment syndrome which kept me hospitalized for almost thirty days. I was the victim of a stray bullet in my right lower leg and recuperating was one of the hardest periods in my young adult life. And, yes that injury became the nemesis to the opposite leg.

So, here we are this surgery-eve not reliving the past, but accepting the proverbial; "no pain, no gain." The fear factor at this particular moment is a back-burner issue, especially since the administrative issues that ensued prior to this blog was stressful enough. But that's another subject matter. Prayerfully, I will continue to share this journal of expectation and the will to reach a better quality of life. My goal is to enter my senior years gracefully. I believe this is the beginning of better days to come.

PreAdmission