Giani on Mend after Surgery

Lou Giani returned home earlier this week after undergoing knee replacement surgery in a New York City hospital.  Huntington High School’s longest serving athletic coach in school district history is currently in pain but looking forward to playing golf by the middle of June and running his wrestling camp later in the summer.

“It definitely hurts, especially when I sit up or stand up,” Giani said from his home.  He returned from the hospital on Monday and will be receiving in-home physical therapy for at least the next month. “They tell me it should feel a lot better in about two weeks.

A lifetime of hard physical activity, including an extensive wrestling career and years of running brought Giani to the point where he was in constant pain and required the knee joint to be replaced.  “The doctor wanted to do both knees at the same time, but I decided against that,” he said.  “I’m not sure that I’ll every get the other one done.”

Giani checked into the Hospital for Special Surgery on March 20 and had left knee replacement surgery performed that same day.  Nine years ago he had his right hip replaced.  “This is much more painful than the hip was,” he said about his latest operation.  He has also opted not to take much pain medication.  “It makes me feel very sick to my stomach,” he said.

Since returning home on March 26, Giani, who just completed his 37^th season as the Blue Devil head wrestling coach, has been fielding numerous calls from well-wishers, reading and doing paperwork.  He’s hobbled right now but said he expects a full recovery within 14 weeks, at which time he will be cleared to play golf and pursue other normal activities. 

“They made a very large incision,” Giani said.  If I lie down, my knee doesn’t hurt, but doing anything other than that, it hurts.”  He had thoughts of canceling the surgery the morning of the operation, but is now glad he went through with it.  “It’s over and done with and I needed to have it,” he said simply.

After compiling an 8-2 record in dual meet action this past season, the longtime coach owns a lifetime mark of 426-36-1.  He has produced a stunning total of 178 league, 59 county and 23 state champs.   His Blue Devil wrestlers have won All-State honors 50 times

Giani’s involvement with the Huntington wrestling program dates to the early 1950’s after moving to the community with his parents from Manhattan as a 14 year old.  He remained active with the program even while he was becoming a world class athlete, winning a Pan Am Games gold medal in 1959 and competing on the U.S. freestyle team in the 1960 Olympics.  He took over the Blue Devil program in November 1970 and has remained at the helm ever since.