03-09-2021, 01:07 PM
Context: The right knee is the one I tore up in the bicycle accident. It's functional and the discomfort is manageable on that one. The left knee is the one that started giving me trouble two years ago. Well, in the past few weeks it's gotten to the point it's not manageable. I can tolerate things to a degree, but I can't live like this too awfully long.
It hasn't been examined, so I don't know exactly what the problem is, but it's very load sensitive. I can ride the bike simply because I can shift down enough to reduce the pressure on the joint. Today I took a walk (± 1 mile) wearing my heavy pressure brace, and it was just barely tolerable. I'm not going to just sit and get fatter, so I'm going to ask my primary care doctor at the VA to refer me to the specialists. Given my past experience, this will take a long time just to get it rolling. Orthopedics is by far one of the most overworked sections in the system.
I honestly expect the prognosis to call for knee replacement. My VA hospital has a good record with that procedure, so I'm not afraid of it. Pray with me as I work through the system to see what they will do for me.
It hasn't been examined, so I don't know exactly what the problem is, but it's very load sensitive. I can ride the bike simply because I can shift down enough to reduce the pressure on the joint. Today I took a walk (± 1 mile) wearing my heavy pressure brace, and it was just barely tolerable. I'm not going to just sit and get fatter, so I'm going to ask my primary care doctor at the VA to refer me to the specialists. Given my past experience, this will take a long time just to get it rolling. Orthopedics is by far one of the most overworked sections in the system.
I honestly expect the prognosis to call for knee replacement. My VA hospital has a good record with that procedure, so I'm not afraid of it. Pray with me as I work through the system to see what they will do for me.