I injured my right knee in 1980 when I got a crochet needle stuck in it (story for another day). The damage this caused my knee joint along with my doctor's bad judgement at the time led to years of knee surgeries and knee/back pain. My knee became arthritic and had to be drained of liquid via arthoscopic knee surgery several times. After several of these surgeries a doctor finally advised me to have my right knee fused completely straight with no degree of flexation what so ever; my knee joint was toast! So, in 1990 it was fused straight and I have not been able to bend it since (well, after a few accidents it did bend a few times! OUCH!!!!!!!) This also put a end to my competitive swimming career as I could no longer do flip turns. Well, I could still do them but they looked funny as hell.
Needless to say, this changed my life in many ways but unlike most people who face diversity and give up I did not throw in the towel. I spent my entire childhood being told I couldn't do things because of my knee or being treated like a fragile piece of glass that even the slightest touch would break me. My doctor told me I would never ride a bike again and I proved him wrong! My doctor and family told me I would never play sports and I proved them all wrong ( I play ice hockey, soccer, and tennis to name a few and I play them better than people with two good knees which I'm really proud of). I have embraced my disability and proven everyone wrong time and time again.
So, I learned to live with the hand I was dealt but there has always been this voice in the back of my mind saying "you do all these things with a fused right knee, imagine if that knee could bend again????" I can't tell you how many times refs and opposing players come up to me on the ice at my hockey games and say "did you hurt yourself?" I tell them my right knee is fused straight and they are left in disbelief at how good a player I am. I have had discussions with doctors about knee replacments in the past but most of the time I have been told to wait until I was over 60 and have trouble walking etc. I also understand that if I was to have a tkr done my recovery would be much more difficult then say a person who could at least bend their damaged knee still. There are many unanswered questions. What is the state of my ligaments in that knee after 20 years of no movement? My quadricept and hamstring are considerably smaller than my left due to not being able to bend the knee. Would I have to train my mind to make me bend the knee again? etc etc As you can see there are many factors involved in this decision as I'm sure many of you know.
To finish this off, I was hoping I might meet others on this site who have maybe faced a similar situation to mine. Having a knee that was fused and then got a tkr done. I think hearing some other people's stories about the surgery and recovery would be a great help. I actual did meet one guy in a similar boat as me and he got his left fused knee replaced. However, he told me it was the worst decision he ever made in his life. Last I heard he was seriously contemplating amputation for a prostectic due to the advancement in prostecies (don't know if I spelled that right). His story didn't do much to lean me toward tkr but he was just one person.
Thanks
Needless to say, this changed my life in many ways but unlike most people who face diversity and give up I did not throw in the towel. I spent my entire childhood being told I couldn't do things because of my knee or being treated like a fragile piece of glass that even the slightest touch would break me. My doctor told me I would never ride a bike again and I proved him wrong! My doctor and family told me I would never play sports and I proved them all wrong ( I play ice hockey, soccer, and tennis to name a few and I play them better than people with two good knees which I'm really proud of). I have embraced my disability and proven everyone wrong time and time again.
So, I learned to live with the hand I was dealt but there has always been this voice in the back of my mind saying "you do all these things with a fused right knee, imagine if that knee could bend again????" I can't tell you how many times refs and opposing players come up to me on the ice at my hockey games and say "did you hurt yourself?" I tell them my right knee is fused straight and they are left in disbelief at how good a player I am. I have had discussions with doctors about knee replacments in the past but most of the time I have been told to wait until I was over 60 and have trouble walking etc. I also understand that if I was to have a tkr done my recovery would be much more difficult then say a person who could at least bend their damaged knee still. There are many unanswered questions. What is the state of my ligaments in that knee after 20 years of no movement? My quadricept and hamstring are considerably smaller than my left due to not being able to bend the knee. Would I have to train my mind to make me bend the knee again? etc etc As you can see there are many factors involved in this decision as I'm sure many of you know.
To finish this off, I was hoping I might meet others on this site who have maybe faced a similar situation to mine. Having a knee that was fused and then got a tkr done. I think hearing some other people's stories about the surgery and recovery would be a great help. I actual did meet one guy in a similar boat as me and he got his left fused knee replaced. However, he told me it was the worst decision he ever made in his life. Last I heard he was seriously contemplating amputation for a prostectic due to the advancement in prostecies (don't know if I spelled that right). His story didn't do much to lean me toward tkr but he was just one person.
Thanks