They did.

36

The Trouble with Knees and Much More

The doctor sat back in his chair. “The trouble with knees is that they wear out on us.” He was a large man and filled the room with his presence. “But in your case, you won’t require knee replacements. As I said, what you’ve got is torn cartilage in both knees. It’s an outpatient procedure. You’ll come in at eight and be out before noon. We can do both knees at the same time or several months apart.”

“How long before I have full mobility?” Hannah asked.

“Couple of months. Differs with everyone. There’ll be some physical therapy, but once you get the exercises down pat, you can do them at home.” He stood and extended his hand to shake hers. “My receptionist will schedule you, or you can think about it and call back to schedule.”

“Thank you, Doctor,” Hannah said. “I need to think about whether to do one knee or two. I’ll call the office to schedule.”

Five minutes later, Hannah and Grace sat in Grace’s car in the parking lot. “He made it sound so simple,” Grace said.

“He probably does hundreds of knee operations. To him it’s simple. I always feel so rushed in a doctor’s office. I leave thinking of things I wanted to ask or say. Oh, well, next time. I wonder how long it really takes before you’re able to do what you used to.”

“Someone must know. We must know someone who’s had this surgery. I’ll ask Brenda. You ask Velma and anyone else you run into. If you ask five or six people about anything, within no time you have the answer to the question or the contact you need.”

Brenda did indeed know two ladies who had had this type of knee surgery, Mary Lyle and Roberta McIntosh. Hannah called them and both agreed to talk to her about their operations. Several days later, as she and Grace drove to Mary Lyle’s house, which was located off Main Street in Weaverville, Grace said, “I never meet anyone these days who isn’t eager to talk about their operation or other physical ailments. Do we do that?”

“Do what?” a distracted Hannah asked.

“Talk a lot about our ailments. I tell you about my diabetes, how I feel this day or that, or that my feet bother me on this or that day. I went on and on about my kidneys for days, didn’t I? Do I go about telling everyone? I hope not. In future, if I do it too much, you’ll tell me, won’t you? Hannah, are you listening to me?”

Lost in thought, Hannah stared out of the window. “I’m sorry, Grace. I wasn’t listening. Ailments, what were you saying about ailments?”

Grace repeated what she had said.