I made a decision today that I hope I won’t regret. In truth, I don’t think I really have a choice anymore. It’s either go for the knee replacement or buy a wheelchair, because it is becoming much, much more difficult to walk. I have let my left knee go for so long that my right knee and leg are suffering greatly.

During my visit with my knee doctor today I told him about the problems I have been having and he offered to do another cortisone injection in my right knee. After my experience with that before, I told him I would pass on that, thanks. There being nothing else he could do, he started to tell me to let him know when I was ready to have my knee done when I interrupted him and said, “That’s kind of why I’m here today.”

The doctor talked about people who have both knees done at the same time, essentially leaving it open for me to opt for that. Living alone as I do there would be no way I could take care of myself any time soon after the surgery, and I don’t savor the idea of living in a rehab facility for the next two months or so. As much as I would like to get it all over at once, I just don’t think it’s a good idea, so I’m going for just one knee.

It was fascinating how fast the ball got rolling after that. The doctor handed me off to his surgery scheduler and after some discussion I found myself set up for surgery on May 8. Holy crap – that’s less than two weeks away! That is kind of a shock, but I think I’m happy it’s so soon because it will give me a lot less time to have to worry about it. However, that means I have to get my ass in gear and get things ready for after the surgery.

As it was, I was at the clinic until pretty late today, because I was able to go across the hall and get the necessary electrocardiogram and lab work done. It was nice to get that out of the way, but I may still have to go see my primary care doctor for a physical, which shouldn’t be a biggie if necessary. Other than that, I guess medically I’m ready to go.

There is a class at the hospital for people thinking about or facing knee and hip replacement surgery. The scheduler suggested that it would be good to attend, but the class is the evening before my surgery, so I don’t know what good it will do. I’ll have to think about that.

Now I need to figure out how to get the help at home that I will need during my recovery. I’m hoping that my son will be able to spend a week with me, as boring for him as that would be. Then again, that would be hard on him to miss that much work. My wife has offered to stay with me, too, but she has work issues as critical as my son’s, so that doesn’t sound like a good idea either. There is one person who has the freedom to come and help me, but her circumstances have her in such a state of disruption that that is impossible, too. Oh well, I’ll see how much help I will need after I get out.

I sure do hope I haven’t bitten off more than I can chew.