Joraaver Chahal

Life Update

Nov 02, 2024

I haven’t written in a while. This often happens not because I don’t have the time to write, but because I’m dedicating that time to something else.

For my birthday I was gifted a Remarkable 2 tablet and I’m happy to say I’ve used it almost every day since receiving it. My morning reading has taken a more serious turn as I abuse the tablet for note-taking. I’ve begun uploading my notes with absolutely zero ulterior motives, as I have no idea who on Earth would read them. Or, perhaps more pressing, is if anyone can read my handwriting. I’ve attempted using Remarkable’s handwritten detection translator, but if I’m not the final boss of handwriting translation tests, I must be the final boss’s keeper, for the translator puts up a good fight, but ultimately loses, just as all systems who have come before it have. However, Google’s new handwriting detector InkSight might defeat me. I’ll have some free time in the coming weeks, so maybe I’ll see if it grants my handwriting the merciful death it’s been waiting for. Handwritten notes have a certain vibe to them though, so if it works, I’ll offer both.

Where is my new free time coming from? Well, big news, I’m getting knee surgery on November 12th. I’ve got a hole in my cartilage that will be filled using some of my tissue, and my outer meniscus is torn to shreds, so I’ll receive a new one from a freshly dead yet otherwise healthy person whose knee circumference matches mine. To be specific, it’s a meniscus transplant and OATS (Osteochondral Autograft Transfer System) procedure that should take around four hours.

Weight bearing will take between 8-12 weeks. Rehab till I can handle impact might take up to a year. I’m at the mercy of cartilage healing times, which are slow, and muscle atrophy, which will be significant. I’ve got a condition that also makes my blood more likely to clot when immobile. That means I’ll be on blood thinners. It also impacts my rehab, since my therapist normally likes to use blood-flow restriction training to improve tissue function using extremely light loads to within a reasonable rep ranges to reduce joint stress. My condition and the family history of deep-vein thrombosis are contraindications (search Thrombophilia) to that kind of tool, so I’ll have to go to extreme rep ranges with the same loads. It’s like asking you do to 12 repetitions vs 30 with the same weight, both achieving failure though. Same result, one of them is more mentally exhausting.

I’ll probably delay any kind of sport until the two-year mark. Piece of cake.

According to my physical therapist, I’m an extraordinarily high functioning human being despite being in a little pain 24/7. I don’t think that’s a surprise to her, me or anyone who learns that. Besides, the worst that happens these days is that my knee painfully catches, and forces me to curse under my breath for a moment.

I’m blessed to have a comfy couch that has seen me recover from three other surgeries, and my coworkers have been told that I either take three or four days off or commit code after popping some Vicodin. Nobody knows what I’m capable of when I’m under the influence. And no, I’ve done this enough. I’m not worried about being addicted to Vicodin. The high feels good though, don’t get me wrong.

That’s about it. If you think there’s something I should do while on the couch, let me know. I can’t promise anything though, as I usually have a litany of things I want to do when I get more time.