The Patient

I accompanied Jim to the hospital on Monday for his long-awaited knee surgery. He had a torn meniscus and has not been able to run all summer, which has driven him bonkers. Since his cartilage was "flapping" around inside his knee, he had to resort to walking or biking the past few months. The orthopedic surgeon was finally able to fit Jim into his apparently busy schedule this week.

On Monday morning, we got up at the ungodly time of 5:15 a.m. I know lots of folks regularly awaken at that hour - Jim included - but I could never get used to dragging myself out of bed so early. Jim's arthroscopic surgery was the first one on the day's docket and we were shuffled into pre-op as soon as we arrived at the medical center. I only wished that I had remembered my camera because it is not everyday that Jim is dressed in a hospital gown, baggy surgical shorts, and a funny cap. To make a long story short, the surgery went well and I met Jim in the recovery room where I expected him to be groggy, nauseous, and babbling incoherently, just as he had been after all of his previous procedures. Instead, he was awake, feeling fine, and speaking almost normally. General anesthesia has come a long way since his first knee surgery 20 years ago!

Jim spent the rest of Monday and all of Tuesday obediently sitting with his leg elevated. Today he drove himself to his post-op doctor appointment, where everything was determined to be proceeding as expected. His pain is minimal and he begins physical therapy next week. He intends to go back to work tomorrow, but will have to keep using his crutches for a week or so. By the way, the surgeon also told Jim that he will be able to start jogging again soon, but he shouldn't plan to run any more marathons on his tired, old, arthritic knees. I have been giving him that advice for years, but he never listened to me!

Jim, lounging on the couch. Jacob put the stuffed dog there to keep him company. Notice the trendy Spongebob sleep shorts.