This is a medical update for friends, family, subscribers, and the critics, too. Today I started rehab at Magee Riverside Rehab on South Columbus Blvd. (There may be a view of the river from the roof.) đ
This is my fourth encounter of the close kind with the famous rehab facility.
The first two were to get me through post-surgery for a busted quadriceps, neither surgery being especially successful. That left me on a cane.
Following that, I was there to learn how to live with my torn rotator cuffs, both arms. I chose home exercises over surgery. I didnât have that option with my hip replacement, which demanded surgery. My largely disinterested surgeon said I would not need rehab, but he was wrong.
I am fortunate to have âmyâ physical therapist at Magee, who is highly educated, compassionate, and skilled. I ask for her by name, which I will withhold for her privacy. She’s also good-looking, but I guess I am not supposed to take notice. But I do, and will refer to her as PT.
Todayâs session was mostly testing to see what I could do, and what I could not. PT put me through mild paces; she doesnât believe in âno pain, no gain.â
So, while I am aching now, and have cut back a bit on painkillers, I am hoping for forward progress. Well, I guess all progress is forward, says Stu, as he edits himself.
Largely disinterested is spot on. From a retired cardiologist: When I was a first year med student, we played a game in my class called spot the âorthopodâ. The idea was to figure out which of our classmates were most likely to wind up in orthopedics. There are a few generalist that go along with orthopedics. As with all generalizations, there are plenty of exceptions:
A LOT of former high school/college athletes go into orthopedics. Med students often pick a field which has helped them personally in the past, and a lot of athletes have seen ortho previously. The tendency of of these former athletes going into the field is the source of the lot of the âjockâ jokes.
Orthopedic surgeries often take a fair amount of physical strength to do. There is a lot of bending, twisting, manipulating body parts, and hammering/sawing. A smaller or physically weaker person will have a harder time doing them. This is where most of the rest of the âjockâ image comes from.
Orthopedics has the reputation of beingâŠless mentally challenging than a lot of other specialties. The diagnoses are often straightforward. I can remember in residency the guys on the ortho service making fun of one of their residents who was doing a medicine rotation, because he was âstuck reading charts when he could have been having fun with usâ.
Orthopedics is heavily male dominated. Around 90% of practicing orthopedists are men. Some programs have only ever had a small number of female residents. The âbroâ part is pretty real.
Orthopedists have a reputation of kind of ignoring anything that isnât related to bones, muscles, or joints. This includes general medical care of the patient.
I hate to generalize because the surgeon to tackle my quad was very interested, and came around a lot.
If I get a survey from Jeff, they wonât like my comments on this guy, while the STAFF of Jeff â the lower paid people â- they were excellent, especially the nurses. God bless the nurses.
HAPPY TUESDAY !!!
yo pallie !
Glad to hear that you are progressing. The Pat Croce school of ‘no pain – no gain pretty much went out the window. The few ( many ) times that I hat PT, I only ran into it once. I walked out the door on the first exam.
I think for you, I would recommend baby steps chasing PT, working up to long strides and eventually running. You don’t want to catch PT. Us old guys have our memories and not much else !
One thing for certain that I have learned over my medical journey. If you’re going in for an operation to be followed up with physical therapy, timing is of the essence. There is no fun walking around injured in the dead of winter.
Tony
Thanks, but running will never happen due to quadriceps. Walking well is the goal.
Sending healing vibes your way Stu!
Thanks, Kirk.
Stu, your column today reminds me of the old Sid Ceasar gag, where he’s being interviewed as having been the only person to survive falling off the top of Mount Everest. The interviewer is astonished. “But you look great!” he exclaims. Ceasar points to the last joint of his little finger and says, “See dis? Dat’s de only old part — all da rest is new!” The road back, Stu, can be a bitch, but you have us, your friends, to help you along the way.
I appreciate that, Vince.
Stu, I wish you all the best with your physical therapy. I would have said all the best with your PT but you might have gotten the wrong idea. đ
Luckily I have only needed physical therapy twice, both for the same issue involving a partially frozen shoulder.
Thanks H. My PT is happily married with a child and dog.
Quads, rotators and now a hip. Hope there’s nothing in the waiting. You and the ‘Pallie’ man’s surgeries make Evel Knievel seem a bit wimpyđ My best to you with rehab.
Wishing you the best of success in your rehab, my friend. I hope you will strolling leisurely around the City in the not-too-distant future.
I may be able to get trick and treating. đ
Sorry to go off-topic but I am wondering why the Trump supporters have not said anything against Marjorie Taylor Greene saying defund the FBI? They were quick to come down on the people who said defund the police.
Let us not forget Greene was one of the 21 House Republicans who voted against awarding Congressional Gold Medals to all police officers who responded on January 6th.
Just so you know, I am against defunding the police and the FBI.
Just so everyone is clear, what the ill-named “defunding the police” thing is about is simply to defer funds from police guns, ammo, tanks, and militarization and use it to hire more mental health professionals to work in the department and handle the many, many situations that require such skills. That’s it. I have no issue with that.
âDeferringâ funds is reducing funds. No getting away from that. And Corie Bush and the Squad are still for cutting $$$ to cops. Biden says more should be spent, letâs say to add social workers.
Freeze, while I agree with what you said I doubt Marjorie Taylor Greene meant it that way. She is just as big an idiot as that orange-skinned SOB.
Get well soon, Stu!