Heal Fast, MtnSteve!

“Rumor has it the old dude from Northern CA was in for knee surgery yesterday.

Hurry up and get better, Steve - the mountains need you!!!

("Kneed" you?!)”

“Yeah, hurry up and heal!!!!!”

“good luck Steve.”

“Hope you find yourself back in the Mountains in mere weeks. Speedy healing and regaining of strength!”

“Steve, you might shoot an email to trekkingirl. She had both knees worked on, so she's an expert on this.
Heal fast.”

“Both knees or what, Steve?”

“Good luck, Steve!”

“The hard part will be bending it at first. Make sure you do exactly as the drs say or it will be worse for ya!!”

“Thank you everyone.

I'm hanging in there. I haven't slept yet, they didn't do the surgery till about 3:30pm yesterday and the block wore off about 11:30 last night. The pain killers barely take the edge off right now. It is a lot better than a few hours ago, I figure I might get some sleep tonight.

I hate having to take the drugs, which most of my friends think is mildly amusing due to my past. Cant read, cant really sleep (yet) and cant even watch TV...I just veg....oh well, I use to pay good money to feel like this, LOL.

But it's getting better every hour. I'm looking forward to working out again and getting the damn thing working.

Thanks again, your do comments help ;-)
last edited: 10/23/07 5:41:45 PM”

“so what did they do, put in something to replace the old joints, like a big metal hinge, or what? Artificial cartilage pads? I know with hips they put in a big metal replacement joint, but what do they put in for knees? Best wishes on recovery! Take the drugs if you need them. I was on six different meds for back pain a year ago, and walking around like a 90 year old geezer. Drugs are wonderful when you are in pain.”

“and they're even better when you're not:)

Get better as slowly as you need to. I had back surgery almost exactly one year ago and only wish I'd done it 10 years earlier. My left leg is still numb, but that's minimal.”

“Well, on the plus side at least you have a couple days off work Steve! :). Take care, maybe after this the rest of us will be able to keep up with you on the trail!”

“They just did a meniscus repair and trim. He wanted to do a total knee replacement, but thats going to have to wait till next year or so. He found lots of stuff to "clean up" while he was in there, so we're hoping I'll be almost back to where I was a year ago, which is fine with me.

I just found out that because of a reaction I had the last time I was on these pain meds, they cut the normal dose in half. Also instead of 2 every 4 hours they had it as 1 every 6 hours. That explains the additional pain yesterday. Today it hardly hurts, even without the meds. I'm hoping to go back to work tomorrow.

Thanks again for your support, advice and encouragement. If all goes well, next time we're on the trail together I won't be last in line.

Naaaaaaaaaaa, I always hiked slower than anyone here....but that has it's perks. Anyone who has skied, hiked or snowshoed behind any of the gals here knows what I mean :-)”

“You sure know how to have a postive outlook, huh?

Best wishes on your recovery. May you get on a trail again soon.”

“Cheez, am i the last to know here? Darn i'm sorry for not paying attention Steve! how are you feeling today? listen, don't ever skimp on the painkillers, being in pain can actually hamper the healing process. take it easy, don't push it too much. you are in my prayers. pamela”