Lessons Learned From Three Knee Replacement Surgeries!

3 knee replacement surgeries in 3 years on the same knee! They even took the knee joint out and left it out for a month! Did I get your attention? Knee replacement surgery is pretty common today. Knee replacements help a lot of people and are a very successful operation. I am the exception to the rule! I tore the meniscus in my left knee when I was 18 and three years later I had surgery to remove the meniscus on the inside of my left knee.

About 30 years later the knee joint was down to bone on bone and painful. I went to three doctors and they all said the knee joint needed replaced. The surgery was done and after a year my knee was not working well. I was on crutches and in a lot of pain. I had a second surgery. The doctor said my body had made about three quarters of an inch of scar tissue. He said he thought that is why the first knee did not work right.

Two years later and I was back to crutches again. A third replacement was scheduled after lots of test. The doctors and myself devised a plan we thought would work. The knee joint was removed and left out for a month. I was put on intravenous antibiotics. After the month I had surgery and the new joint was put in. Everything seemed to work out good. After about two months it started going downhill. I have inflammation in the tissue around the joint. After more research and more tests we have come to the conclusion I'm allergic to the metal it's made out of.

The point of this whole story is I have never given up on life. As an example last summer we went to Pocono Raceway in Pennsylvania and did a ride along in NASCAR Race Car. That was exciting going over 170 mph. We just got back from a white water raft trip on the South Fork of the Payette River in Idaho. My wife and I both love to ride roller coasters and have been to numerous theme parks in the past few years. I still have fun in life and do a lot of exciting things with my lovely wife.

I am always ask by my friends why I am always so happy and have a positive attitude. What I have to remember is that I do not have to like what is going on in my life, but I do not have to be miserable because of it. The misery is optional! It is your choice. You can choose to be happy or miserable. I choose to be happy! Life is great!

This goes for about anything in my life. In this down economy I have to remember that I do not have to like what is happening in my life, but I do not have to be miserable. What's your choice?