Helene Roussi

Thanks for visiting my Caring Bridge site.  I have been following recommendations intended to speed my recovery from an upcoming surgery, and one of those recommendations was to seek support via a Caring Bridge site.  I have been resistant to seeking support, but also know if I need to be dragged kicking and screaming to do something, it's something I need to do. So I can't promise I will stick with updating this, but I am going to give it a shot.


The surgery is what they call a 'revision' to my Total Knee Replacement (TKR), performed in 2012.  It was a problem from the very beginning and has caused more pain after the surgery than before. They make the 'revision' sound like an upgrade, and I guess I hope that's true.  I certainly hope to be in less pain after it heals.


Even before the surgery there were a few road bumps (not counting the fact that it was badly done). The surgeon who performed the surgery is no longer at Ohio State, and my case was transferred to the head of the Orthopedic Surgery Department.  He wouldn't acknowledge any mistake on the part of his former colleague, but was clear that it needed to be replaced. I kind of got off on the wrong foot with him, however, when I told him I could kill him with a cane.  I didn't say I WOULD....only that I could.  I was kidding.  I had asked him for his recommendations to reduce my pain in the 8 months between when I saw him in March and my surgery in November.  He said to use a cane.  I rolled my eyes.  He asked why I didn't want to use a cane...was it because of how it looked?  I burst out laughing, saying I had a second degree black belt; he had no idea what I could do with a can.  I could kill him with a cane.  So it wasn't how it looked.  It's that it slowed me down.  The resident sitting behind him started to crack up, then, realizing his boss was not laughing, choked it back. Already I'm afraid I am not his favorite patient.