After years of suffering from a bad knee, the bone doctor, Dr Botsford, finally called me in for a consultation about my knee. This was good, as my knee was getting pretty bad. The doctor was surprised at just how bad my knee was. He was impressed that I was still out hiking. After looking at my X-rays and having a good look at the knee and leg, he told me this was going to be quite the job.
When the leg was originally broken and repaired back in the early 70s, they did the best they could, and I was glad that I still had my leg. It had healed crooked and was coming into my knee on an angle. This was why it was in such poor condition. Not only that, but it was almost an inch shorter. The doctor said he would have a knee replacement designed that would straighten out the leg and increase my leg length to make it almost the same length as my other leg. He also warned me that I would most likely not be able to kneel on this knee again; he said caving was not going to be a thing I would be doing again.
Normally, the wait for surgery could be up to another 2 years, Botsford said he would fast-track me based on the condition of the knee, but warned it still could be a year. He asked if I would like to be on his cancellation list, warning me that I would need to be ready when and if they could fit me in early. I said that would be awesome.
After the doctor’s visit, I made the mistake of watching YouTube videos of total knee replacement disasters. My god, but this scared the shit out of me. One had a doctor standing on the table, big hammer in hand, trying to free a drill bit from the guy’s leg bone. He was pounding with all his might, and the drill bit was stuck fast. If you are waiting for this operation, may I suggest that you do not view these videos?
Three months after my initial consultation, I got the call to be at the hospital the next morning. Now I was terrified, and it was all becoming real. My knee was so bad that I put my fears aside and was at the hospital the next morning. They took me into pre-op, where they got me out of my clothes and shaved my knee area. After getting me on a gurney, they put in an IV and gave me a shot to relax. Then we began the trip into the operating room, my heart was racing, and I was really afraid, but the shot they had given me helped. Once I was on the operating table, I was given another shot that immediately sent me to la-la land. Now there was no backing out. I came too during the procedure and for a second, saw what was going on, the nurse said he was waking up, and then I was gone again. Was this a dream? I can’t say for sure.
Then I was in post-op, and although I could see my leg was pretty swollen and full of staples, there was no pain yet. I was kept there for about an hour, then I was moved into a room. I was beginning to feel some discomfort. Later in the afternoon, I began to feel real pain, I mean real bad pain. I got a shot and it helped.
The next morning, they wanted me out of bed and exercising. I tried, but my leg was damn sore, and I was getting dizzy spells. Dr Botsford came to see me in the afternoon and told me I needed to start working on my knee, and not to do so was going to impede my ability to bend my knee. I was grumpy from the pain, and the doctor and I had quite an argument. Words were said, and he was pissed off.
He was saying that I was going to be one of those people who wasted his time. I told him that, contrary to his beliefs, he was not a god, but just a mechanic. He said if I did not start physio right away, my knee would seize up. When I told him that, as I lived in Sayward, trips to the CR hospital were out of the question, so I would be looking after my physio myself. He stormed out of my room madder than hell. With me yelling words that should not be in this story.
I signed myself out of the hospital the next day, and with much pain, I drove myself home. I spent the next week in bed, but I also began to bend my knee. As soon as the swelling came down enough to do more. I started to do deep knee bends on the stars and other forms of bending, like trying to touch my toes. I took no pain meds so I would know if I pushed too hard. Within a few weeks, the swelling came down and the wounds healed. I went into our clinic and had them remove the staples. I then started the next part of my self-designed physio.
I was the cook in our house, and everyone was waiting for me to get back at it, but when working in the kitchen, I would move about on my knees. At first, this was pretty painful, but the more I did the less it hurt. This exercise had two effects: it helped me increase my ability to bend my knee, and it worked to reduce pain from kneeling. Eventually, I was able to kneel with hardly any pain and almost sit back on my heels.
Then I was called in to see the doctor. I could tell as I walked into his office that he figured he would see me in bad shape, and he asked how things were. I immediately got down on my knees, sat back on my heels to show my range of bending, and then moved about a bit on my knees. As I sat back in my chair, I saw he was smiling.
