I was going through my posts looking for something else and stumbled upon this post of mine from Sept 2013. Since I’m still pretty busy with other things (like physical therapy), and my posts have fallen waaay behind, I thought I’d repost this, because I think it offers some really good writing insight…and because MilHiCon51 is coming up, so I thought it might help me “get into the mood.”
Anyway, take a read – click here.
Knee Surgery September 11, 2019 (© 2019 F. P. Dorchak)
On September 11th, 2019, I had knee surgery to remove a meniscus flap tear and clean up a ton of scar tissue. I’d been at home on crutches until September 15th. But the docs have these Sequential Compression Devices (SCDs) that inflate and deflate once per minute, and I’m to wear those for two weeks after the surgery, which means I take them off September 25. I’m to wear them at all times I’m not upright or moving, which includes sleeping. They help prevent blood clots, but no definitive studies have been done.
I’m writing this post to put some information out there I never found. Maybe I was wording my searches improperly, but I just wanted people in my situation or similar to be aware of a few things no one told me, or I’d been given contradictory information. You can do a search for the more encyclopedic aspects of this post that I’m not going to cover (sorry!). It would take too much time, and I don’t have a lot of that right now, given trying to get daily stuff done and do physical therapy three times a day, at an hour to and hour and half or so a shot. I haven’t written a word in my novel since Sept 11th because of this.
First off: you will hear contradictory info from EVERYONE. And I mean EVERYONE, from well-meaning and expert medical team to Physical Therapists (PT; also may mean “physical therapy”). It doesn’t mean the info is incorrect, it just means it contradicts. So, it could be incorrect, correct, or just “humanized” by humans who can’t quite remember all the finer details. Even from the PT and medical literature. Just do your due diligence and err conservatively. Do too much or too little, whatever the case may be, to get back on track.
Ask tons of questions–and RECORD THEM. Yes, ask your medical and PT providers if they mind if you record them. The good ones won’t care. The conspiracy theoried or not-quite-good ones will be taken aback and decline. Again, doesn’t mean they’re bad folk, some people are just wary. If can’t record…write this shit down.
Background
When I was 18 years old, I was running a two-mile run at a track meet, when a hairline tear in my meniscus caused me to drop out before the first bend. I don’t recall doctors doing anything about it, and have been since been told that back then there really was nothing that could be done. For nearly 40 years it had zero affect on everything I’d done…running, marital arts, road and mountain biking, hiking, heavy-rope jump roping, weight lifting (squats!), swimming, you name it. Then, about two years ago, I was doing routine leg extensions, nothing heavy, excellent form, and felt and heard a POP!
Well, that can’t be good I thought to myself.
Fluid soon surfaced around my knee joint. Couldn’t even drain it with a large-gauge needle. Continued to workout and live with it, but it became more and more of an issue, until this past year when my knee began randomly buckling. Earlier this year I had Synvisc/cortisone injections into it with no correction.
My opposite hip has gotten far worse this year, requiring a replacement (which I’m getting next month). Since things were so negatively progressing, and I’m not yet anywhere near 80 (okay, maybe to 20-year-olds I am!), I decided might as well correct both, so did the knee first (it’s smaller surgery, quicker recovery). I’m not Olympiad fit, but I’m pretty damned fit, and both of these injuries have extremely impacted my fitness life, not to mention life in general. I haven’t hiked in two weeks (surgery notwithstanding), because my last hike caused extreme pain in my hip. I used to have a resting heart rate in the 40s, for crying out loud! No more running for me. Used to be able to do both front and side spits!
Mens sana in corpore sano: “a healthy mind in a healthy body”…this is how I’ve tried to live my entire life. Ever since I’d learned the “a sound mind in a healthy body,” I’ve done my best to epitomize it. I wasn’t stupid about my health or fitness training…and still take it quite seriously. Sure, perhaps once or thrice over some 40 years of training I did something stupid…but not enough to impact me and permanently bring me down. Just to make me extra sore for two weeks, maybe. I always did proper form and used proper amounts of weights—which to some would very much look stupidly heavy to one not a gym rat. But I know my body and my ability.
