4.26.10

A week ago I had arthroscopic knee surgery to repair a torn cartilage and meniscus as well as clean up arthritis and remove a small cyst. It was done as outpatient surgery by one of the top orthopedic surgeons in Nashville. I’m blessed to have health insurance and even though it’s a high deductible policy we have the resources to cover the cost and insurance pays for the rest. I was dismissed with a special cold water ice wrap on my knee and enough prescription drugs to make a street junkie go bonkers. I rested the afternoon of my surgery and was back at work the next day. I intentionally did not make a big deal out of my situation – not because I didn’t want the sympathy or the praise from people who just couldn’t believe I was back at work the day after surgery – but because I have experienced a form of relativism in the past year that help me put everything in better perspective.

I’d love to have you meet my friend Joe (not his real name). I first met Joe when he was fresh off the street and enrolled in the Odyssey program at the Campus for Human Development. There was something about Joe that drew the two of us together and over teaching in the Odyssey program the next few years we became pretty good friends. Joe struggled with his addictions and his mental illnesses. He relapsed a few times and ultimately was dismissed from the Odyssey program. He ended up in and out of jail but we always stayed in touch. I’d pick him up and buy him a cup of coffee of take him to get a pair of shoes. Joe wasn’t able to get a job and lived off friends and the few dollars he could panhandle. The pounding from the years on the street started to take their toll and Joe started having hip problems. There were times he could barely walk. He’d go the free clinic and they’d give him something for it but nothing worked. He lived in constant pain with both hips.

Finally he had to go the emergency room where they decided his hips were bad enough that they would replace them. They scheduled him for surgery about 90 days out in the future and released him to hobble the streets until time for surgery. I’d see Joe sleeping under a bridge with a cane or a walker trying to survive until time for his surgery. Finally the day for total hip replacement came and Joe checked into the hospital to learn that they would only do one of his hips at a time. He would have to recover before they’d do the other one. He had surgery and stayed in the hospital a few days. He was released to the Campus where they took care of him for a few days and then he was back on the street. Less than a week after hip replacement surgery he was sleeping under a bridge still with a cane to support his other hip.

I talked to Joe today who asked me how I was doing. I didn’t even tell him I’d had knee surgery. He’s the one we need to be asking how he’s doing. There’s something wrong with a system where Joe can’t have a bed to sleep in – at least while he’s nursing a hip replacement. I don’t deny there’s plenty of blame to go around, but I really don’t care. Joe is on the streets tonight waiting for another 30 days for his second hip replacement. Am I OK? You bet…I’m blessed thanks to Joe to have a perspective on my surgery that lets me know it’s all relative. Keep Joe in your prayers…