On surgery day Dr. Shapiro said to me a handful of times, "It's nice to be on the other side this time, right?", but no one likes to watch their loved one go through surgery and rehab, let alone one that I know to be a long and, at times, painful recovery!
Eric and Dr. S decided to use a cadaver graft. When I asked Dr S why the patellar tendon graft from Eric's knee wasn't in the cards even though that's the route I went (twice!), he said my first surgery went so well (at age.. what, 26?) that he didn't think doing it differently just 3-4 years later would be a wise choice. Had I gone cadaver graft on the second knee and anything went wrong or just didn't seem the same, we might have questioned the graft and regretted not using my own. But for Eric being a little older and cadaver grafts being so advanced these days, that's what they went with.
While Eric was in recovery, Dr Shapiro came out to tell us that Eric's surgery took all of 26 minutes. Amazing. And that there was "the world's smallest" meniscus tear, but that it was repaired while the good doctor was in the knee.
Now begins Eric's road to recovery. He's already had a few meetings with Drew (physical therapist) and unfortunately Eric now knows the feeling of having his knee bent beyond comfort to the point where it feels like the knee wants to explode just to relieve the pressure!! Eric and I tease... If only I could comprehend the pain he's feeling! ;) I try to remember what it was like being on the "other side" and keep telling Eric to RICE and follow his PT routine, because those are the best ways to get to feeling normal again, even if that day is months from now.
Meanwhile, a week and a few days later Eric is moving around the house pretty well (with an all too familiar limp) and slowly we'll get back to life as we knew it!
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| 12.06.2012 Eric Pre Surgery |
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| Leaving the hospital that day |
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| 12.07.2012 - 1 Day post-op (cadaver graft) |
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