But, still, you lift, you run, you do marital arts, you bike…doesn’t matter. If you are physically fit, chances are you WILL get injured at some point. Maybe not in your 20s…or your 30s, but, dammit, your 40s and 50s sneak up real quickly. And I hate to put stuff like this “in your heads,” but look at me. I had a good run of things until I hit 57, then I tore my subscapularis. Yes, I was using heavy weight, but it was heavy weight I’d been using for years. I was smart about it. Proper form. Thing is as you age, your body changes, and who-knows-what-else has become a weak link in there you don’t even feel, but something will happen and you’ll be forever changed. I no longer lift heavy. I’ve learned. Adapted. I just wish I’d really understood in my youth what would come from all my heavy lifting, because though my original answer to my wife’s question of if-I-knew-then-what-I-know-now-would-I-have-changed-my-workout-routines-answer-of-“No,” would now be a “Yes.” Sure, I’d still weight train, but not like the beast I’d been (in college, at an off-campus gym, bunch of us would always gather around the other during heavy-heavy lifting, like cheat-deads or squats, and YELL at each other. Yes. Loudly. Yeah, there was lots of testosterone in them days!).
I’m not telling you all this to brag…but to let you know I’ve been there.
I’ve been…and still am…a gym rat. I never entertained thoughts of failure or injury into my work outs. Never. I knew (and know) my capabilities…knew how far I could realistically push myself. And I tell you this because as careful as I was, I was still smacked down with two surgeries from my antics, if you will: shoulder and knee. Both are fitness injuries that would never have otherwise occurred. Never. Only because I was a runner and a lifter. Period. My surgeon calmly rattled off how lifter injuries are inherent to the effort. How that if you lift, these are your likely stats from the 40s on up, and though I can no longer remember them, they floored me. “It’s just a matter of time,” he said, and this guy is a sports-specialist who did a Fellowship study under the globally #1 renowned hip replacement guru Dr. Steadman Philippon, at his Institute in Vail. I believe the stats were along the lines of once you hit your 60s there’s some 40-60% you’ll tear something serious enough for surgery.
My arthritic hip, however, appears genetic. My dad and at least one sibling have hip issues, with my dad having had a hip replacement of his own.
Surgery Prep
Find prehab exercises and DO them. Religiously.
I did this for some four months before my shoulder surgery and it made a freaking difference. My excellent health also was a factor. Just by getting “opened up” you automatically lose something like 20% of your physical “capability.” Then you add to this whatever it is that the surgery is doing to you. So, if you’re sedentary, you’re at a far more diminished capacity than someone who works out.
Someone who works out in an activity that involves pain and body stress also far better tolerates surgical pain than the sedentary individual. This was why I was told I didn’t feel any pain (not an ounce!) during my shoulder surgery last year. Not even a scooch. Okay, cool. Thanks, fitness. And this year, except for the second day (my knee’s surgery pack swelling really hit me, no ice while sleeping, once after all the surgery meds wore off), I’ve also felt zero pain in my knee. No pain meds. One more to go…hope the trend continues.
Ever since I’d learned about my hip being a total-replacement candidate some ten years ago, I’ve been doing specific gym training to mitigate that—that one machine that has a roller on a pivot, called the Rotary Hip machine, where I exercise all four directions of my legs. It takes some 10-15 minutes, but I want those specifics muscles strong come hip replacement time. Those movements were the PT I was given way back, when first diagnosed.
For the shoulder, go to a PT and ask for a regime. It involves working out what I call the “tiny, no-seeum muscles” of the shoulders. You only need some five pounds or less to work them out, doing 15 reps of each exercise, everyday, first thing in the morning. Shit works, man. I swear by it. Still do em. I showed these to a guy (my age) at the gym who’d been having bench press problems, and he started doing them once/week, and they helped him with his bench. Even if you’re not a gym rat, and are an average person, I still advise doing these, because so many people tear their shoulders out doing things like lifting-and-removing luggage on planes. A family member did exactly that and had to have surgery.
And…if you have Short-Term Disability (STD) at your work, TAKE it.
Take TWO WEEKS.
You’ll think I’m crazy, but heck, man, everyone needs a break, and you need to REST and RECUPERATE. I actually had two weeks all in the bag for the knee—and cancelled it. Cause everyone told me it’s no big deal, I’ll be up and running in three days.
Well, not exactly. Or the medical staff post-hab is different and they don’t all require the same post-hab mechanics.
My surgeon, who specializes in SPORTS-RELATED medicine, prescribes rehab. Apparently, not all docs do. But I want it…I want to get back to where I was and keep fit…but also…apparently not all docs prescribe SCDs. I don’t know enough about the Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT), but I know enough to follow medical advice. And it’s such a “small thing” to yield big returns…like helping to allow one to keep breathing.
Remember I said to “err conservatively”?
