Stuc a' Chroin and Ben Vorich

Stuc a' Chroin and Ben Vorich

Saturday 14 September 2013

14 September - Dilemma

With the holiday nearly over (and it has been a really enjoyable one) I/we now face a decision: to go to the Lakes at the beginning of October for 12 days and then get my GP to set the ball rolling for knee surgery, or cancel the Lakes trip and just get things moving next week.

If I were advising someone else I'd probably tell them just to get on with the surgery asap and be fit for next year. I've never been good at taking my own advice, but I'll have to make my mind up soon.

Meantime an easy day with perhaps a coffee at Gordon's.


Sent from my BlackBerry®

11 comments:

Sir Hugh said...

What you need to know is the predicted recovery period after the operation. When I had arthrosopies that was relatively short, which in your case would permit the Lakes trip giving plenty of time to recover before next Spring. My replacement knee joint is still giving problems after 16 months with the possibility of further surgery, but others seem to recover quickly, but even if all goes well it probably takes 3 months. I'm not sure what your proposed op involves.

If you come to the Lakes and your plans allow, you would be welcome to call in here for a brew or whatever and perhaps a walk, depending on my own knee situation.

Phreerunner said...

Hello Gibson
I've just enjoyed catching up with your exploits. Pleased to discover that you've had some enjoyable outings despite The Knee. You seem to be succeeding well with the Blackberry as well, which is nice to see.
Best wishes for the surgery, whenever you decide to have it done.
Martin

Anonymous said...

Hi Gibson,

My instinctive fecklessness prompts me to say go for the lakes first (provided that the knee is up to the holiday you have planned) and then confront the knee surgery. It's probably not good advice and shouldn't be taken as such; it's just me being honest about what I would most probably do.

Whatever you decide, good luck with it.

afootinthehills said...

Hello Conrad. The surgery involves trimming and smoothing a small tear in the posterior horn of the medial meniscus - fairly routine if any surgery can be called routine. I had the same op in 1995 on my right knee and was back on the hills in 6 weeks. My present difficulty is in not knowing how long I'll have wait for the surgery given I did not have it done immediately following the result of the MRI scan back in June. Will I have to wait the full 12 weeks to see the surgeon again then several more for the op?

I'm hoping I won't have to wait that long - perhaps 6 to 8 weeks my GP reckons, maybe, possibly....

We have just returned from Braemar today and will have to decide soon.

Thanks for your kind invitation to drop in for a brew and walk (collective knees permitting). I'll drop you an email separately regarding this once I know whether or not I'm coming down and when others, who are supposedly joining us periodically, are actually arriving, if at all!

afootinthehills said...

Hi Martin. Are you on the mend? We had a lovely,varied holiday and repeated eight Munros and three Corbetts without my knee objecting too much. I find the BlackBerry easy to use for blogging although I seem to be always rushing to get posts written up, which sometimes is obvious to the reader I'm sure!

Thanks for your good wishes re the surgery.

afootinthehills said...

Thanks Dave. When I left for Braemar, the plan was clear: I was going to the Lakes before having the surgery. Now things seem a little less clear but I need to decide soon and get my GP to write to the consultant, otherwise I won't gain any significant time on the waiting so there will be no point in cancelling the Lakes!




Phreerunner said...

Thanks Gibson
Wait until you get the spacebar problem! In the meantime, happy Blackberry blogging. My two Blackberrys served me well for over 5 years.
I am slowly on the mend, thanks, though the most/only exercise I've had in the past two weeks was a gentle walk to the shops and back (4 km) today. The pain is slowly reducing. Cause is a mystery. I think I'd get the surgery over with...

Martin Rye said...

Get fixed and then get outdoors more than the short-term plan would offer. All the best with things.

afootinthehills said...

Thanks Martin. I'll probably come down in favour of getting the op done as soon as possible, not so much because I can't get out regularly at present (I'll be out 4 or 5 times a week as usual) but because I want to be back to full fitness early next year so that backpacking trips are a realistic prospect from April onwards.

AlanR said...

For what my opinion is worth, I would go to the Lakes. While the weather is still reasonable take the chance. There will be loads of recovery time when its snow and ice on the ground. You will still be ready for next spring.

afootinthehills said...

Hi Alan. Those were my thoughts right up to last weekend but I've now decided to have surgery as soon as possible so, alas, have cancelled the Lakes holiday. I've put up with it for over a year now which is long enough! Pity about the Lakes though.