On the Would-be Proudness and Girth of My Knee

The girth of my right knee is 368 mm, which is about the same as that of my left knee. I consider this an accomplishment, because it was swollen for a year or two after my patella tendon rupture surgery. What remains is a very pronounced lengthwise scar about 6 inches long on the face of the knee. People are prone to think I had a knee replacement, which makes me feel even older than I am, but such is not the case.

I've been burdened with kneecaps of an uncommon heighth all my life, but after the surgery my right kneecap has come to exhibit a singular proudness. Those who've born witness seem duly impressed as it has rose up a good deal. The patella, or kneecap, is a bone distinguished from most other bones, in that it floats in a tendon, the one that connects the quadriceps muscles to the tip of the shinbone, or tibia. I've learned this simple fact the hard way, and I think it's given me the right to speak with some authority on the subject. When my tendon's connection was severed from the shinbone my kneecap could be found a good distance up the front of my thigh. After the tendon was reattached, and the swelling went down enough to find the kneecap, it still displayed a clear, though not nearly as strong, preference for the thigh. Whether I flexed the knee so hard during the recovery period that the tendon was stretched inordinately and/or the doctor's kneecap placement was less than ideal, I don't know. Anyway, all things considered, I'm reasonably sanguine of the result.