I told him that I was sorry for being such a dick during our argument. He too apologized and said he was glad to see how well I was doing. He told me that he had a report that I was not to physio, and I told him I had designed my own. We were once again in the good books with each other. I left the doctors office with the understanding that he would see me again in one year. The new hnee was awesome.
I worked my knee every day, and after a bit, I began to hike on trails again, first on easy trails but always increasing the severity of the trails till finally, one year after the operation, I was ready for a major hike. I asked my son Rob to join me, but he said he was too tired, so we set our radios to the same channel and I told him that I was going to go partway up the Mount Kusam trail.
The Mount Kusam Trail is a wild and rugged 23 km loop heading up and over Mount H’Kusam and down the Stowe Creek watershed. Starting at sea level, hikers pass through some of the most spectacular scenery on Vancouver Island, with views of mountain peaks and the Johnstone Strait as they negotiate their way over the well-developed trail. While the trail is open for year-round hiking, an organized event is held once per year on the summer solstice. The Kusam Klimb draws participants from around the world, hoping to conquer the mountain! We have a saying about this trail. Are you tough enough? Well, are you?
I left around 8 am and proceeded to travel up the trail. As I hiked up, I was taken by the incredible views. The higher I got, the more I could see. Checkpoint one was easily reached, and the route to checkpoint two was pretty easy to traverse, but after this, the trail began to get steep, and I was quite happy to see that ropes were in place to help me get up.
I thoroughly enjoyed the hike and spent time taking any side trails that went out to viewpoints. These viewpoints are well worth the hike to see, and I suggest that you also take time to visit them. By the time you are close to reaching the top, you find yourself walking in a beautiful sub-alpine forest where bird life is abundant, including many sooty grouse. As you reach the pass that leads to the far side of the mountain, you will see a side trail that will take you right up to the peak of the mountain. I did not at this time take it but I plan on going back to hike this trail.
From the pass, you can hike out to the top of a bluff that overlooks the Sayward Valley; this is a must-see. As you sit on the edge, you can look down into a bowl that has a beautiful little alpine lake sitting there like a blue jewel and beyond this is the view of the valley located far below you. The lake is used by rough-skinned newts as a mating area, and sometimes you can see them in the thousands swimming here. I attempted to contact my son before I went over the top to let him know I was doing the whole trail, but got no answer.
After hiking down to the lake, you hike the trail that takes you around the lake and then back up to another pass that goes up and then leads you down the Stowe Creek watershed and eventually back to the bottom of the trail. This part of the trail is about 15 km and uses old roads and soft forest trails where you have a good chance of seeing black bears, elk, deer, and lots of birds. The whole journey took me 9 hours as I was taking my time, and my new knee performed incredibly well.
During the official Kusam Klimb, the runners, and yes, I mean runners as the lead racers indeed do run the trail, take between 2 and 3 hours to complete the race. The record for men is set at 2 hours and 13 minutes, and the record for the fastest female is set at 2 hours and 43 minutes. These racers are top-of-the-line participants who train year-round for this race.
When I arrived back at my van, I saw there was a card stuck in my door window. It was an RCMP card with a note on the back to please contact them as soon as possible. All kinds of thoughts were going through my mind: was there a family problem, or death? I did not know as I proceeded to drive down from the trailhead, as I arrived at the turnoff, I saw there were RCMP, Search and Rescue and others getting ready to head up the trail. I asked if someone was lost on the mountain. The head of our detachment said Yes, you are. Seems that my son started to panic about me being gone so long, and that he had thoughts of me lying on the trail somewhere with my leg screwed up.
He explained later that he had tried to contact me by radio, as did a few others who were in Sayward and after getting no reply, he did the right thing and called search and rescue. I told him I had tried to reach him as well. We looked at the radios, and I realized that mine had been turned to a different channel somehow in my pack, and I had not noticed.
It all ended well. I was impressed with how fast they had gotten everyone together to come to find me. Gave me a good feeling that perhaps if there had been a problem, they would have brought me home.
There are many mountain trails on the coast, and some of them are extreme. The Kusam trail is one of these, and if you are going to hike it, let someone know when you should be out. That way, you can help them find you by reporting that you are late. It could save your life.