Making decisions about knee replacement as an older person with multiple conditions

I think the welcome, the introducing himself and the person that’s doing the X-ray, they always do that. But he did it just so nicely. Then it helped that [laughs] it helped that he commented, as I said before, I might’ve said before that you know, I was colour coordinated everywhere even down to the very fancy crutches. He was quite impressed.

But then recognised the [city] accent and talked to me and just made you comfortable. I had to lay on the bed rather than have the X-ray stood up. And I did worry whether that would be really uncomfortable. But you can grit your teeth and sort of do it.

But he was chatting to me most of the time and talking and then he’d put the X-ray in place and said, and went round to sort of check and then he came back and he said, “You’ve got an amazing amount of steelwork in your back.”

[Laughs] I have that. So, so he spotted that. He said, “Let’s look at this hip now.” And he was just very pleasant.

Even to when you left, said goodbye, people are friendly, but they don’t normally have the time to do that. It didn't, it only took virtually two, two to three minutes at tops to have this done. So, it was very quick. You weren’t holding anybody up. But it’s just nice when people are friendly.

Most of ‘em are like that. It’s not many especially at the [hospital], they’re very, they’re very friendly.

Well, as I’ve said, it was three years ago [when] I realised there was something wrong.

And I kept going, you know, and thinking-, and then just as I was thinking ‘right, I’ll go to the doctor’, we were all shut down with Covid.

So, obviously, I kept going and didn’t bother the doctors because they were up to their eyes in it, which I, you know, could see.

But swelling. I had quite a bit of swelling. My, my knee is quite swollen. And pain, you know? I knew something was wrong. I’d run down the stairs, you know, easily, but now I have to come down one at a time because of the pain in the knee, which I’ve been doing for the last three years now. One step at a time if you see what I mean.

So, it all just got worse?

Yeah, it just got worse, yeah.

But I was referred, she said, “I’ll refer you to the hospital-,” “I’ll refer you for an x-ray.” That’s it. It was an x-ray.

And she sent me to a local hospital, had an x-ray. The person who took the x-ray showed me my x-ray and he said, “You’ve got no ligament down the side-, the right side of your leg at all.” And I said, “Right.” I said, and they showed me what it was like. They said, “I think you’re gonna need a full knee.” I said, “Yes, it looks like it. If I understand what I’m looking at”.

And then he reported it back to my GP, I suppose. Then I had a letter that she’d referred me to this certain hospital and people would be in touch.

That’s when the physiotherapist phoned me to say he’d seen my x-ray and we had a little chat about my weight and everything. And he said, “I’m gonna refer you back to the surgeon and you’ll get an appointment.” And this is the appointment I’ve got tomorrow.

I did tell the GP that I’d had - I did have problems and he said - well, I didn't actually see him of course, this was over the telephone -  he said, “I suggest you go along and have some X-rays.”

So, I went to our local X-ray department the following day. I think it was the following day. And they X-rayed both knees and, well, I think if they do one hip, they do both at the same time. So, and from then I had a letter referring me to the physio department.

The guy who actually did the X-ray said, “Oh yes, I can see there’s considerable change in the knees.” And I knew the right knee anyway. He said, “Yes, that knee needs doing, but your left knee is also needing.” And the hip, he told me was fine, and my right hip which was the one that was done, because I was unsure at the time because I was having quite a bit of discomfort from it.

But he told me, at the X-ray, that actually my hip was absolutely fine. But that obviously he couldn't say too much, but it needed a specialist to look at it. An orthopaedic specialist to look at it and then I would be told later. But that I would need something doing.

And, in fact, I got no feedback. I got no message about the results of the X-rays at all. The GP said I’ve considerable, that’s right, he said I have considerable deterioration. The GP said, “You’ve got some deterioration”

Was there sort of—

In the end, the pain was so bad that I just said, “I think I ought to have an X-ray.” And that’s when the doctor said, okay.

And have you had that X-ray now?

Oh gosh, yes, I had the X-ray and she said, “Well, I, I don’t understand why, you’ve been through quite a lot of pain in your life. I don’t understand why you’re complaining because it doesn’t look like there’s much wrong with the knee.” I said, “Really? I said, it’s more painful than the right one was, before I had that one done.” I said, “I really don’t understand it.”

She said, “Well, I can assure you that I’ve seen results of the X-ray and it’s not so bad at all.”

And then I can’t remember what else happened. Something else happened. And I happened to see this, ah, fantastic lady. I don’t know where she was from. She was I think it was like a scope physiotherapist or something like that she was called.

And she said, “I think what we need to do is give you MRI.” Would it be? Something bigger anyway. And I had to go to [the hospital] for it. The, the X-ray they had was done by this tiny little hospital here in [town].

And she said, “No, I think you need an MRI done in [hospital].” And when I had that done which was a long time after the actual X-rays, I had that done. That came back and the doctor said, “Oh my goodness, no wonder, no wonder you know? It didn't look - the X-ray didn't show up a thing ‘cause it didn't show enough, if you see what I mean?” And all the arthritis had blocked out the sight of the bones and everything really, because it’s like bone on bone. The arthritis had eaten away at everything, again. She said, “It’s, it’s mega. It’s dreadful.”