Not sure if this is the right place for this post....but I am feeling sooo stressed about my upcoming surgery and how it will affect my abilities to be an EMT.

 

5wks from now I will be undergoing a cartilage transplant in my left knee.  My ortho says I will be unable to walk on it for 6wks and will be facing months of physio and almost a full yr to recover and no gaurantee that it will work.  I was told that if I was older I would be facing a total knee replament.  But I am only 40, so a TKR is yrs away for me.

 

I am hoping maybe someone on this board can shed some light on this subject.  Maybe some of you have it or a similar procedure done.

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Replies to This Discussion

Hope everything goes ok for you doing your surgery and that you are able to go back to your job. You should do ok. My mom ended up having knee replacement surgery and she is doing good.
Hi Lisa,

Thanks so much for your well wishes. It sounds like you are having a rough go of it and I wish you all the best with your surgery. I surely don't think I would want to do all 3 at once..but you're right, just get it over with.

At this point...no, I wish I hadn't gone through with the surgery and think that I was better off before then I am now. The physio is tolerable, I'm up to 90 degrees ROM and the therapist thinks its time to start adding weight to the sessions as my strength is coming back nicely. My surgeon has said all along, if it hurts, don't do it...but my therapist tells me to just push through it and the pain will lessen with more sessions. I am finally able to weight bear and get around much easier now, however, the pain is still there, some days more so then others. More of a constant ache I guess then pain. Swelling is still there, but getting better as well.

I have my 2nd follow up with the surgeon on the 17th of this month and hoping for a good review..lol.

When is your surgery? Good luck to you and hope all goes well.
Thanks Rita,

Slowly getting better....very discouraging at first, however, I am finally starting to see light at the end of the tunnel.
That is good to hear.
Laura,
glad to here you are getting better. I feel your pain. I am a 53 yo volunteer firefighter who had a TKR on Oct 19 last year. It has been a long road with all the rehab and I am just now getting where I can run calls again. It does get better and take care of your knees so maybe you won't have to get a manmade one like me.

Scott Burnette
Glad to hear you are doing well and getting back to work. I can't wait to get back. Too much time on my hands and not enough to do. I have a few months to go yet before I will be back at work. I saw my surgeon on the 17th of this month and he said my knee is healing well and everything looks good. But another 4 months before its completely healed and able to go back to work. So, shooting for the beginning of Aug to be back on the trucks.

Avoiding a TKR would be ideal...however, it's pretty much a sure thing another 10-15yrs down the road, only reason it hasn't been done yet is because I'm not old enough. The longer I can hold off the better I think. So, in the mean time, it will be physio, prescriptions and supplements that aid in joint healing. I've heard there are several good supplements available and am going to give one or 2 a try.

Take it easy on that new knee, you'll need it for awhile yet!
Doin great Chief! Thanks for asking. Physio is going well, have almost full ROM back. Strength is coming back nicely. Still swells quite a bit, but that will subside with time. I'm even starting to have pain free days for the first time in a very long time.

So all in all, I'm doin great.

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