So, if you get those things, you’ll have to wear them for TWO WEEKS every time you’re NOT on your feet or moving…which includes while you sleep. When you’re on your feet and moving, you’re already forcing the blood to keep moving. I was told I didn’t need to use them when standing or moving. Yes, they’re annoying as hell after a spell, but it’s only two weeks, and we gym rats all know and have done “forced reps,” so just deal with it. Everything’s temporary.
You’ll also be prescribed PT, which you’ll have to do 2-3xs a DAY. This takes time! My PT, which I have to do 3xs a day is between 45 and 75 minutes per session. That’s 3.25 hours a day of PT. Yeah. And that doesn’t count the extra icing you’re supposed to do for a while early on, 15 – 20 minutes a clip.
Take the STD.
Are you really gonna want to work from home and manage all this? Maybe you do, if you really live for your work, but it sucks up my day and kills any fiction writing I’d do before work. Then we’re dealing with contractor bids and such from half a dozen different entities to do some exterior damage correction on our house, then repaint, just living life and dealing with all that comes up throughout your days, well, your days gets filled pretty quickly.
Take the STD, if you have it. I will be taking it for my hip R&R.
Knee Surgery
When the surgeon went in, he found a lot of scar tissue and that the tear had rubbed off a section of cartilage…but the rest of kneecap and meniscus were good. Had I known that cartilage would have been rubbed off, I would have done the surgery far earlier…but there’s just no way of knowing this. ASK QUESTIONS! Everybody’s different. No one ever mentioned this…or if they did, it wasn’t impressed upon me enough. I don’t know. And the thing about meniscus tears is that they have a very thin top portion of it that receives a blood supply—and it is only that thin section that can be repaired. If the tear goes through that thin upper portion into the rest of the meniscus (like mine) that does not have that blood supply, you cannot repair the tear. It has to be removed. Or trimmed. It interferes with legs stability (I never felt any pain). So he trimmed away the damaged portion and cleaned up my scar tissue. My Physical Therapist feels I can make a full recovery and not have to worry about the missing cartilage—or needing Synvisc shots for the rest of my life–given I have the bulk of my meniscus and my fitness. Whew.
Adapt or Die
Get preventive as you age!
As I mentioned above, find those little PT exercises to bolster any weak areas you may have as you age…but most importantly, do some resistance training. Do something. Get out and move. Do calisthenics, Tai Chi. Walk. It was initially weird that I wasn’t moving mountains of iron in the gym after my shoulder surgery, but I got used to it. I’d had my day. I’d had fun lifting. I’ve always been fascinated by moving heavy weight. Those days are gone at 58 years of age, and I’m good with that! Some folks are doing that high-impact shit at places I won’t name, and I’m telling you:
DON’T!!!
It doesn’t take a genius to figure this out: you keep ramming your body against and into stuff, and something’s GONNA give. Break.
Look at all these military folk—special forces people—being medically retired or released because of destroyed joints. These were fit twenty-year-olds forced to the extremes of their physical limits, and for a while were freaking bad-ass. But if they were lucky enough to grow older, they developed joint (and other) issues. And they were trained by the best to be bad ass. Also think football. Not just the the never-talked-about head injury epidemic, but all that body and joint damage.
And another example: when I was big into Marital Arts in my 20s, I was friends with the #2 Kansas full-contact karate champ, also in his 20s. He told me one morning that his body creaked and ached until he did all his stretches first thing. If often wonder how he is these days. I’ve seen him repetitively deflect hard sticks smacked into his bare forearms without a tear or a flinch.
Why go looking for something like this when lives aren’t actually at stake except for your own?
Sure it feels fun—I’ve done it, the explosive, powerful, plyometric movements that make you feel like a freaking superhero, but geez, none of us are superheros. We’re human. Do something else that doesn’t require constantly pounding and smacking your body all to hell. Good God, the arthritis that is coming for ALL those gym rats as they age…I just can’t bear to think about it.
Take it from guy who required two surgeries because of his fitness antics when he wasn’t even trying to be “stupid” in the gym…think and reevaluate your fitness regimes. It’s never too late. You may think it won’t happen to you…and you may be one-in-a-million. But you may not. And after this third surgery in just over a year, I’m really hoping I don’t have to ever go in again.
To borrow a phrase from The Lost Boys, when you’re 20, you’ll never die and you’ll never grow old…
But if you’re lucky, you will grow older. Please plan for that, and stop the madness.
Mindset is Everything
One last thing (I added this after I posted because I forgot about it, sorry!): your mindset is EVERYTHING.
