Week 546 - On a Kneed to Know Basis - 01-29-2017

On a Kneed to Know Basis

Now that we are Californians, it's time to visit other states! We left Golden Village Palms to head to Phoenix. While we got rain in Hemet, Palm Springs got snow as seen here by the Aqua Caliente Casino Resort.

Cousins Bob and Barb and neighbor Miguel let us camp out at their house during Ellen's knee surgery. As usual, the hospitality was superb with meals, anecdotes and a chance for Mandy to run in the "big house". Thanks Barb and Bob. This is a file photo from 2014.

Up at 4:30am and off to St. Luke's Medical Center in Phoenix. After check in, Ellen is prepped for the corrective knee surgery. The original total knee replacement was on December 2, 2015 at the Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage.

Through pickleball we have known a hundred people with knee replacements. They all told us there were no problems and they should have done it sooner. Not so for Ellen. After 14 months the knee is more painful than before the replacement. What was wrong? X-rays showed the knee had not moved. Visits to the original surgeon and other doctors gave us no clue. Then we got a referral to Dr. Hedley in Phoenix. Without an MRI and by just manipulating Ellen's leg, he determined that the plastic spacer, between the metal knee implants, was too thin. Dr. "E" will assist Dr. Hedley. Yes, he looks like Woody from Cheers, but nonetheless we let him autograph Ellen's left knee.

Ariel, Ellen's prep nurse, was just as delightful as she appears.

Surgery took about one hour. 1) Here is Ellen's after sleeping off the spinal block. 2) In another hour she was up and walking.

Each doctor uses slightly different techniques. To close the incision Dr. Hedley does not use staples, but Steri-Strips covered by this large water-resistant bandage.

After the surgery Dr. Hedley returned the spare parts. The artificial knee is composed to two metal parts separated by a plastic pad. Ellen's old pad, on the right, was too thin and that allowed her knee to wobble and caused her great pain. But she is a trooper and played pickleball with pain for 12 months. We pray that Dr. Hedley is correct and that her pain will be relieved with a thicker insert.

Ellen, on the third day after surgery, is walking easily with a cane and using a walker for outside trips. We want to thank all of our friends and family for their prayers, thoughts, emails, phone calls and texts. We praise God for each of you and can't wait to visit you once again.

We will be in Casa Grande, Arizona for the next five weeks. Dr. Hedley said the recovery for the repair could be as little as three weeks. We will see him in late February. If he clears Ellen, she will play in the Palm Creek Duel in the Desert Pickleball Tournament. If not, only Pete will play and then we will head back to the California Central Coast.

With love, Pete, Ellen and Mandy

Photos from Jan 2017