Monday, April 5, 2010

Craig's Knee Surgery

Craig had his knee surgery last Thursday and it was a two hour surgery, but Dr. Moore seemed to be a lot more confident that he "got it" this time so hopefully the surgery will hold and we'll be able go longer between knee surgeries! Dr. Moore went in arthoscopically through the previous surgery holes and cleaned up a lot of the loose cartilage in Craig's knee, but while he was in there he realized that there was a large part of his medial meniscus that was breaking loose which was causing the popping and locking that Craig has been experiencing. Before the surgery, Craig met with Dr. Moore and clarified that we wanted to FIX the problem and that we trusted the doctor to do whatever was necessary to get that accomplished. During surgery, Dr. Moore made the decision to cut into the inner side of Craig's knee and through that incision was able to suture some cartilage on the sides of the medial meniscus which should hold it in place and stop the locking and popping thus giving Craig better mobility.

Unfortunately these sutures will cause Craig to have a longer recovery time and more intense physical therapy and for the time being he is stuck in a big blue brace that stretches from his groin all the way to his ankle. He is in this cast because if he bends his knee too far too soon he can risk breaking the sutures apart which would not only be painful, but also cause us to go through this knee surgery nightmare for a fourth time in a single year.

Speaking of which, I'm doing...okay. Thanks for asking. I was able to just take an afternoon off on Thursday so I didn't miss too much school and we were blessed by being able to schedule the surgery the day before a three day weekend so that we didn't have to use our few remaining paid days off. I planned ahead (surprise, surprise) and had all the ingredients needed for some of Craig's favorite meals.

Thursday: Taco soup with cornbread
Friday: Lasagna and lemon garlic broccoli
Saturday: BBQ chicken sandwiches and homemade potato salad
Sunday: Easter dinner comprised of...ham, oven baked onion potatoes, broccoli cheese casserole, sweet potatoes and pineapple au gratin

We have a TON of leftovers sitting in our refrigerator which is great because now we have lunches for the entire week! Generally speaking though...I'm exhausted. Physically and mentally exhausted. I was on my feet for what felt like the entire weekend between refilling iced tea glasses, changing out the ice machine, cooking and serving dinners and managing laundry and dishes.

Craig is doing much better - he is alert and moving more on his own. My parents came over tonight to visit Craig but to also help me get Craig up the stairs so that he could take a proper shower. I don't feel comfortable getting Craig up and down the stairs for the first time by myself - I like having my dad around to catch Craig in case he stumbles up or down. I know Craig feels so much better now that he has showered...I'm hoping that he will be able to make it through the day tomorrow as he is attempting to "teach" PE all day long.

This has been a really long school year and I think that's why I had a minor breakdown at lunch today when I went home to feed Craig. We have been going nonstop since August...
September - November: volleyball season
November - February: basketball season (Craig and his sister at the high school)
September - present: Wednesday night women's volleyball league for me
January - March: Cross Country season
January - present: Select basketball with two practices a week and tourneys on weekends
January - March: majority of intense wedding planning and execution
January - present: Tuesday night women's Bible Study
March - present: Track season
April - Knee surgery
I think we're pretty ready for our summer vacation...

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