K +9

 

What a difference a day makes!  Last night, pain and discomfort got the best of me, for a while.  I eventually got to sleep and it was the best night’s sleep I have had post-surgery.  And today….

I awoke this morning feeling really good.  Pain was minimal, flexibility was good, and I felt very positive.  Then came “in clinic” PT.  I got started late because the patient ahead of me needed extra time but that’s ok.  Today, PT was simple; bicycle and patella mobilization.  Simple.  Not easy.

Bicycling post-knee replacement starts with slowly trying to get a full rotation of the pedals.  I began with about a 270-degree arc.  I pushed forward, pushed backward, stretching my limits until I was very close to getting all the way over the top.  The problem is, once you go over the top, your foot falls quickly along the arc.  I knew what was coming but had to push it anyway.  I began to turn the pedals over backward (easier way to go), pulling that stiff knee as hard as I could, pushing with the other leg.  Almost there, keep pushing, keep pulling and then…BAM! Over the top it went, my right leg turning toward the bottom of the arc in an uncontrollable spin, a yell escaping from my mouth!  Holy cow that hurts!  Breathe! Short puffs, breathe through it, breathe.  Relax.  YOU. DID. IT!! First time over the top!

I continued to work on it knowing this is a huge milestone that took nearly a month last time.  I pressed and pulled and got a second, without the scream, just some breathing.  Then a third.  In total I turned those pedals over half a dozen times.  That was it.  That was PT.  We did work on some patella mobilization but that’s nothing.

Decided tonight I was going to be back in the kitchen.  I poured a Founders Breakfast Stout and set to making fajitas.  Navigated the entire process without using a mobility aide.  Progress.  I’m going to make my Sunday goal!

Thanks for reading.  The fact that people are reading is helping me heal.  I appreciate the support.  

K + Comments

 I have seen quite a few comments and I love it. Some are philosophical and some are care/recovery focused. Either way…they’re great. When comments are posted, they are anonymous unless you put your name on them. If you would like, just add a name after your comment so I, and others, can see who you are. You just might have shared something that is valuable to another and perhaps they want to connect.  Your words might be that little something someone else needs. Please keep sharing!

K +8

Taking some steps without an aide. That’s what I’m doing, not very well, but starting. In the kitchen, a little in the office, getting in the shower and it feels scary as the knee feels unstable. They removed my ACL in doing the surgery because I really don’t need it anymore so the knee feels like to wants to hyperextend, or “bend backwards.”  It won’t, but it feels that way. My quads will take over the responsibility of that missing ligament, eventually.  Right now the quad is feeling a little irritated because they cut through the middle of it, lengthwise, to allow the patella to be folded out of the way to access the joint. Pretty invasive. 

I was talking to a friend who is 2 days post-replacement, and he is walking with only a cane. He is doing really well now that he has gotten some of his pain under control and I feel like he passed me up. But…..it’s not a competition.  Every patient is different. And for me, each surgery was different.  However, he did inspire me to take some of my own medicine (pun intended); I’m going to set a goal. One for now, short term, then the next. 

“My goal is to walk without an aide to the end of the driveway and back by start of the Seahawks game on Sunday!”  I will print this so I see it every day. 

Thanks RT for the inspo!  Keep up the fight!