Not sure why, but I seem to want to plan everything out. I like schedules for things...and my meniscus transplant would be no different. Since I was having my surgery one week before Christmas, I had to get everything done early. I finished my shopping, got my work in order, and arranged to pick up my temporary handicap parking pass (one of the smartest things I did in the preparation). I recommend anyone having this surgery pick up the handicap parking pass since your mobility will be challenging the first 4-6 weeks after surgery.
Meanwhile, I was still waiting to see if Dr. Stone would have compatible tissues for me in time. Then I got the cough. I was coughing my lungs out the first week of December, and not thinking much of it. Then I got the call from the Stone Clinic that they had my tissues and we were a go...the cough will still there. Thankfully, a few days prior to the surgery, my cough went away. The last item of our organization was to pick the hotel in which we were going to stay during the surgery. My wife and I planned to go down the day before, have my pre-op, pick up meds at the pharmacy, and have a nice dinner. We would be staying three nights, and I wanted to be comfortable after the surgery, so we chose our favorite hotel -- the Saint Francis located on Union Square. At 12:30 on December 17, 2007, I said goodbye to my staff, and Tina and I drove to SF, dropping the kids off at the in-laws for a few days on the way.
We arrived at the Stone Clinic around 4:00 p.m., went over everything with Lola, the great PA, and she provided me with the prescriptions to fill that evening. While I was joking about how easy knee surgery was (after all, I have had three previous scopes on that knee), Lola was quick to point out this was much more than a simple scope. Tina and I ran our errands, had dinner, and I shaved my leg as per the pre-op instructions. I couldn't help but wonder how I would be feeling in 24 hours...the smile you see above is a nervous smile. For the first time ever, I was a bit scared about this knee operation.
It was M-Day minus one.
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