Significant event

This is not something new, yet it's something that is significant. I am going under the knife on May 21, 2008 at Mount Sinai to fix my knee. It's long story...

My right knee has been bothering me since July of 2007. I got an X-ray which was negative and the pain was not consistent, so I let it go. Then around January of 2008, I decided to go for a long overdue physical and asked my doctor about the knee. He referred me to an Orthopedic surgeon. This new guy ordered another batch of X-rays and then sent me to get an MRI. The MRI showed "an oblique undersurface tear in the posterior horn of the medial meniscus."

He said that the way to fix it is to cut out the torn part by arthroscopic surgery. He explained that there is minimal risk involved and that I can resume normal activity shortly after the out-patient procedure. He then sent in his nurse to schedule the operation. Bang-bang-bang!

At first, I thought that they had their shit together and it was good that this guy was going to do the cutting. But after walking out of the room and thinking about it, I decided that a) I needed a 2nd opinion and b) I did not care for the off-hand way the whole thing was handled. I mean, if I was taking my car into service and the guy told me I needed to replace my struts, I'd take it to another mechanic just to make sure the first guy hadn't overlooked something. More importantly, I felt like a piece of meat being put through the machinery at this place. Slow down there, doc. Let it sink in and let me make a decision not based on your next availability but my comfort level at letting someone rip through my flesh. (technically, they only puncture your flesh, but I thought "rip" was more dramatic) So I got my MRI images (I posted 2 of the 134 images on a CD) and got a 2nd and 3rd opinion. It was unanimous: To get rid of the pain, I would require surgery.

So, on May 21, Dr. James Gladstone is going to do the honors. I have to say that I really liked the way Dr. Gladstone handled the interaction. He answered all my questions and was actually expecting me to have questions. He showed me the MRI images and the tear (that's how I knew what to put on this blog) in the meniscus, which is what I did not get from the 1st guy. I asked about scheduling the procedure and I already have my prescription for crutches and Percocet.

I suppose this is the countdown. 11 days away.