Monday, February 11, 2008

Monday 2/11/2008 - A Different Kind of Day

Well today has been a different kind of day for us, Cindy (my wife) & I drove up to the Philadelphia area last evening after dropping off one of our three Tibetian Terriers (dogs) - Dmitri - at the breeders to board while we are up here. We spent last night at the Radnor Hotel and then came over to Bryn Mawr Hospital where she just came out of surgery after getting her left knee replaced. The whole day, while stressful, has been pleasant. Her doctor - Joseph Vernace, MD is one of a few Orthopedic Surgeons in the country using a new type of replacement knee joint called the "Triathlon Knee" and who also has several techniques and approaches that finally gave Cindy the confidence to get her joint replaced after putting it off for seven years. Cindy does home health care as a visiting nurse and over the past 15 years she has seen many folks who've had issues after knee replacement surgery so she has many opinions on what works and doesn't as well as fears about the worst she's seen. She also wanted to wait as long as possible to minimize the chances of the replacement joint wearing out and having to get the surgery two or three times in her remaining lifetime. The technique that this new, custom sized replacement enables actually cuts less bone and muscle tissue and though I haven't seen her yet, the just completed surgery was a little over an hour vice two or more using convetional knee replacement joints. As for the hospital and overall experience so far, I am delighted - it seems the care my wife is getting is very good, and the experience has been made as pleasant as possible for family members too. Just the idea that my wife will soon again be able to walk without pain would have made the trip worth it but the way that Bryn Mawr Hospital is set up for this type of thing and the way everyone here (doctors, staff and volunteers) handles the entire experience so far has been world class.

Interestingly, I haven't thought about the Washington Capitals all day, though I have handled several work related telcons with colleagues from ICx Technologies, Inc and talked in passing with several Eagles and/or Giants fans about the Super Bowl while here in the hospital waiting room. As Caps fans know this is a big week - 3 Southeast Division games and after yesterday's win over the Rangers the Caps are again first in the division. LETS GO CAPS!!!! though I doubt I'll follow much of this weeks games you never know what type of diversions from life's normal upsa and downs I might seek and three SE division matchups might be hard to ignore even during a week where I'll spend most of my time up here in Flyers Country.

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