Knee Surgery

Doug's right knee has been bothering him and lately got a lot worse. He wasn't able to walk far or bike ride. The good news is that it has nothing to do with cancer! Last Wed he had arthroscopic surgery -- the orthopod said he found a "nasty" cartilage tear and cleaned it up.

Of course, Doug had to have a pre-op exam before the surgery. The basic exam showed no problems, but with Doug's history he also had to get clearance from his cardiologist. He had just seen the cardiologist in early October, with an EKG and an echocardiogram that were both "normal". But the cardiologist would not release Doug for surgery until he had a stress test. Since he could not do the treadmill with a bad knee,  off we went to Colorado Springs for a chemical stress test. That took four hours - most of it waiting between baseline scan, injection, more waiting for the isotope to clear the liver and get to the heart, scan, another injection, wait and a post scan. He didn't experience any of the anxiety, sweating, etc that was mentioned. Doug said all he noticed was a kind of rapid heartbeat but not bad.

Doug is hobbling around pretty well and off the pain meds. Next Tues we return to the orthopedist office so they can clear him for some physical therapy. We hope to still leave for Texas the day after Thanksgiving, but if that gets delayed it will be okay too.

We feel very fortunate to be dealing with a routine medical problem for a change. Life is indeed good!

As Thanksgiving approaches, we hope each of you has a joyous heart and a thankful spirit, and may God watch over you.