Japan Adventure

Above is what a "normal" knee joint should look like. Below is my pre-surgery X-ray. As you can see there is basically no cartilage left in either knee & lots of damage from arthritis. This is bone crunching against bone . . . which explains the constant pain & knees "locking up" on me.

When I found Dr Bramlett and AL Sports Medicine Clinic in my internet research http://www.osmcoa.com/bmis.html, I knew I had found the right fit for me. My decision was based on his minimally-invasive TKR replacement technique (MIS). Of course, total knee replacement IS extremely invasive (basically, your leg is cut off, repaired, joints replaced, and reattached by a team of surgical carpenters!), but MIS technique uses a smaller incision and does not cut the muscles and tendons. This shortens the time required in surgery from several hours to less than an hour, which equates to less stress on the body and less blood loss. His procedure does not require a tourniquet, nor did I require a blood transfusion. All of this was very appealing to me and I emailed and received prompt answers to all my questions from his helpful staff. Holly and Michael (God Bless ‘Em!) were more than willing to let me recuperate for two months at their home. I scheduled surgery for July 25, which would allow us to vacation with children and grandchildren and Stan could stay to help me for the first two weeks before he had to return for the start of school. Although I consider myself relatively physically active for my age and limitations, I began to follow Dr Bramlett’s schedule of pre-habilitation and added his isometric exercises to my regular routine. Bicycle riding was also required, but this was already something I did daily for transportation.

In mid-June, off we went to the US. (Check out pictures elsewhere to see all our beautiful children and grandchildren and the fun stuff we did all summer.)

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