[pct-l] Fw: Knee surgery

[Bill & Cathy]

> Hi, I'm groundpounder Bill's wife Cathy (Wildcat), Bill just had a total 
> knee replacement on his right knee,, for about a year the doctor tried 
> scraping, shots and other procedures. So far Bill has been a section hiker 
> from Mexico to Kennedy Meadows..But he plans on doing his thru hike 2010.. 
> This is why he decided to have the rplacement. On his last 4 day hike his 
> knee pretty much blew up.. He had watched me for over ten years, deal with 
> shots and treatments that only lasted for a short time, I got to a point 
> that I could not walk without pain. Finally I had my first knee 
> replacement one year ago and then the other one second 6 months ago.. I 
> waited WAY too long and it caused a LOT more damage. Now I am walking 
> without pain and I'm doing small hikes.. I know it will take awhile longer 
> but it was diffenitly worth it..Our doctor, who is a great one, told us 
> NOT to have them both done at the same time. You do not recover as 
> well..and it still takes a long time. You need the strength of your good 
> leg to help the other heal.. Yes there is a lot of pain, maybe for the 
> first week or two, then every day gets better just as long as you continue 
> your therepy and never stop.. Its just been five days for Bill but he is 
> already recovering nicely and can't wait to get back on the trail.. Good 
> luck to you Cathy
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "William A. Chavez" <wctrekker at dslextreme.com>
> To: <pct-l at backcountry.net>
> Sent: Wednesday, May 13, 2009 8:56 AM
> Subject: [pct-l] Knee surgery
>
>
>> Hi,
>>
>> Has anyone on the list undergone knee replacement surgery.  I
>> understand that the pain goes away but are people able to hike after
>> the surgery?
>> My right knee is the big problem but I assume the left is not far
>> behind.  Is it practical to have both done at the same time?  I do
>> not want to start a hike in 2010 and find I have to stop because I
>> didn't have both knees done.
>>
>> You may want to reply off the list since this isn't PCT specific.
>>
>> As a side note I am getting individual e-mails instead of one e-mail
>> with a variety of posts.  Is this new or did I change something with
>> out knowing what I did?
>>
>> Bill
>> _______________________________________________
>> Pct-l mailing list
>> Pct-l at backcountry.net
>> http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l
>