My inaugural visit to an orthopaedic surgeon has happened and he was as nice as I’d hoped, (why do they look younger and younger every time I see them these days though?) and the examination was as painful as I feared.
We agreed that full knee replacement was necessary, (both knees actually but my right knee is so banged up that he was happy to start with the simpler – at least from his point of view – one first)
His wait time is around a year. (I wasn’t impressed either, nor was I surprised though, times being as interesting as they are these days) … in the meantime, I’m going to start a series of cortisone injections to reduce the inflammation and pain levels in my left knee. The effects from each shot should last anywhere from 3 to 6 months, which will give me, in the short term, more mobility and range of movement in the joint so I can build up the strength and flexibility in my leg muscles, quads, hamstrings, etc, to maximise the new joint when it comes around.
It’s a good plan, the best one we could agree on given the state of my inner-knee bits.
The first cortisone shot is next week – so, interesting times ahead.
-oOo-
In the interests of educating myself on the intricacies of a complete knee replacement surgery I ventured forth unto YouTube and viewed a spectacularly detailed video of a complete knee replacement surgery, that was accompanied by both audio and closed captioning descriptions of exactly what I was looking at.
It was not for the faint of heart. It was, in fact, excruciatingly brutal. I felt physically ill by the time the video ended. (thankfully the 1-2 hour-ish long surgery was edited down to 15 minutes) However, it was also very informative, and I have a much clearer idea of what is going to happen.
But, yeah, never going to watch another video on knee surgery again. Ever.
-oOo-
We’ve had an influx of Spring fauna here in our little corner of the world.
We’ve heard a woodpecker pecking wood (at least that’s what Mrs Widds told me it was, being from another antipodal hemisphere the only woodpecker I’d ever heard was the cartoon variety) for a few days, but couldn’t spot the wee beasties anywhere … then, lo-and-behold, a pair dropped by just as I was passing a window with my trusty phone in hand … and this is what I captured …
… after the slaking of thirsts and the hunting of bugs was complete they departed, squawking a few choice comments to each other, and to my surprise and delight, they sounded almost exactly like the afore mentioned cartoon character … my gob was suitably smacked!
-oOo-
I’d seen their tracks in the snow, I’d caught them trotting around the corner of the house out of the corner of my eye, but until the other day, they hadn’t been standing still long enough to get a good look at them.
Mrs Widds saw them first, being up and gadding about the house long before I surface at the crack of 9’o’clock in the morning, and came and woke me up … this is what we saw …
Mother Moose – from a distance
Mother Moose – Up close and personal
Twin Baby Mooses in the front yard, about to bolt because they’d lost sight of mum
Twins!!!
Widdershins Worlds 
I believe that the Cultured Classes in Victorian times used occasionally to handle the distinctly awkward matter of birthing heirs with a hatch in the wall – so that their heads could be in one room and the offending process in quite another… perhaps something similar might be arranged for your knee operation, and then you won’t have to suffer the surgeon lusting over your ankles, as I believe they are wont to do when a lady is incapacitootled. 😉
Gobsmacking wildlife – nearest I can manage to a moose is a mouse, and I discourage those with fisticuffs whenever seen. Moose look like one of those aminals (sic) designed by committee over video-link; the legs not quite matching the body and the head looking as though it were intended for something else. Lovely critters.
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I believe one is swathed in awful green coloured swaddlings and isn’t alowed to wear anything else until one is released back into the wild.
Heh, that’s a very apt description of them. 😀
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I liked your photographs and steadily panned video. I didn’t watch any knee surgery videos before I had mine done and am now very pleased I didn’t. I hope you get enough relief during the wait.
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I’m hoping the cortisone will enable me to regain some of the range of movement, bendability, that I’ve lost over the past two-ish years, so it’ll be easier to bounce back from the surgery itself. 🙂
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The baby mooses are adorable, but the mother could be dangerous. And they come so close to the house!
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I think they consider most of the yards along our road simply a continuation of their usual range since almost no-one has fences, (at least at the front half of the properties) and graze accordingly. 🙂
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I am loving your new bolthole, Widds. It looks so lovely. Sorry to hear about the long wait, but those injections will help a lot. The ones I had kept my knee quiet for a long time!
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If (after the shot) I’m able to move with an appreciable decrease in the owies, I’ll have to relearn how to walk properly … which I would’ve needed to do after the surgery, but this way I get ahead of the game … that’s what I’m hoping for, at the very least. 🙂
How long after you had your shot did you have to wait before you noticed any difference?
