Day Twenty-Nine

'Supposedly they look pretty good and swelling is normal'  or  'What's another couple scars?'

Today was my 4 week follow-up with the surgeon and I can't figure out if it feels like way more or way less than that.

1.  The kid gloved x-ray tech treated me like a China doll even though the photo shoot ended with her telling me how well I was doing before I hobbled back to the waiting room.

2.  My name was called.  Feeling like we'd won something, we followed the assistant to a little room with hip and knee posters covering the walls.  She too, commented on how well I was doing.

3.  Fifteen minutes in the little room gave Vin time to read most of the posters and me time to tell Vin, a bunch of times, how I hated when someone that had no idea how I was doing told me I was doing great.  He told me they were just trying to be nice and I told him I already knew that and I didn't care.

4. Leah, the PA, came in.  I stopped her before she was able to tell me how well I was doing.  Instead she asked how the last couple of weeks had been.  Vin was facing a wall, reading the last knee poster and wondering, after about 30 seconds, why I hadn't answered her.  I was trying to answer but knew I couldn't without bursting into tears.  Vince saw this was the case and said "painful" for me.  Then I burst into tears.

5.  Another second or two and I was OK.  Another five minutes and she had the highlights of my convalescence.  I told her how I hated when someone told me I was doing great.  She measured my flexion.  The left first.  "112, real close to 115" she said with total disregard to 113 and 114.  The right was 117 and real close to 120.  She was just trying to be nice.

6.  She left and returned five minutes later with Dr. Huber.  He said Leah had told him everything.  Then he said "you're doing great."  Obviously she hadn't told him everything. :).
I think she told him I had burst into tears though because had he been any more positive and animated, I may have thought he was a clown in a pediatric ward.  Told me I had to "see the trees through the forest."  As far as his knee replacement victims go, he told me I was in the top 20% like it was a compliment.  I know he was just trying to be nice but top 20% doesn't sound that good to me.

7.  I'll see him again in 2 months. Top 5%, here I come.