Robin B.
I am 33 and a mother of 3. My husband and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary earlier this year. I have been overweight most of my life. At the age of 10 I was involved in a motorcycle vs. pedestrian accident (I was the pedestrian) and my right femur was broken at the growth plate. I have had 18 surgeries on my knee to keep it going as long as possible. I am now currently bone on bone in the joint and have received the green light for a knee replacement. I have always known that I would need the knee replacement, but when was the question. The doctors wanted me to wait until I was closer to 40, but I am not going to make it. I know my weight hasn't done me any favors in the waiting game. But, waiting hasn't done me any favors either. Exercising has always been difficult for me and is near impossible now. The injury to the growth plate has caused many other issues, one major one being a 26mm length difference. Due to the length difference and my abnormal gait, I now have back, hip and ankle problems.
With each child I would gain weight and lose very little of it (thank goodness I didn't gain much). The years and added wear on the knee leaving me less and less mobile just compounded the problem. I am sick with how I look now. I want so much to be able to shop for clothes at normal stores. I want to be able to go down to the pool with the kids. I want to be able to play with my kids, ride bikes, go for walks... heck, I want to be able to color on the driveway with chalk and be able to get up! I have to do this. For me, for my kids and for my new robo-knee. With the number of knee surgeries I have gone through, my chances for a revision of the artificial joint are slim to none. I have one shot at this. If I am going to take the new knee I have to make it work. It is my only shot.
So, here I am. I went to a seminar with a local surgeon and he just wasn't for me. I then made an appointment with Dr. Swanson and loved him. I am a one on one person when it comes to medical treatment. I guess I am so used to it with the knee issues that I almost require it now. The seminar style just wasn't for me. I wanted to talk with the doc to go through my medical history and what is to come for me medically before I make a decision. Dr, Swanson was great with this. He explained to me and my husband that he was there for as long as we wanted and was there to answer every question we had. I know we asked a ton. I left his office completely at ease with my decision for WLS.
And so... the journey begins.
