Reconnecting

[Guest guest]

Hi folks,

It has been a long time since I last posted. I am feeling a tad guilty

about not keeping up with all the news here . . . but life was hell

there for a while. I finally had to accept that I would never catch up

with the postings here and I could either just go away or jump back in

and hope that you all will understand that it will take me a while to

get back up to date. You folks have always been so incredibly

supportive that I trust you will understand and excuse my silence of so

long.

Please forgive me for the length of this posting and know that I don't

really expect anyone to read through it all. I am just feeling like I

have to tell my saga one last time. (Those I have seen at in-person

support groups have probably already this story way too often. Sorry

about that.)

When my right knee was replaced last December, it triggered events that

I fervently hope never to repeat. Something happened during the

operation - either the placement of the spinal or just the way I was

jockeyed around on the table - that set off a MAJOR back problem.

After the number of times that I have been cut on in the last couple of

years, I know that I am not a wimp when it comes to pain. However, when

the spinal wore off after my knee replacement, it took them 5 hours to

get me drugged enough to stop screaming. Even then, the pain wasn't

gone - just dulled enough to get me to shut up. I was in the hospital

for 5 days and then discharged on massive doses of pain killers.

Nothing they gave me seemed to help beyond dulling the pain for a couple

of hours - after which I would count the seconds until I could take some

more meds. I have about a 5-week gap in my memory . . . for the most

part, I only have hazy memories from that time . . . I think it is my

body's way of helping me cope. I certainly don't want to remember those

painful moments any more clearly. I have never, never done this

before. With my other surgeries I barely used any meds.

The knee replacement itself seems to have been a success - but it seems

that the area where the sciatic nerve comes down from the spine was

extremely inflamed. So I had an extreme sciatic attack continuously for

weeks. I was going out to Kaiser for shots of anti-inflammatories

(after all, we can't take them by mouth) and even that was only giving

me a little temporary relief.

Things finally started getting better when two things happened. First,

a friend of mine who is a massage therapist insisted on working on me.

(I say insisted because I kind of resisted because I couldn't afford to

pay her.) About the same time, I was referred to a physical therapist

who works with the spine clinic in Union City. He put me in traction a

couple of times a week - and I gotta tell you - if you need traction, it

feels great!

A third thing really improved matters dramatically. The spine clinic

set me up with their acupuncturist, Dr. Debonis. (I had no idea before

that Kaiser even had an acupuncturist.) Dr. Debonis is now my hero.

From the very first treatment, the pain started to subside.

One of the worst things about all this (besides the pain itself) is that

I wasn't able to rehab my knee the way I would have in better

circumstances. In fact, I have been completely forbidden to exercise

except for those few things that Dr. Debonis has specifically approved.

ARGH!!!!!!! I am now very, very aware of how important exercise is. I

mean I knew it was important . . . but it never felt so real before . .

.. I know that doesn't say it very well, but I seem to be at a loss for

words. One fact may help illustrate . . . while my weight has remained

pretty much the same as it was before this fiasco (it vacillates in

about a 5-pound range), I am now a full size larger. Double ARGH!

To make things worse . . . about the time that I was finally starting to

get better, my computer died. We replaced the hard drive, but still

took my hubby weeks to get the system reliably back.

Anyway . . . I finally got to start the knee rehab class last week -

only 3 months late. And, since the flexion of my knee seems to be

seriously compromised, I am due to have a " manipulation under

anesthesia " on the 19th. I'll admit to being a bit scared.

Well . . . this is already way too long. Many thanks to those who

actually read through all this.

I hope to be better about keeping up.

All the best to you wonderful folks.

Kay (in San Leandro)

open RNY Dec. 1, 03