Well first of all, I still haven't turned on the heat. Depending on where you live, that might not seem like a big deal, but we've had some chilly nights here in the Northeast.  With the local pricing of heating oil at $5.29 a gallon, every precious drop counts. On a cool evening, I just throw on a sweater.

There is total knee replacement in my very near term future. My right knee has been problematic for a long time. What probably doesn't help is the untreated ACL tear I had in my early 20s when my then-boyfriend was teaching me tae-kwon-do and my foot got stuck in the pillow he was holding as the target. Fast forward to about 5 years ago when I tore my menescus (same knee) apparently from doing exercises at home during Covid. Had to have surgery for that.

Since then, the knee has been "ok," but it acts as a definite ceiling to what I can do physically with it. Working out is very important to me but both my knees really limit what I can do. And when I returned from hiking during my Finger Lakes trip of September, OMG. I could only hobble around for a full week. The knee was buckling every few steps. This is what propelled me to schedule a visit with a surgeon, who told me yeah, it is bone on bone plus I have bone spurs from osteoarthritis. He suggested total knee replacement, but, well, it bothered me that he saw me sitting there with my list of questions and yet he rose and was reaching for the door to signal our conversation was over before I was finished with my questions.  Not only that, but he told me he was not a knee specialist, which I figured he was since my research told me (and he confirmed) he does about 150 knee replacements a year.

Well, I DO want a knee specialist, so did more research and found someone I'll be seeing in a few days. He has very good credentials. He was the head of orthopedic surgery at area hospital, has written quite a few papers, etc. etc. Some people have said he doesn't have the best bedside manner, but that's not really what I'm "hiring" him for. It's his expertise that counts, and hopefully his communication skills.

I have traditional Medicare along with a supplemental plan and I've already met my deductible for 2026, so I'm not expecting any big bills.

I remember how quickly they were able to schedule my menescus tear surgery 5 years ago, so this time around, I have already spent a whole lot of time getting ready for this surgery: borrowing various devices from friends, buying many others to make my life easy (eg, a cool thing that looks like have a walker to help you manage stairs, and even a strap that helps you lift your leg, which one person mentioned was the single best thing they bought, since they cut your quad muscle during this surgery), making and freezing soups for easy meals, setting up a bed downstairs so I can at least avoid the inside stairs. There's also a special wedge foam cushion I bought to rest your leg on to help reduce swelling; that and the ice machine (one of the few things Medicare will pay for as durable medical equipment provided the doctor says it's medically necessary) will be my best friends.

I joined an online knee replacement support group and have gotten a lot of tips through people there. 

Since you're not allowed to drive until you're off the pain killers and have the strength to stomp on your brake, it could be 3 or 4 weeks at eh earliest that I can drive, so driving a hybrid, I will have a friend stop by and just start the car and walk away. It will turn itself off automatically after one hour of idling. I also read that I should disengage the auto emergency driving brake and inflate the tires to the full recommended PSI.

I am very nervous about the surgery but feel I need to go through with it, and better to do so now while I'm relatively young and fit than later. I feel I have that in my favor, plus I have a very healthy diet. I have a variety of friends who are ready to drive me, come visit me and other offers of help. My town has a senior transit van that will take you anywhere in town for $6 a ride, so I will have many PT appointments along with follow-up doc appointments. 

I am hoping this surgery can be scheduled sometime in November, the sooner the better so that bad weather doesn't have me slipping and sliding on my way to appointments.