Knees

This morning I went into Knoxville to see my orthopedic dr. about getting my shots. I had thought that I would probably only be getting the steroids as the last time I have the synvisc injections it was once a week for three weeks. But since I had already been approved by my insurance for them again and they have a new protocol that allows them to do the three weeks' doses in one I opted for that. The steroids work really well for a couple of days and then it begins to wear off. The synvisc is supposed to last anywhere from 4-6 months. The downside is that the pain relief isn't as quick - it will take nearly 6 weeks before the full effect is felt. And, I don't know if the pain that I am experiencing now is because something is wrong or just because they put that much fluid under the knee cap...but it is oppressive. I guess the next few days will tell. I sure hope this works.

Mike's orthopedist at the University of Utah told him that he believes that they will be able to use stem cells to create new cartilage within the next 4-5 years. That would be so great! In the meantime - I need to get this weight off, strengthen them, and do everything that I can to safeguard them - because I would so much rather have that than full knee replacements - which is what I am looking at. How grateful I am for people who love science and research - they truly do make the lives of others better. Stem cell research has come so far in such a short time and already has a proven record in many other areas...I just hope knees are soon.