That's right.....I can go down the stairs!!! From a previous post I had said I was having trouble going down the stairs. I had been trying it but noticed I was sore so I quit. I hadn't really even tried since I was kind of scared to plus I was avoiding the pain that I thought could come with it.
But out of the blue, without even thinking I walked down the stairs. Like normal. One foot on each step not two like I had been doing. To the normal person (which I guess is not me) this sounds so uneventful, but for me, it's a new accomplishment. I guess when I had been trying to do the stairs before I wasn't ready. I've made some progress and can now do them. I'll admit there is a twinge now and then, but I am not thinking about it anymore and am just walking down the stairs just like everyone else does. Huge deal for me.
Hiking 8/30, 9,/1 & 9/3/2014
I went up north to camp in the trailer with Kev for a few days. We had talked about me going up with him but I wanted to be at a point where I would be ok riding my quad as well as doing some hiking. I was going to go last week remember? And then I had my little pity party lol But this week we were all set to go. On Saturday Meredith and Dave came up and they brought Alicia up with them. Once they got there we went over to Woods Canyon Lake. At the trailhead Kev dropped us three girls off and we made plans to meet the two of them at the lake. It's a nice trail, it's all paved and basically just follows the road down to the lake. When we got to the end of the trail we had to follow the roadway to the far end of the lake cause that's where Kev and Dave were. A lot of the times that Kev and I go to this lake we do the hike which goes all the way around, but Kev didn't want me to do that yet cause it's uneven and some rock areas and since it was my first time out of my neighborhood walks he wanted to make sure I did ok. And I did great, felt great no problems with my knee. It was nice to be up north in some cooler weather and working on what I love doing, some great hiking.
On Monday Kev wanted to head over to Willow Springs Lake to do some fishing. Those guys all left Sunday so it was just him and I. On the way there we stopped at the trail on the rim which is one of my favorite trails. It has great views and is also a nice paved trail for most of the way. We went out for about a mile and a 1/2 and then turned around. Again, I felt good, my knee was good and I was loving doing one of my favorite trails on my new knee. After the hike we headed over to the lake which was really crowded so I got a little more hiking in there while we made our way to a side of the lake that had some shade. Another great day out in the cooler weather.
Wednesday was my longest hike. Kev and I did a trail that we have done several times in the wilderness area. It is really pretty and secluded from campers. It use to be an old logging road but is all overgrown now but still a nice hiking trail. We've seen all kinds of animals on this trail including a bear a few years back. At times the trail has some uneven surfaces and rocks but I was feeling good about my knee and really didn't worry about going a good distance out in the woods. Overall we did 4 miles. I felt good afterwards but was ready to finish. I have to work up to doing a lot of miles as well as something more difficult, but I'm getting there. Excited I did good on a dirt trail and my knee felt good as well.
As well as getting some hiking in all week I did get a chance to ride my quad and relax in the beautiful pines. I am still doing exercises regularly and icing as well, all of these things are helping me progress which I feel is going well.
On Monday Kev wanted to head over to Willow Springs Lake to do some fishing. Those guys all left Sunday so it was just him and I. On the way there we stopped at the trail on the rim which is one of my favorite trails. It has great views and is also a nice paved trail for most of the way. We went out for about a mile and a 1/2 and then turned around. Again, I felt good, my knee was good and I was loving doing one of my favorite trails on my new knee. After the hike we headed over to the lake which was really crowded so I got a little more hiking in there while we made our way to a side of the lake that had some shade. Another great day out in the cooler weather.
Wednesday was my longest hike. Kev and I did a trail that we have done several times in the wilderness area. It is really pretty and secluded from campers. It use to be an old logging road but is all overgrown now but still a nice hiking trail. We've seen all kinds of animals on this trail including a bear a few years back. At times the trail has some uneven surfaces and rocks but I was feeling good about my knee and really didn't worry about going a good distance out in the woods. Overall we did 4 miles. I felt good afterwards but was ready to finish. I have to work up to doing a lot of miles as well as something more difficult, but I'm getting there. Excited I did good on a dirt trail and my knee felt good as well.
As well as getting some hiking in all week I did get a chance to ride my quad and relax in the beautiful pines. I am still doing exercises regularly and icing as well, all of these things are helping me progress which I feel is going well.
Dr Appointment Update 8/28/2014
I had a follow up doctor appointment and this time it was with the PA Andrea that had come to see me every day in the hospital. She said I was healing really well, she checked my bending which is awesome and also my straightening which again is "right there." I'm not sure if it will ever be there with the way everyone says it's "right there." Where is there? Just kidding. I know I have a little ways to go on that and believe it or not that seems to be more work then the bending. Actually I guess it could go either way depending on the day. We talked about the pain medication I have. I really don't take much of it except at night. And mainly it's because I get these spasms and they tend to go on for a while when I get them and then it starts to hurt or it keeps me up so I'll take some pain meds to settle them down and try to sleep. She said that's normal and may go on for a while with the more I start to do. She did prescribe a muscle relaxer that she hopes will help with the spasms, so we'll see. We also talked about what I can and cannot do and basically she said nothing. There are things that I cannot do like I could before, but overall I should let pain be my guide. I asked her about running, I know that's pretty funny since I don't even like it. LOL But I did ask cause I did like when I was doing some 5k runs with my friends but she said what Dr Wilmink said....no running. So I guess I thought she would say something different???? No, she explained that if it was my life's passion and just something that I loved and couldn't live without then we would work to get me back to it. But since it's just a casual social thing, don't do it. Why wear down my knee faster then it will wear anyway just in daily life? She did say I could start riding my bike so that was cool. I like to do that but like anything else in AZ right now it's hot outside, but just knowing it's ok if I want to do something different is good.
