A little less than a year and a half ago, Sean went in for a fairly routine
knee surgery that would result in weeks of
INTENSE PAIN and a knee that never fully recovered. A few months after the surgery, Sean reached a plateau in his recovery. The pain was still there -- certainly not nearly as intense, but enough to make even walking uncomfortable. He'd spend an afternoon on his feet, only to come home to pain and even swelling. He continued to follow up with his orthopedic,
Dr. Silver, and finally went in for another MRI to find out what was going on. The MRI turned out to be somewhat inconclusive. There was no clear indication of the problem. When Dr. Silver discussed the results of the MRI with Sean, they decided that the best option was to go in with a scope and look around to see what may be causing the problems.
Only the scope this time. If what he found required open surgery, then Dr. Silver would complete the arthroscopy, then he and Sean would discuss the options. Because of the
Complex Regional Pain Syndrome that Sean experienced after the original surgery, Dr. Silver set Sean up with a pain management specialist, Dr. Zimmerman. Together, they developed a plan of action to hopefully prevent any reoccurrence of the CRPS. This included starting gabapentin in the weeks leading up to the surgery and a nerve block the morning of the surgery. And, Dr. Silver had Sean meet with
Flo and her team for a few pre-surgery workouts to obtain some baselines and work to build additional strength.
Bright and early yesterday morning, Sean and I headed to the
NC Specialty Hospital in Durham. Sean's first appointment at 7am was with pain management for the nerve block. By 7:15 he was all decked out in his hospital gown. The only 'sedation' he received for the block was a small dose of Ativan and a lollipop (that's right, a lollipop. berry flavored) of Fentanyl. Before going back for the procedure, he commented that he didn't real feel much different...just really relaxed. Like he 'couldn't get mad if he wanted to'. :-) By 8:45 the nerve block was completed. The pain folks monitored his vitals for a few and by 9:30 we were in pre-op, ready for the 10:15 surgery. Things were going really smooth. Surprising for a hospital, especially given the coordination that was required from two different medical teams.
In pre-op, Sean was presented with a sweet party hat for the OR and got a shave job (over most of his leg!) from his nurse. Dr. Silver came in to ask if we had any questions and we all agreed that the questions were based around what he would soon see. We were told going in that the surgery would take about 45 minutes. When the pager they gave me went off a few minutes short of 45, for some reason, I immediately thought the worst. Surely he couldn't be done already! When Dr. Silver came out to greet me, I really don't think he could've had better news. Here's what he found: the original meniscus repair had healed wonderfully. There was some minor fraying on the meniscus (not tears) that he cleaned up. The cartilage all around the knee looked great. The biggest issue he found was an enormous amount of scar tissue that had developed around his knee. This was caused by immobility after the surgery, which was caused by the intense nerve pain (CRPS) that Sean experienced after the surgery. What a snow ball, right?? Dr. Silver was able to get all the scar tissue cleaned up and feels strongly that this is what was causing the ongoing pain and swelling. So all in all, the surgery couldn't have gone any better! There were no meniscus problems that need additional repair, there was no damage to cartilage, and all the scar tissue was cleaned out.
Sean is doing really well -- there is obviously some expected post-op pain, but according to him it's like 'night and day' from the last surgery. He walked in the house yesterday with no crutches and has been getting around fairly well. Tomorrow he has his first PT appointment, not with Flo, but with the therapist she hand-picked for him.
There is no reason not to expect a full recovery this go around, so there is no reason that Sean shouldn't be on the golf course later this year. Jackson has expectations, too. All he's been telling Sean is, 'I'm ready for you to run with me again!'