My in laws are practical people, when someone needs help, you help them, when something is broke, you fix it. My mother in law's knees, damaged by arthritis, had been bothering her for some time, and she made the decision that it was time to do something about it, simple as that. One nice thing about my husband's family, UberGeek included, is that they are very positive in their focus. They assess things, research their options and move forward, ready to implement their plan.
My in laws researched the candidates for knee surgeons and decided on Dr. Mary O'Connor at the Mayo Clinic. We are lucky to have Dr. O'Connor, one of the best surgeons in her field, right here in Jacksonville. Dr. O'Connor recommended the Brooks Total Joint Rehabilitation program for rehabilitation, and it was time to schedule the first knee.
MIL decided on a few days before Thanksgiving for the first knee replacement. The second knee was optimistically scheduled for Valentines, keeping up with the tradition of scheduling things around a holiday. When people heard me say that my seventy something year old MIL was getting two knee replacements in three months, mostly they issued dire warnings. "She'll never get the second one done, the first one will be so painful." "Most people never keep up with the rehab, they don't rehab the knee properly." "The new knee won't ever work right." I listened and worried about my MIL endlessly, asking UberGeek what he thought. Typically, he replied, "She has the best surgeon and my dad will make her do the rehab, she'll be fine."
The first surgery went as planned with a short recovery at her suite in the Mayo Hospital, then she was off to rehab at Brooks. There they put her through the paces with rehab every day, several times a day. She was amazed by all the different things the therapists had her do, and how her range of motion changed day by day. MIL couldn't believe anyone would get a joint replacement and go straight home from the hospital without a stay at rehab. After two weeks at the total joint rehabilitation program, she was discharged and continued her therapy three times a week at a Brooks outpatient clinic, with my father in law closely supervising.
Tonight I went to visit my mother in law in the hospital where she is recovering after having the second knee replaced. As my father in law said, "It's a good thing she's not an octopus." She looked great and was in good spirits; for a hospital room, she had pretty nice digs. So I'll just say the thing that gives UberGeek the most satisfaction in life, "You were right" and this is one time I'm happy to let him say "I told you so."
