(Originally posted May 4, 2009)

it's obviously time to go back. The orthopedist confirmed this morning that J.J. has torn the outer meniscus in his right knee and has recommended a surgical repair to take place as soon as possible, probably within the next week to 10 days. This is complicated by the fact that J.J. is on a couple of different blood thinners to lower his risk of having another stroke; obviously, in a surgical scenario they want him not to be on these. So he's been referred back to our family doctor to figure out what to do with the medication and to schedule the surgery; he has an appointment with her tomorrow. He should only be out of commission for a few days and should be able to have the surgery on an outpatient basis. They'll send him home in a hinged knee brace and he shouldn't even need to use crutches. The good news is that he's still off work, so we don't need to worry about him having extra time off because of this.

And the really good news? J.J. went to the orthopedist by himself today and was able to relate all of the preceding information to me in about a two minute phone conversation.