In exactly one week I’m having knee surgery on my left knee, in which the partial replacement I received back in 2012 will be replaced with a full replacement. This makes the second knee replacement with this surgeon; he performed a full replacement on my right back in 2016, and it’s been fine ever since. The right knee was an out patient procedure, where I went in early morning and was back home by mid-afternoon. My wife drove me home. After a period of recuperation and physical therapy I’ve been fine ever since. Not so much the left knee.

In any event the left partial will get replaced and I’ll find out if the left will go as well as the right.

If you ask me what my attitude is right now, I’d say a combination of apprehension and fatalism. I’ve had more examinations and pictures made in the past four weeks than I’ve had in as many years, so that everyone concerned has all necessary and up-to-date medical information about me. That’s a good thing.

And I’ll be going back to the same surgery center I was in back in 2016. That, too, is a very good thing. If either the doctor or the center weren’t up to scratch then they wouldn’t be around.

The length of time between procedures is also comforting if for no other reason that major advancements in joint replacement have been ongoing. Unless something unknown should occur, I expect this left replacement to be my final replacement.

But I’m still nervous.