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immediately, Widds… I hope you will too!
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The wretched stiffness had eased after a few hours, and today my knee feels amazing!!! … I am constantly having to remind myself that the damage is still there and to not overdo it… Mrs Widds also reminds me regularly. 😀
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so easy to forget the pain, once its gone, but try not to. How often will you have the injections?
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It deends … somewhere between 4-8 months, but I’m aiming for 6 months, so that I’ll only need one more ‘booster’ before surgery … unfortunately the law of diminished returns will catch up with me if I have it too often.
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Hopefully, everything will go to plan, although maybe I shouldn’t have said that, fate is probably listening, but I really hope not, Widds…
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Hah! I thumb my nose at Fate! 😀 … then run for cover! 😀
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hedging your bets!
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What is the plural of moose. Meece? Meese…
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I’m partial to mooses myself 😀 … I think it’s like sheep, both singular and plural, but then I say sheeps, so what do I know! 😀
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Perhaps your peace of mind was enhanced by watching the video, Widds, but I always advised my PT patients they were better off not! But it sounds as if the ortho visit went as well as it could. Fingers crossed for earlier than a year.
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It was an experience, that’s for sure, but I do like to know how things work, and apart from my visceral reaction, (which was, not inconsiderable) I found seeing what they did, the cuttting, the hammering, screwing, etc, fascinating. 🙂
Thanks for the crossing of fingers. 🙂
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I have seen adult moose in the wild but never a calf. You were very lucky. My fingers are crossed that the surgery will be done in a timely fashion and your recovery will be gentle.
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Mum was huge! 😀 … I never expected to see them come so close to a relatively built-up area, but there’s also lots of open woodlands and crown land not too far away, so I guess mooses are going to go wherever mooses want to. 😀
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Sounds like progress is happening, even though there’s a wait. Love the picture of the moose, I’ve never seen a real one, only our cuddly Chocolate Moose.
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I reckon they’re pretty much the last of the ‘mini’ megafauna left over from the last ice age, and the adults, partucularly the males, are huge. 🙂
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Argh. And I thought I had to wait long for the new knee. 😦
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I know! The wait lists for all sorts of surgeries was bad Before Covid … but now? 😦
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Being from the same antipodes, I’d never seen a real, live woodpecker either! Thank you. 🙂 As for your knee…you have my heartfelt sympathy. My knees are ok but my middle back goes into spasms at the drop of a hat at the moment [first flareup in 4 years] so to pick anything up, I have to do balletic squats with said knees. I cannot imagine how I’d manage if they started playing up too.
Get yourself as fit as possible, my friend. -hugs-
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Someone dropped the ball when they were designing humans … we should get healthier as we get older, and our body bits ought to replace themselves entirely every few years with none of those nasty leftovers that eventually cause our demise. A waste of resources if you ask me! 😀
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Amen! We’re singing from the same hymn book. 😀
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Everything you do to strengthen the bits before surgery helps – if you can do them at all. Even the healing is faster. Pretend you’re in the Iditarod and want to win?
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I’m afraid I’d be stopping every few minutes to admire the magnificent views. 😀
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Yes, sweet relief; those above with experience say it’ll be very fast. Sounds good to me. I’m so glad there’s light at the end of the tunnel ! ! !
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24 hours later and my knee feels amazing! 😀
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That’s what I want to hear! lol 🙂 🙂 🙂
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My pleasure. 😀
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I’m glad you’re on the list for knee surgery. Time will fly, for sure. As for looking at videos of the surgery… Just reading that, I had to skip ahead in the off chance you got into details. Squeamish much? You bet.
You are so lucky to have twin moose!!! How sweet! I wonder if they do as much damage as the deer? However, you have to much lush vegetation there, it’s probably more like a trim than a devastation when the deer and moose come calling.
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I must admit I normally wouldn’t watch a video like that, I’m quite happy with the ‘ignorance is bliss’ state of mind regarding my inner bits, but in retrospect I had no idea of the ‘how’ it would happen … and in retrospect to my retrospect, I could’ve got away with watching one of the many animated videos out there, which are quite detailed, without all the squishy bits. 🙂 … ah well, it’s all an adventure, right? 😀
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When my FIL got his new knee, just looking at the size difference and scars was enough to send me looking for a bucket. I’ll stay blissfully ignorant if / when I need a new knee. Enjoy the process – and remember to CRY and wince a LOT when seeing the Dr. It shortens the wait time 🙂
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