A New Knee and Another EV to Boot
I survived my knee replacement surgery – so far. It’s complicated. See details below.
And I leased another electric car. Really. We now have two.
Am I nuts? Maybe. I’ve asked that before, haven’t I? Well, then, there’s your answer. I definitely needed the new knee. But I didn’t need my Toyota Highlander anymore. It’s too big for us now. So Catherine gets the 2025 Kona Electric and I’m now stuck with the 2024 Ioniq 5. But just for two years. Then we’ll see what’s available and start over.
I now have a 48 amp charger in my garage with great help from a guy really into EVs who goes by the moniker Ubiquitous Electric Bill. Now I just need to learn how to program the many options on each car, including, annoyingly, the many ways to just lock and unlock the doors. All newer cars today, not just EVs, have so many options, it’s really overwhelming. Just ask Catherine.
My knee surgery went well. A spinal block allowed me to wake up faster than previous surgeries. I was standing on it and taking steps soon after I got to my room for an overnight stay.
Energy Crisis
The knee is sore but manageable. The biggest problem is something I forgot from my previous surgeries. You run out of energy quickly because your body is using a lot of its resources to heal itself. My mom would say the body is “knitting itself.” I’ve been wearing a pair of lounge pants pulled up to my ribs that make me look like old Biff Tannen in Back to the Future II. I even have a similar cane.
Of course, in any surgery the body needs to basically reboot its normal processes. Like digestion. The many drugs I was prescribed and the fact that my digestive tract is already out of wack led to constipation and upset stomach.
The constant upset stomach finally sent me to the ER and after seven hours, I found out I have an ulcer. I thought mostly just old people got them. Yeah, that includes me now. The conclusion was that it was likely caused by one or more of the prescriptions they gave me.
When I worked at Corner Drug in high school they sold gallons of Maalox for ulcers. But now it seems we rarely hear of ulcers like we used to. That might be because with the new drugs available, like Prilosec, ulcers aren’t as common. So, I’m taking care of that in addition to the knee. At least I can eat again.
As part of my ER experience, I was given a CT scan of my abdomen and that’s where the ulcer was discovered. I looked at the scans on my Mayo portal. I’m sure glad they can understand them. I certainly can’t. I wish they would circle the ulcer so I could see it.
Too Much Information
Somewhat scarier is that the report identifies things like the specific disks degenerating in my spine, scar tissue on my left kidney and various cysts. I now remember a few youthful incidents that could have caused some of that. And here I thought I was the picture of health. The good news is that my major organs are “unremarkable.”
The staff throughout this whole process at Mayo-Red Wing has been very professional and kind. They know their procedures and do them well. But I think they are understaffed and right now they’re really busy handling all the Covid, flu, and norovirus ailments in addition to their more routine ones.
The ER was so backed up that the first four hours were spent in the waiting room. Many of those waiting were young kids. I think some car accident victims jumped to the head of the line. They are starting to ask everyone to wear masks again, although we didn’t realize that until later.
So, here I am again writing about my personal health. Shame on me. But you read this far, didn’t you? This column won’t become Randy’s Health Update, I assure you.
I knew I would need the knee replaced at some point. When to do it was always my dilemma. While I was still deciding, a nurse in orthopedics said, “Ask yourself, am I tired of limping around on a sore leg and just want to get it done?”
The answer, of course, was yes.
And it doesn’t hurt that I should be healed up and back on my e-bike long before summer.