Well I can't believe surgery #11 has already come and gone and I'm back on our little island, recovering quite nicely.
I hate to brag, but let me tell ya, after enduring all these freakin' knee surgeries (11 to be exact), I'm pretty damn good at surgery. Is that something to brag about? Despite my fabulous surgery skills (it sounds like I perform my own surgeries 😂), there has always been some type of complication - whether it's pain control or nausea and puking, there has consistently been an issue post surgery. Hence, I'm typically prepared for the worst - compiling pain management strategies and meditation techniques to combat nerves. Surgery #11, however, entailed no preparation whatsoever. None. Zero. I literally wolfed down a ball park hotdog at Citizens Bank Park, and cheered on a 5-1 Phillies victory without a care in the world a mere 10 hours before I limped into Penn Hospital for my surgery at 5am on Monday morning. Whatevs. Dr. Carey, take the wheel! She's all yours!
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| Surgery, what surgery? Go Phillies! |
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| My awesome Team! |
Any nerves that I did feel dissipated as soon as I ran into all my Penn Med "friends." It was nice to be greeted by the same Nurses, Anesthesiologist, and of course my Surgeon and his fabulous PA, who all remembered me and were keen to see how I was doing while prepping me for surgery. I think one of the most important things to me during the last 6+ years of dealing with this disease is to form personal connections with the medical staff who is caring for me. It's paramount to me that my care providers see me as a real person - plus I'm a social person and it calms my nerves to learn more about the people who are helping me as well! So it was nice to hear that Nurse Tom's daughter is loving 3rd grade and that Dr. Sabrina just had a well deserved spa weekend. I felt a bit like a Penn Med celeb as I overheard another patient in pre-op brag about his "4th knee surgery," to which I heard my Nurse quickly respond, "That's nothing! My patient lives in the Cayman Islands and this is her 11th knee surgery!" haha. Trump that one random knee dude in Preop #8. Funny aside: I overheard random knee dude explain that he was a lawyer. When the Anesthesiologist asked what type of lawyer he was, he responded, "a good one." hehe. Touche. Anyway, by the time I was done catching up with my buds, I was being wheeled into the operating room. I met a new OR Nurse, Charlie, and just as I was chatting to him about the Phillies win on Sunday, I was out cold. I woke up a few hours later, and other than the foul taste of anesthetic in my mouth, I felt pretty darn good. On my typical post surgery high, I listened to other patients in recovery moaning in pain, sat up wide eyed in bed and exclaimed, "Ok, I'm ready to get out of here!" (I always feel like I don't belong with the sick people after surgery😂!!) Once back in my room, I bragged to Mom and Evan about how I awesome I felt and showed my Nurses how talented I was on crutches as they realized I did not require assistance to the bathroom. I was a cocky little shit! but...you know what? It felt good!
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| Anyone seen my knee? Anyone? Anyone? |
Usually my cockiness fades as the anesthetic wears off, but this time the pain was minimal and I was able to go back to our apartment that day. It's always important to me to stop taking narcotics as quickly as possible, given my history of dependence, and the yucky way that they make me feel. I was quickly able to transition from Dilaudid to Tylenol, and although I felt a little queasy, there was no puke, which was a welcome surprise. Overall, I'd say it was my most successful surgery yet - it only took 11 to find the sweet spot. Whoot whoot.
The results of the surgery were fairly positive. Unfortunately, I've now had a few complications from the big transplant surgery that took place 2 years ago. Dr. Carey explained that the chances of any complications are less than 5% and I've now had 3 complications - which makes me...rare? One of which is that my cartilage overgrew. But is that really a complication? I would say that's overachieving cartilage, no? Anyway, that overgrown cartilage was catching so he gave it a little haircut. In addition, I had a tear in the new meniscus transplant that I was equipped with 2 years ago. Dr. Carey had to trim that I'm now I'm only left with 75% of my newly acquired meniscus, but I had 0% meniscus for many many years, so 75% seems like a decent number. The meniscus acts as a "first defence" to my cartilage transplants, so it is important, at this point, that it's there in some aspect. I think the daunting information is that my other knee, the right knee, is continuing to deteriorate with the disease. Luckily, despite these complications in the left, Dr. Carey is optimistic that my prognosis is good, and I am still a candidate to receive the transplant surgery in my right knee. However, I have to be prepared for the fact that my right knee will likely have the same complications as the left knee. After an informative discussion with my Surgeon (have I mentioned how much he LOVES cartilage?), my goal is to put off the transplant surgery in the right knee for a few more years. I need to continue to strengthen both knees, and just live my life (with no running or jumping, of course). The upcoming transplant surgeries will be intense, and likely require multiple surgeries, but that's a "future Kirstie" problem. I am cautiously optimistic that I can get back, participating in all the activities that I was partaking in last summer, quite quickly. Dr. Carey admitted that he has a successful surgery patient file, which presently contains a picture of me surfing. The type A perfectionist in me really wants to maintain my "success" status. 😜
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| I am rare like the exquisite rare pink dolphin! 😂 |
I'm already back in Cayman with my Mom and Ev. Philly has become a bit of a second home these past few years, and although I find the people to be really friendly and the food to be delicious, it is sooo nice to be back in the tropical sunshine! Mom is staying to help out for as long as I need it (thank you MOM!), but I'm hopeful that my recovery will be fairly quick this time around. I need to remember that I did just have surgery, and although it's important to get back into physio and regular activity, it's also important to just chill and take a break. So I'm tabling the cocky attitude and taking it easy. My body deserves that.
I really appreciate all of the messages that I've received from each and every one of you. It means a lot knowing that I have an awesome group of friends and family supporting and cheering me on. I've learned from experience that recovery can be lonely, so it's super helpful to surround myself with people who lift me up. Thanks guys! Cheers to you and cheers to the medical researchers who think cartilage is cool.
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