Decision Time

Its been a long road to get here - but today i saw (reputably) the best ankle surgeon in the UK.
Over the course of 90minutes he explained what he believes is going on in my ankle; his grasp of both the physical and psychological relevances was astounding. There are 2000 combined images between my Xray, MRI & CT scans - in minute detail he showed us 6 where the damage is visible, only 2 confirm any potential course of action. Today Mr Parsons spent longer reviewing my case than the first 12months of repeated visits to Lancaster hospital combined.
His hypothesis is that my bad fall 24 years ago broke a piece from my fibular that benignly lodged in my ankle for many years. 2015's trauma appears to have dislodged it and it is now grinding its way through my subtalar joint. The piece itself appears to be the size of a petit pois (wow, how middle class is that?!?) The damage minor but extensive and degenerative, the surfaces of the joint now sharp and irregular rather than smooth and aligned.
He laid out my options in a pleasingly blunt way; he explained that I'm a long way ahead of the curve and that inevitably a return to former glories is not an option, but a significant improvement may be. So i can:
Ignore it - change my lifestyle massively and cope.
Operate - a long recovery - effectiveness mostly down to how well i can rehabilitate the joint, down to the quality of the scar tissue that forms. Mr Parsons is able & (vitally) willing to do this athroscopically - but I'd still need to persuade Cumbria Health Trust to pay for it.
Option 3 - the original surgeons recommendation of an ankle joint fusion? - He looked aghast and said that should only be considered when or if I can no longer stand.

Afterwards we took his parting recommendation and headed to a nice seafood cafe at Falmouth.

Im not sure Ive ever blipped the sea.

Philosophy Friday
Always. Keep. Trying.