When health concerns get in the way of hunting

If you’re like me, you are eagerly awaiting the notification of successful drawing permit hunt applicants for their chosen hunts. This notification is scheduled for the middle of February. I applied for hunts involving bison, caribou, and moose. Rather than use my six hunt applications per species in a “shotgun” approach to win a permit, I concentrated all six applications for each species on one specific permit hunt being held for that species. We’ll see how well that works out!

Last year, I spent a lot of money applying for permit hunts and, as I have mentioned in previous columns, did draw an antlerless moose permit for the area I live almost in the middle of. I thought I had it made and began a limited program of trying to get in better shape to deal with the rigors of the hunt. (This limited program was my usual increase in activity as spring gave way to summer.)

I was concerned about my shoulder after the replacement surgery I had in January 2017 impacting this hunt. As it turned out, my shoulder was not the concern – my right knee was! As I have mentioned before, my knee hurt too much to allow any amount of walking in the woods while hunting for a moose. I was sadly disappointed with the lost opportunity!

Last fall, I started checking into what was required to get my knee either partially or totally replaced. In viewing the x-rays, the surgeon flatly stated my knee had too much arthritis to allow a partial replacement – it would be all or nothing! The next hurdle was getting my diabetes under control enough to allow surgery.

I was told that significant research data has shown that A1C blood glucose levels above about 7.5 resulted in a 10-fold increase in the rates of possible infection of the replaced joint. My A1C was around 9.0 at the time.

This delay prompted a strong effort in working with my regular doctor to lower the A1C and get the diabetes under good control with insulin and other medications. The surgeon told me to come back in two months.

Another A1C blood test showed my levels had decreased to 8.0. This is a significant drop but still not enough to allow surgery. My knee was hurting more each day so there was no lack of incentive to keep going. In the meantime, my surgeon said to come back in six weeks.

Yet another A1C test yielded a reading of 7.2. The surgeon scheduled a date for surgery and directed me to get clearances from all the doctors I was seeing for various reasons. My regular doctor was already in the loop and was keeping an eye on my diabetes situation. I have two appointments with my heart specialist; one to get some testing done and the second to discuss the surgery and whether he’ll give me a “go” to get the surgery done. Currently, I don’t expect any complications here.

I should have known, but the one medial caregiver I hadn’t thought about was my dentist. The surgeon and the dentist both told me that any bacterial infections in the mouth and gums will get into my bloodstream and go directly to the replaced joint during recovery – not a good thing!

I had been a good dental patient for a long time and then “fell off the wagon” a few years ago. My first return visit resulted in x-rays and the realization that I have periodontal disease, which is erosion of the bone supporting my teeth as a result of bacterial activity below the gum line. The “deep cleaning” necessary to get my mouth back to a normal and healthy status has begun. By the time you read this, the deep cleanings should be complete, and the healing and intensive brushing and flossing will have begun.

Assuming I get all the necessary clearances, the surgery will happen the end of February and I will begin an intense six-weeks of physical therapy and several months of healing. Total recovery will take a solid year. I have the incentive to make this happen!

I’ll be 70-years-old on my next birthday. I don’t have a bunch of “normal” hunting and fishing seasons ahead of me, so I don’t want to lose the ones I still have. I’ll worry about downscaling my efforts when I have too, but not before. I’m not thrilled about the surgery or the rehab, but I’m looking forward to no pain and normal use of my leg.