A Month Ago

Exactly one month ago, Sean and I started our day bright and early at Wake Med North hospital.  Sean was scheduled for a routine knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus.  Going into the surgery, the orthopedic surgeon had explained that the type of repair he performed would be dependent on the severity of the tear.  There were two options -- an arthroscopic procedure where the torn tissue is removed or open surgery to repair the meniscus by stitching it back together.  We knew that the recovery time would be significantly different, depending on the procedure.  With the arthroscopic procedure, it would take about 45 minutes and he would essentially walk out of the hospital.  With open surgery, it would take about an hour and fifteen minutes and he'd be non-weight bearing and on crutches for six weeks.  We were hopeful that the more minor repair would take care of the problem, but we both had a gut feeling that it would require the more evasive procedure.  Before Sean went back to the OR, I asked the doctor if he would have someone notify me once he knew what he was going to have to do.  I spent the next 45 minutes or so waiting, as patiently as I could.  When the front desk lady called me over to take a call, I knew what I was about to hear...open surgery was required.  So back I went to wait.  And wait.  And wait.  Then finally, after a couple of requests for an update and over 2 hours later, the surgeon came out to tell me how it went.  Sean's tear was very significant and it was his opinion that removing the torn cartilage would have resulted in severe, early onset arthritis.  He felt that repairing the cartilage with 6 stitches and an anchor was a more long-term repair.  The surgery took longer than expected because Sean had what was known as a 'bucket handle tear', which meant he had to retract the tissue away from the bone in order to go in and flip the cartilage back into place.  When I went back to see him the first time, he was in excruciating pain.  The nurse was doing her best to make him comfortable. His blood sugar was over 300, because he had taken his pump off before the procedure.  After an hour or so in recovery, Sean's blood sugar and pain were relatively under control.  We came home and got him set up on the couch for some rest.  At that point, we knew the next 6 weeks would be a challenge, simply because he'd be on crutches.  What we didn't know?  The pain he was about to experience would be unlike either of us had ever known.  Pain that I can't even begin to describe because I didn't physically feel it.  Pain that I wished so badly to take away.  Pain that broke my heart to watch him go through.