Indio, California: After weeks of waiting, Dave had his knee surgery today at Eisenhower Medical Center in nearby Rancho Mirage. As suspected from the MRI, Dave did have a tear in his meniscus. It was repaired in a 15-minute arthroscopic procedure under a light general anesthesia.
This is what a torn meniscus can look like:
This what a cleaned-up, repaired meniscus can look like:
Either that, or the above photos are of Mars or Saturn or something.Sorry, no photos of DT... though he did look pretty snazzy in a blue paper shower cap and hospital gown before surgery. The monitor hooked up to record his heart rate kept sounding a "low heart rate" warning. The first time the alarm beeped, I jumped. But then I laughed. Low? That's not low. Runners usually have a lower-than-normal heart rate. Dave's was 53bpm this morning - and today it was probably elevated due to surgery stress/worry. Runners!
We arrived to the hospital at 9a and left at 1p. I was allowed to be by his side except for the time he was in surgery and about the first 30 minutes of recovery. The hospital seemed quite accommodating to patients and family, and ran like a well-rehearsed 50-act ad-lib play.
After the procedure, Dave's doctor told me the cartilage in Dave's knee is in remarkable shape considering his age + all the miles (85,000 miles - more than 3 times around Earth) he has covered. The doctor also said My Driver will be jogging again within three weeks! All good news.
Dave's knee is bandaged, but there is no incision, just two "puncture" wounds used by the camera and tools. No stitches to be removed. He must rest for a few days, but slowly begin applying weight to the knee and bend it as much as pain will allow. The leg needs to be elevated and the knee needs to be iced regularly. He has pain meds for the next several days.
It is going to be a little quiet around here this weekend.Thank you all so much for the kind thoughts, prayers and positive energy sent his way. It worked!
Until my next update, I remain, your Florence Nightingale correspondent.
RV PARK: The Motorcoach Country Club