organ recital
"Old age is not for sissies" is a platitude I have been fond of repeating for years. I suppose saying it gives me a brief moment of satisfaction, sometimes making me feel that I am not one of the sissies, sometimes that I am not yet that old. Lately I am not so sure about either of those conditions...
I had two major surgical operations in my time. The first was for a stenosis in a cervical vertebra years ago. The condition was miserable. Doctors called it pain. To me it was not pain, but an unbearable discomfort in my shoulder and arm, making it impossible to stay still. I was constantly wiggling, twisting and turning, trying to find a position of relative comfort. After months of this I had it checked. The MRI showed a calcified narrowing in the C-6 opening and I was referred to a neuro-surgeon. I asked him about the procedure. He explained that he liked to enter from the front of the neck, dissect nerves, arteries, esophagus, windpipe, etc., so he can get to the vertebrae. He would then ream out the narrow passage, and then remove a disc and fuse two adjacent vertebrae with a bit of bone he would get from the 'bone bank'. After a single discussion with him I scheduled the operation without a moment's hesitation. It all went terrifically well. I had virtually no pain or discomfort on recovery and the awful shoulder misery completely disappeared. Some years later my left hip started hurting more and more. After limping more and more regularly I had it looked at, and once again I was pointed to a surgical solution. The orthopedist said that a total hip replacement was the best option for me. |
He had done many of those and had a good record of results with no complications, so I proceeded to schedule the operation.
It, too, was a total success. I was in rehab for less than a week and free of pain within a couple of days. Within a week after going home I walked quite well and started to drive. Fast forward to the present. Oh, my shoulder... It has become progressively more painful over at least the last two or three years. Finally about a year ago I had it, too, looked at. Alas, there is no cartilage left in the joint. Bone grinds on bone when I move. So, surgery. Total joint replacement. But this time, despite the two very positive experiences previously, I hesitated. Why not try a cortisone shot instead? Less radical and sometimes it works. Well,it did, for a whole week or ten days. After that it totally wore off. Back to the pain, steadily getting worse. But I kept putting off seeing the surgeon again. Eventually, a couple of months ago I did go see him and this time I did schedule the surgery. In contrast to the earlier episodes when I had not a care in the world looking forward to the procedure, this time I seriously worry about it. The shoulder is getting worse, so I have no doubt that I need It fixed, but I worry about the rehab, and have much less confidence in a straight forward recovery than before. Why, I wonder. Is this another symptom of getting older? Am I turning into a sissy? Or is there a rational explanation? Or is it a premonition (which I normally do not believe in)? I guess I'll find out in about a month. |