Road To Recovery: Mile 1

On Monday I underwent arthroscopic knee surgery, including a procedure called "Microfracture." Basically there was a legion or "defect" on the articular cartilage (the cartilage that covers your bones) of my femur. This was caused by my cycling "incident" on the century last year. Basically, the surgery involves poking tiny holes in my femur causing it to release marrow / stem cells / collagen etc. to form a blood clot. This eventually hardens and replaces the damaged cartilage with new stuff. Unfortunately, the new stuff (fibro-cartilage) isn't as good as the stuff I was born with (hyalin cartilage). But, it's better than nothing, and hopefully it will remain in place for a long time.


The big "NO" on my left leg above is to let the surgeon know which knee to fix. And yes, underneath the bandages of my right leg, there is indeed a big "YES" written on it. Kind of hilarious, and yet...I'm glad they put it there. You never can be too sure, can you?

So far, no major pain, although the numbness from the drugs administered yesterday haven't fully worn off. I've got a full bottle of vicodin standing by for when the pain comes. I have a feeling it will tonight.



The contraption above is an "ice machine" that pumps icy cold water and air pressure into a sleeve wrapped around my leg. I'm supposed to use it as much as humanly possible, except when I got to bed. I have to say that it's pretty awesome. A lot more effective than my old friend "bag o' peas." I'll be using him at work though. I don't want to lug the ice beast to work, especially not while confined to the crutches that I must stay on for the next 6 weeks. Those are TONS of fun!