I’ll say it again, because it’s that important:
YOUR MINDSET IS EVERYTHING
If you feel you decay as you get older, you will grow old in far worse shape mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually than others who do not hold that mindset.
If you feel that when you get cut into, you’ll never be the same, you’ll prove yourself correct.
But…if you believe in yourself, your recuperative powers, and never being held down by anything, include temporary stops to the Surgery Store, you will blow people away with your rehabilitation and recuperation.
If you believe in yourself and the goodness of your life and direction, you will be that person that others will look at, like, damn, really? He’s 60?
We all grow physically older, but that doesn’t mean we should start planting ourselves in the ground before we actually get there. I know a guy who still works out in his 80s. And he’s no freaking pushover. He’s a retired neurologist.
Keep moving until you can’t any longer. Adapt. have fun. Be radiant. Let yourself and others know you still have a powerful, positive energy about yourself…and it will carry over into everything about you, including you recuperation from all of the above. Your outlook on Life.
Let nothing get in the way of your life.
Everything is temporary.
Your mindset is everything.
Shoulder Surgery Posts
Shoulder Surgery, August 29, 2018
Last month my wife and I went back to see my folks in upstate NY. When were weren’t hanging out at the house, we were driving out and about, as usual, but lately have taken up “Waterfall Huntin’,” as I’ve come to calling it. On one of my previous trips back home by myself, my stepmom had told me about a nearby waterfall, so we went to see it, and when I left to return to Colorado, she’d given me a book, Waterfalls of New York State. Ever since, I’ve been picking out some from this book and making the effort to go find them. It’s been quite the enjoyable pursuit, especially since I am a fan of the falling waters!
I took all images with my Nikon D3500, in various manual modes, with and without polarization.
High Falls Gorge, Wilmington, NY
It is quite the experience to stand before all this raging water and feel the pounding and hear the thunder of these powerful forces of nature! To feel the wind and splashes of water hitting your face! The temperature drops as you go down deeper and deeper into the gorges these waterfalls have created!
High Falls Gorge is a popular tourist attraction that is located between Lake Placid and Wilmington, directly off NY 86, part of the West Branch of the Ausable River. I don’t ever remember visiting this waterfall, even as a kid. During the past couple of our NYS trips, my wife and I had tried to stop by, but either it was too late and was closed, or it had been raining. This time, we made it our first stop, and it was a gorgeous day!
This is not a free visit. There’s a quaint little gift shop there through which all is managed: to buy waterfall and North Country gifts, eat, and use restrooms. Then you enter the falls through the rear of the gift shop to the trail. Admission is about $11 or so, but it’s worth it. You get a brochure that guides you through everything. Without this gift shop setup, most people would not be able to visit these falls, because the terrain is quite extreme. The maintained trail is composed of dirt, rocks, wooden paths, and stairs, and it’s listed in the book as a “moderate” effort. Were you just to walk it and not lollygag, like I did, it’d be maybe, like a 30-minute venture or something. It took us even longer, because it had been a year since I’d practiced taking manual shots of flowing water (there’s technique and art to it), and it being in a deep-cut gorge, the lighting was a constant challenge. So…some of these are over or underexposed, but for me, I think I got some really good images for a rank amateur!
High Falls Gorge.
West Branch of the Ausable River.
First Set of Falls, High Falls Gorge.
Anorthosite Boulder, High Falls Gorge. 1.5 Billion Years Old.
One of Many Viewing Areas, High Falls Gorge.
Master Pothole, High Falls Gorge.
High Falls Gorge Venturi Effect.
Another Set of Falls, High Falls Gorge.
Climax Falls, High Falls Gorge.
High Falls Gorge Walkway.
High Falls Gorge Walkway.
Another High Falls Gorge Pothole.
Somewhere Down The Line, High Falls Gorge.
Cascade and Rushton Falls, Canton, NY
These falls are not as “cut” and deep as High Falls Gorge, but it is still wonderful to hear the roar of the falls as you approach…then find a view of them as you poke your way through trees and underbrush, as you leave the maintained trail.
Cascade and Rushton Falls are located in the Grasse River, in downtown Canton, just past the intersection of US 11 and 68. There is bridge and a maintained, village-run mini-park. If you blink, you will literally miss the turn-in, so keep your eyes peeled (if you come from US 11, like we did, the waterfall entrance is on your right, the parking area is on Willow Island, and the rest of this park is across the street, where there’s even a PortaPotty), after the first set of light and before the bridge, after you drive through the business district!
