Week 6 - It's a Tear

The news of the week was the MRI. It was scheduled for first thing Tuesday morning and since I was going to be at the hospital, I rescheduled my knee academy, the half day required class before a knee replacement, for right afterwards. I'd have just enough time between them to get my blood draw done so I was doing that too. It all went swimmingly, including having enough time to eat a quick Noosa (my favorite yogurt - try it if you haven't) in the car since I'd fasted for the blood work just in case.

I was surprised by the knee class. They had told me I got the last spot but I was in fact the only person there so got all the attention. They actually start by showing you how much it will cost and asked if I wanted to pay up front. Not so much but it'll only be $1200 out of pocket. Not bad. Then after the video they showed me a model and I was shocked at how little they replace. I thought they'd be cutting my bones mid thigh and calf and reattaching muscles, tendons, etc. I was thrilled to see if was just a bit of the top of my thigh and calf bones with no cutting of anything except shaving a bit of bone. I went back to work with three things crossed off my list and feeling super positive about my knee replacement.

The phone rang Thursday afternoon and it all came crashing down. My rotator cuff was torn and my knee would have to wait. I held it together to gather all the gory details - a painful operation, 5-6 weeks with my shoulder in a brace, sleeping in a recliner and 4 months of PT. It was a total shock and I hung up and burst into tears at my desk. My co-workers were their usual supportive selves and someone narc'ed on me because Nora was at my desk in minutes. Of course I was totally guilt ridden with having to be out so long for my shoulder (even longer recuperation than the knee) and having to be out again for the knee once my shoulder was done. I was able to stop crying but was still in shock with way too much to absorb.

By Friday, I was mad. Of course the 2 month delay and required PT that Blue Cross demanded were what lead to this. The nurse told me that when my pain got much worse half way through the PT, that was probably when it tore but she also added that there was no proof so Blue Cross was covered. Despite the anger, I was able to start making plans. I didn't even have a date yet but knew it was coming.

The bright spot in the week was yet another birthday meal, this time at the new Greek cafe in Mead (a tiny town east of Wahoo) with Lori. We got a late start so Andrea was able to meet us after all and we had a lovely lunch with yummy dessert too. They gave me a gorgeous skein of orange sock yarn too. All fun and a nice change after a miserable week. Now to get the shoulder surgery scheduled.