I've been the lucky recipient of six surgeries to date, and lord knows I'll probably be lucky enough to snag a few more before the cold hand of Death smacks the beer from my grip and sends me packing. Being aware that your manner of lifestyle choice lends itself to a short lifespan grants you the freedom to make some bad choices; choices like hiking a mountain only about four weeks after a bone graft and knee reconstruction. The way I saw it at the time, if my knee exploded during a pleasant jaunt up Wachusett Mountain, it wouldn't have made it through my usual bar escapades anyway.
Besides, we brought plenty of pain medication.
It was slow going, in part because of my knee, and in part because the terrain itself tried to kill us a few times, but the three of us made it to the top and back down before night fell and we were forced to become Mountain People (which would have certainly landed us a show on the Discovery Channel... we probably should have moved slower). Here's a video of our ascent!