These waterfalls are created by the island that interrupts the Grasse River’s flow. This is also a well-maintained waterfall, but it’s free. And the paths are easy and fun to walk and explore. You can easily hoof it on the path in a handful of minutes, which we both did—my wife more than me, because, again, I had to stop and take multiple pictures. There are strategically place placards describing various aspects of the falls.
On the mainland side of the east channel is a memorial plague in honor of J. Henry Rushton (1843-1906). He was a famous canoe builder of the time, and made Canton his home. He made lightweight cedar canoes, as well as guide boats, sailboats, and other vessels that all became internationally famous.
Sorry I haven’t broken out which falls are which, below. I know the Rushton Falls span a larger horizontal width, but that still doesn’t help me in identifying my shots!
Cascade and Rushton Falls Entry Walkway.
Cascade and Rushton Falls Walkway.
Cascade and Rushton Falls Walkway.
Cascade and Rushton Falls, Canton, NY
Cascade and Rushton Falls, Canton, NY
Close Up, Cascade and Rushton Falls, Canton, NY
Cascade and Rushton Falls, Canton, NY
Cascade and Rushton Falls, Canton, NY
Messing With Polarization The Filter: Looks like night time!
A Very Big Rock. Cascade and Rushton Falls, Canton, NY
Cascade and Rushton Falls, Canton, NY
Cascade and Rushton Falls, Canton, NY
Related Posts
Last night we went to a Rockies game at Coors Field, in Denver, in honor of a family member’s birthday. We go every year and enjoy the fireworks afterward.
(© 2019 F. P. Dorchak) Coors Stadium
This year’s game was against the Houston Astros, and it was a fun game, lots of back-and-forth, some really great plays, and one or two flubs (shows you even the pros make mistakes!). To me, that all makes for a fun outing! Rockies lost by one (8-9). It was a well-matched and hard-fought game! I am a baseball fan, played as a kid (RF outfielder), and there is nothing like watching a live game.
The entire family went, and we rented a suite. I mean, really, that is the way to go! It’s catered, and you sit protected from the sun and 100-mph foul balls (though, admittedly, you also never even have the chance to snag one, either…). In the suite you can sit inside or outside in two rows of stadium seating for 12.
(© 2019 F. P. Dorchak) View of Rockies Press Boxes From Our Suite
This year we were situated behind Home plate, just “this side” of First Base. We’ve usually been situated between Third Base and Home. There are no bad locations, it was just cool to see a different perspective.
(© 2019 F. P. Dorchak) Rockies Field Before Play
The food is great! And since it was a birthday, we also ordered a cake. Their cakes are most wunderbar! This time we brought Tupperware to take the rest of it home with us—yeah, you can do that! We’d talked about doing so several years (we’ve been renting an annual suite for seven years), and this year we finally remembered to bring the danged plastic!
(© 2019 F. P. Dorchak) A Rockies Birthday Cake
As I’ve previously stated, I feel that the Coors Field fireworks are the best display I’ve ever witnessed! The Rockies allow us rank-and-file to come out onto the field during them, and it’s so stinkin’ much fun, as you see them going off above you, laying down in the outfield!
(© 2019 F. P. Dorchak) Heading Out Onto The Field For Fireworks!
For those who have difficulty getting around, you can stay in some of the seating areas you sat in for the game (some don’t have the needed visibility), or watch from the main concourse. For those who rent suites, you can watch from the balconies, at one end of stadium, by the massive video display near Left Field. I’ve alternated between balconies and main concourse, and I don’t feel there’s a bad spot anywhere.
(© 2019 F. P. Dorchak) View From Suites’ Balcony For The Fireworks.
FIREWORKS!
(© 2019 F. P. Dorchak) BOOM!
(© 2019 F. P. Dorchak) BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!
(© 2019 F. P. Dorchak) More BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!
(© 2019 F. P. Dorchak) Still More BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!
(© 2019 F. P. Dorchak) But Wait There’s MORE BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!
I will tell you, however, that if you catch them from the main concourse by this video display you are right there…and will get extra loud explosions and all kinds of black powder and smoke! We’ve even had paper shards drift down around us one year, as we observed from the balcony! I love that! This year The Rockies gave us ear plugs, and I used them halfway through, and they did help and weren’t a bother or hinder at all the whole experience.
(© 2019 F. P. Dorchak) Check Out That SMOKE!
When all was said and done, the drive home, dropping off our family member, my wife and I got to bed at two a.m. That’s almost when I get up to write!
Speaking of which….
Do The Dead Dream? 2017 Best Book Awards Winner for Fiction: Short Stories
