The Absent Uncle: About that second knee ...
I am quickly approaching the scheduled date for the replacement of my left knee. “Old Lefty” has given me problems for 20-plus years that I learned how to deal with to not make it worse – but of course it never got better.
My memory is so clear about what started this whole process of knee problems.
My wife and I had an old TV – one of the “big” tabletop TVs before they got skinny and could be alternatively hung on a wall. It was a good one, name brand, and worked perfectly. But it didn’t fit anywhere in our house and a replacement was deemed necessary.
What to do with this behemoth? Heavy as a boat anchor, a big silver plastic box, but it worked perfectly.
A solution came forth. My daughter needed another TV as her son (our grandchild) had gotten old enough for the Sesame Street, Mr. Rogers, and the ever-present Barney videos. She figured out a place for this oversized TV and I felt good about handing it off and for it to be used.
Getting it out of our house was difficult because of the door size, a tricky narrow turn, but I had the assistance of a friend that made it into a two-man carry and it was put in the back of my old pickup for the short ride to my daughter’s house.
I had thought about the carry into the TV’s new home and was confident I could handle it alone. Straight in the house – no turns, no narrow openings to deal with. I had carried TV’s by myself in the past – I could do it again.
There were two steps up into the house. Not big step ups, just a normal, step-up times two.
As I approached the house, I did what I always did, led with my left leg. First step up – “Lefty” did fine, and “Righty” joined him on the first step. All was good.
“Lefty” went for the second step, again absorbed all the weight of me, the TV, and I heard a sound I will never forget. Sort of squishy rubbing sound that accompanied pain I had never felt before. “Righty” somehow stumbled up, balance was maintained, and the TV didn’t go crashing to the floor. It did come down but in a sort of a controlled way. The TV worked just fine after the incident.
The pain did not go away, so a couple of days later, an MRI revealed a meniscus tear and the beginning of arthritis in the knee.
And here we are today. Over the years “Lefty” had shifted some of the heavy work over to the other side – wore that one out a bit faster so it was replaced first. July 2 is the date for “Lefty”.
