When Our Physical Container Breaks Down
ICYMI 👉
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I recently saw one of my long-time patients, a 66-year-old man and former athlete, in preparation for knee replacement surgery.
I feel like I’m falling apart, he told me.
He explained that up to this point, he had viewed every pain in the knee, neck or back as an obvious consequence of his athleticism. This time, he said, it feels like my parts are wearing out.
He remarked on how easily he had taken his skeletal health for granted. We discussed the vulnerability of pain and immobility. He vowed to be more empathetic toward his friends with long-term disabilities.
Whether we’re nursing an arthritic knee, awaiting a joint replacement, or coping with a chronic injury, physical disability affects every aspect of our health. It can threaten our sense of self. It turns out that our physical container is more than a collection of bones and muscles; it’s the infrastructure for our life and livelihood.
What happens to YOUR sense of self when your physical self fails you?
My friend Greg Galeazzi MD is living proof that we are more than our physical container. In 2011, Greg was deployed in Afghanistan when his platoon was hit by an IED during a regular foot patrol—causing him to lose both of his legs and most of his right arm. On the 11th anniversary of his injury, Greg graduated from Harvard Medical School and began his career as a doctor to serve people with physical disabilities.
On this episode of Beyond the Prescription, and in honor of Memorial Day, I am sharing our conversation about post-traumatic growth.
I hope you find his story as powerful as I do.
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Disclaimer: The views expressed here are entirely my own. They do not reflect those of my employer, nor are they a substitute for advice from your personal physician.
I am a 77 year old and in general good health relative to my age. I have been an athlete all my life as well as working as a carpenter and general contractor for my career. In other words, very active. In 1996 I was diagnosed with osteoarthritis in both hips, the right one especially bad. The ortho said that the path I was on would eventually lead to hip replacement. I was treated conservatively for 6 years which included giving up running (I took up mountain biking at this point). In 2002 I had my right hip resurfaced ( a procedure that has since fallen out of favor but was successful for me). I had 2 arthroscopic procedures on my right knee for torn meniscus cartilage. Last year (2023) I had my right knee replaced. It is doing well although the healing, recovery, rehab is no walk in the park. In January, 2024 I had arthroscopic surgery for damaged meniscus in my left knee as well as sub chondroplasty (injecting synthetic bone cement into bone marrow lesions in my tibia and fibula). The knee is doing okay but not great (I may have to get it replaced). Last month I had my left hip replaced. It is doing well and I am beginning to resume my normal activities. I have a lot of hardware in this aging body! I am just so damn grateful that joint replacement has evolved to the point where older folks can continue to live active and relatively pain free lives!
Perhaps I have just taken my body for granted. I am a 70 year-old, full-time caregiver for my 98 year-old mother. For real we sons I can not understand, none of my siblings (nor my estranged children) are helping me with anything. I have spent the past 13 years since I retired helping my parents, including cleaning out their house to sell it. I have not been able to focus on my own health during this time, so now my joints are "angry" with arthritis pain. My vertebrae are deteriorating in my lower back to a point that I am in constant pain. I have been told I need two knee replacements and wrist surgery on both wrists. Most of this deterioration has happened in the past few years. However, I am unable to have the joint surgery, because of needing to care for my mother. I am in constant pain, and there is nothing I can do. For all the years I was working and raising children, then working to take care of my mother, I looked forward to retirement when I could do for me. But my body has worn out and I am in constant pain. This just doesn't seem fair.