Thankfully, “all” I’m having is ACL reconstruction and meniscus repair surgery. However, it was interesting stumbling upon this:
virtual knee replacement surgery
It’s interactive (Flash), so some of you may be turned off by it — particularly when it’s time to whip out the bone saw and go to town on the patient’s femur, tibia and patella! 
I’m 4 days away from the knee surgery, and I can’t sleep. Maybe I’m getting any nerves out of my system early? Maybe?
I’ll be calling the specialist’s office later this (Monday) morning, not to reschedule as they desire, but to confirm some details.
I’ve read and heard a little about Continuous Passive Motion (CPM) devices, but they’re apparently going out of favor, at least for knee surgeries. CPM devices are sometimes prescribed to patients who will undergo knee replacement or Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) replacement surgery {that’s me}. Using the CPM device causes the patient’s knee to slowly and repeatedly be put through its desired range of motion. It was thought this immediate return to use would help reduce joint stiffness, adhesions and other issues associated with knee surgeries. However, research indicates no long-term benefits to using a CPM device post-operatively over a patient-driven return to mobility (using crutches for 3+ weeks post operatively, accompanied by a gradual increase in weight-bearing plus exercises to strengthen the leg muscles, and supervised physical therapy.) The CPM machines aren’t useless. They have proven to provide an immediate benefit in mobility post-operatively, and provide patients with an immediate sense of participating in their recovery. However, over the long-term they don’t provide any advantages over other methods — patients with or without a CPM machine end up healing to the same level of mobility and joint flexibility.
Justin and I shared an enjoyable evening at home with my brother as our guest. We watched “Chronicles of Riddick” and “King Arthur”, and the guys also did some multiplayer gaming. I enjoyed both movies, but divided my attention between the television and my laptop. I still haven’t managed to spend my $110 gift certificate to Amazon.com, and I was hoping to place the order before Monday. This evening, I discovered the “Burt’s Bees” product line of luxurious and (apparently) wonderfully scented hand and body lotions, bee wax lip balm and other all-natural items. We’ll see how much of what I enthusiastically added to my cart I actually check out with, however. I’m still in browse rather than buy mode, so there’s still time for my mind to change drastically.
Of all the reasons I’ve heard for getting a tattoo, this is one of the saddest: a 31-year-old selling permanently tattooed advertising on his body (for cheap)!
He should at least be pricing the advertisements the way stock photographers price their images — the wider the distribution, and/or the longer the duration of use, the higher the price. Lifetime, exclusive rights = $$BIG MOOLAH$$
Justin called me this evening (Friday) to relay a message left on our home answering machine at 3:45 PM; I was at my parents enjoying an overdue visit with them and my brother. The message was from the scheduler at my knee specialist’s office. Here’s the content of the message, nearly verbatim:
This pisses me off on so many levels.
