Tag: Knee Surgery

Fitting and refinishing a walking cane – the video

/ Matt Talley / Leave a comment

As a follow-up to the knee surgery recovery and how it is all going:

After 36 years or so, I finally fit, cut, and refinished my grandfather’s oak walking cane to my dimensions and need. I have used it every time I broke an ankle/leg or had hip/ankle/knee surgery – there have been a lot of all of those due to a misspent, but exciting, youth. It was never sized right for me though and I just made due, not wanting to cut his cane. The latest knee surgery/rebuild will require me to use a cane for an extended period of time (~4 months), so I finally decided to just get it done.

This fitting is not a shot in the dark or a “..I watched a video once…” sort of a thing. I have literally fit a 100+ canes for other people – I was a PT technician at one point during college – but for some reason never got around to taking care of my own. The fact that is was my grandfather’s makes it extra special for me.

Knee Surgery

/ Matt Talley / 1 Comment

I swear to God, I am falling apart!  Being over 40 is NOT for Pussies.  I tweaked my knee on the last day of snowboard season this year – a season where I took it REALLY easy because of my hip reconstruction surgery last year.  Well, the knee kept bugging me and I finally went in early this summer to the same orthopedic surgeon who did my hip for a check out.  After a few x-rays and an MRI, it looked like I had a small meniscus tear that he could fix in a few minutes and 2 arthroscopic poke holes.  I waited until after The Ruminator’s summer visit last month and went in for a quick “procedure.”  That is where reality deviated from my plan…  After getting into my knee, the doctor found a second tear: 90+% full thickness and a ligament issue.  Two hours later I am out of surgery with a full meniscus repair, lots of stitches, a knee brace for like 6+ weeks, two weeks of bed rest, and months of physical therapy in my future.

Stamps With Foot is not happy.  I have been banned from snowboarding, skateboarding, parachuting, jumping on or off anything at all, no powered paragliding, or “any other stupid boy shit you decide to do” unless I have express Doctor’s permission and clearance.

I HATE the post-op pain killers.  They make me loopy and make it so I cannot poop.  You don’t know how important that is until you cant do it for like 5 days.  Seriously!  Have decided to take it easy, follow my recovery plan exactly, and I may heed my wife in all of her wishes this time as I am tired of bed rest and hydrocodone and could do with out either for a few more decades!


Video Update: