Weak in the Knees

Some of you may have noticed the date for Whitney to get her cast off came and went without an update from me.  That's because things haven't been going all that well.  After four weeks x-rays were taken of Whitney's knee and the cast was removed.  We hoped that would be all Whit needed to get back on her feet.  But Whitney's knee became extremely swollen and continues to cause her all kinds of pain.  She refuses to put any weight on her leg and she can't straighten that knee.  She has some motion in it and her ankle recovered from post-cast stiffness quite quickly.

So what is going on with her knee?  It was off to the orthopedic surgeon to find out.  He took a look at Whit's x-rays from before and after the cast and said there was no sign of a break in her tibia in either one.  So someone blew it and wasted a month of time that could have been used to help Whit recover.  The surgeon's opinion is that there is something wrong in the soft tissue of her knee that is causing the pain, swelling and reduced motion.  He sent us off to get an MRI of the joint so he could understand better what is happening.

So one more sedation and an MRI of her knee later, the surgeon's assistant has told us Whitney has a joint fusion involving the tissues in her knee.  This is better than having a problem where bone is grinding on bone.  But we've still got to figure out how to get rid of Whit's pain and get her on her feet again.  Her orthopedic surgeon is out of the office this week, but hopefully, next week he'll return with a plan.  We've been told it will likely involve a sedated session of manipulating her knee to get things to move back into place and start working again.  But we won't know for sure until next week at the earliest.

Melanie and I have been carrying Whitney around the house for six weeks now and using a borrowed wheelchair when Whit needs to go anywhere else.  Our backs are both shot.  Not to mention Whit's continued pain and frustration.  So we're praying for a correct diagnosis and some effective treatment that will get her back on her feet soon.