Week 91: Matt Has Surgery! & Brooklyn‘s Birthday

I have been getting behind on posting because its been a whirlwind couple of weeks. Things have calmed down a little, so I am trying to get caught up!

The last time I posted, we had visited several doctors in the Stuttgart area, trying to find one that could treat Matt’s injury. We were referred all over the place, but one constant answer we were getting was that surgery would probably be a couple weeks or months away due to Matt’s two broken bones. We needed to wait until they were healed so they could help provide stability during the recovery from the surgery. It was pretty defeating.

On Tuesday, we had a consultation with a specialist at the Maybach Klinik in downtown Stuttgart. After reviewing the notes, MRI, X-Rays, and doing an exam, the doctor was confident that he could treat Matt’s injury. He showed us on the MRI where this was actually a complete tear to the MFPL, not just a partial, and surgery should not be delayed as the ligament would continue slipping away from where it is supposed to be. He would do it as soon as possible, the following week, before he left to go on his own ski holiday. He left the room to talk to the schedulers and when he came back, he asked if Matt could actually come back Thursday for the surgery, as that ended up being the only opening he had. We were so happy that we could get the recovery process started, but also a little bummed. Matt was supposed to go on a guys’ weekend to Manchester and had been holding on to hope that he would still be able to go; crutches or not. Now he would have to miss it for sure.

We completed most of the pre-surgery prep on Tuesday. I asked what I should do during the surgery. I jokingly asked, “Do I just drop him off?” They replied in very German fashion: “Yes. There is nothing for you to do here.” Ok then.

Matt actually went into work on Wednesday and then Thursday was the big day. I drove him up to the Klinik and helped get him checked into his room; which I should mention was nicer than many hotel rooms we have stayed in. He was supposed to arrive at 11:00 for a 12:00 surgery, but we waited until almost 1pm. At that time, I went out to check the status at the front desk and they were shocked to see I was still there. They were pretty serious about me dropping and leaving. I asked if they would call and update me on Matt’s status after the surgery. Their reply: “No, he will call you from his mobile when he is back in the room.” Well, ok then. He was about to be called back so I headed back home.

I didn’t hear anything until about 6pm when Matt called. He was obviously still feeling the effects of the anesthesia, which was pretty entertaining. He was able to tell me that his leg was in quite a bit of pain, but there was a nurse in the room. When he woke up from the anesthesia, he was given an espresso and a pretzel- very German. No water and crackers here. Once he was back in the room, he was given a full German dinner of sausages, cheese, rolls, sparkling water, and tea. I was told to return at 10am to pick Matt up

On Friday morning, Matt called me again and said he was waiting for his first physical therapist appointment and for the doctor to visit him. He told me I should delay arriving until 10:30am in order to give everything enough time to happen. He also sent me pics of his full German breakfast: charcuterie, hardboiled eggs, fresh vegetables, rolls, espresso, and green tea.

I arrived right at 10:30 and of course, they wanted to know where I had been. They wanted Matt out of the room to prep it for the next patient. We got him out to the car and were on our way home.

Matt had a chance to speak with the surgeon prior to leaving. The surgery plan was to make two small incisions and perform the surgery arthroscopically. However, when the surgeon made the first incisions, he was unable to find the MFPL at all. So, he had to make a large incision to hunt around for it and then manually reattach the ends to the knee cap with a screw. It had ended up being a very complicated surgery. He was instructed to keep ice on it and keep it mostly immobile for several days, with the exception of daily exercises he was assigned by the physical therapist. For the most part, he was unable to bend his knee anyways, due to stiffness, so there was not much danger of him doing too much.

Since our bedroom was still out of commission due to the drying process, Matt would have to camp out on the couch. Some good news on that front was that the construction company came back and checked the humidity sensors on Friday and finally deemed the room “dry” after 20 days of fans and dehumidifiers working.

I notified the landlord and he sent a team of three workers on Saturday who painted the entire suite and got all of the floor laid. Sadly, they were unable to complete the trim, so we would have to wait until Tuesday of the following week to be able to start moving back in.

Saturday was Brooklyn’s 15th Birthday! We got pedicures and did a little shopping during the day and she celebrated by having a group of friends over for a sleepover. Happy Birthday, Sweet Girl!