The Bionic Man

I am in Napa Valley looking out onto an incredible view of vineyards, trees and a mountain against a very blue sky.  It is the view from Ken's hospital room.  He just had knee replacement surgery yesterday and is waiting to be discharged today.  He is currently hooked up to a passive exercise machine that is moving his leg back and forth and an ice water pump wrap which is keeping the swelling down on his knee.

Ken has followed several friends and acquaintances who have had this less invasive version of knee replacement surgery with Dr. Thomas Coon at the Coon Joint Replacement Institute in the St. Helena Orthopedic Center.  Friend, Patti Payne encouraged Ken to talk with our other friend, Janet True, who recently has had both knees replaced here.  Ken now has a beautiful, shiny titanium Stryker knee joint inside his leg, though he has been asking to have his "old" knee joint as a souvenir.  I think he wants to keep it in a bottle to show it off (Yuk!), but I'm pretty sure it is long gone at this point.

Ken and Jimmy on board

When we arrived, we were surprised to find Yoko and Mino Arakawa also here for knee surgery for Yoko.  Yoko is directly across the hall from Ken.  We are very lucky that our dear friend, Jimmy Barrier, is making a special stop in Napa Valley to pick us up this afternoon and he has offered to bring the Arakawas also.  It will be the mercy flight with the two wounded ones on board.

It is a few hours later and we have now made it safely home.  The flight home took only an hour and a half and could not have been better.  Jimmy's pilots, Dave and Jim, are such pros and such nice people too. They, along with Kim, who provided drinks and snacks could not have done anything to make our trip home better

Mino and I commiserated that neither Ken or Yoko are making very much sense right now.  The anesthesia which is still in their systems  has both of them confused.  Jimmy bets they won't even remember their trip home.  Ken keeps saying that he and Yoko are now related since they both have the same titanium "gene" and he wondered what time the party starts that he thinks I am taking him to this evening.

Thankfully, I just got him tucked into bed with two pain pills and he seems to have forgotten all about the party!  However, when he recovers he will be the bionic man, so I think I will have to take him to play golf and dancing!