Other then that the appointment was pretty much just routine. Andrea did tell me I was ahead of where most knee patients were at this point, which I continue like hearing. She told me that if my knee feels warm now and then, that's normal. Dr. Wilmink had told me that but it's a weird feeling. It's almost like my knee has a fever. It's just really warm actually pretty much hot all around my knee and no where else. The joint is continuing to be accepted by my body and everything is working together. She said this could last for up to a year and the spams could as well. Do t mind the fever but the spams suck.
I told her I wanted to continue PT at least a few times a week to work on my strength and straightening and she agreed. I was all set and have my next follow up on October 9th.
Other then that the appointment was pretty much just routine. Andrea did tell me I was ahead of where most knee patients were at this point, which I continue like hearing. She told me that if my knee feels warm now and then, that's normal. Dr. Wilmink had told me that but it's a weird feeling. It's almost like my knee has a fever. It's just really warm actually pretty much hot all around my knee and no where else. The joint is continuing to be accepted by my body and everything is working together. She said this could last for up to a year and the spams could as well. Do t mind the fever but the spams suck.
I told her I wanted to continue PT at least a few times a week to work on my strength and straightening and she agreed. I was all set and have my next follow up on October 9th.
Pity Party 8-22-2014
I was ready to get to PT today. I hadn't been there since Monday and here it was Friday. It was a long week already and it wasn't even over yet. When I left PT on Monday I told them I'd see them on Friday cause I was going up north for a few days. I even talked to Mark to make sure he thought it was ok to put so many days in between my appointments. He assured me I'd be fine plus we talked about stuff I should make sure I do up there and to be careful on what trails I walked on if we hiked.
Well....all that fell through Monday night when I got a call at 3:00 am because Alicia was in the ER. She had been having some severe stomach issues and had reached the point where she could no longer take it. Without going into all the details of our ER experience and all that, she had to have her gallbladder removed. So I was at the hospital from 3:30 am Tuesday morning until I took her home on Wednesday afternoon. I hung out with her Wed, and then all day Thurs. By the time I went to PT this morning (Friday) I was hurting pretty good. I really didn't do a whole lot of stuff at the hospital. Occasionally I would do some stretches, leg lifts and high knees. But nothing major. The nurse did give me an ice pack that I continued to put on my knee but bottom line is I needed a good workout and massage.
I got to PT and I was greeted with questions of how my trip up north was. :( I was sad I didn't get the chance to go and disappointed that I hardly did any work. So when Mark was doing my massage and ice I told him why I felt like I had struggled today. He said that he wouldn't have known I was struggling cause I did great. And of course reminded me that stuff comes up we have no control over and in this case I was aware I was not going to do all I needed to do but I still iced and tried to do a little. Really it all just came down to me having my own little pity party. I was worried about Alicia, I was over tired and I was sore. Whaaaaaa
Increased my Walking 8-25-2014
I had a PT appointment this morning with great results. We did some measurements and I have great bending and straightening numbers. I know at my last appointment Dr. Wilmink had said that the bending will come so I need to make sure I work on my straightening. I've actually been working on both cause they really do go hand in hand but believe it or not the straightening is harder. When I first started at my PT sessions I was at a 117 bending degree. I am now at a 135, which Austin told me when he was measuring my bend that that is where they want a TKR patient to be. And I am there. At least I was today. I was measured at the end of my workout and massage, so I was good and warmed up as well as loose. I'm sure some days it may be a little less but I know I can reach it so eventually it's going to always be that. My straightening is "right there." It started at a -5 and I do know it's so close that I'm not even sure it would measure. Ok maybe for measurement sake the "right there" is -1, it could even be less then that. Again, that is still something to work on.
At my appointments I have pretty much been doing the same exercises each time but on Friday we added more reps to a few. Then today we added more reps to some others. It's crazy that I am just soaked with sweat when I am done. Today I pretty much worked with Austin, and about 1/2 way through my workout he threw a towel at me. I guess he got tired of watching me wipe the sweat off my face with my shirt sleeve. lol I try to get the most out of each of my workouts because I want them all to count.
Aside from my PT I am also doing pool workouts which I just love. I basically have a little circuit in the pool of stuff I do. Outside the pool they are all things I do struggle with, yet I am able to do more in the water and I like that. I believe that is helping with all I am able to do at PT as well as just getting around.
I had told Austin today that I was going to try to walk more this week. He said try???? And I said well yeah, I only walked twice last week so I want to do more this week. He said ok, let's get it up to 4 times this week, and that came with a fist bump. haha Well I walked last night and then again tonight. I was feeling good tonight and that could be because I had PT today but I was able to take my longest walk so far since surgery and my fastest pace. I'm still staying in my neighborhood, I am going to make sure I can do a good 4 miles before I go out farther from home.
So here are the last two walks I've done, last night and tonight.
When I was done with my walk I came home and jumped in the pool to cool off and basically stretch and loosen up my knee. Once inside I sat and did a nice ice session. I'm trying not to leave anything out, I think all the steps are very important.
You're Doing Great 8-18-2014
I showed up at my PT appointment and they were happy to see me. They were worried after the two appointments I had with them last week that maybe over the weekend I may have changed my mind and decided I didn't want to come back. At least that's what Austin said to me when I showed up. I laughed. He said I wasn't sure if we beat you up too much or not. I laughed again and said I want you to beat me up, that's why I'm here or all of this and my trying to get my knee replaced will have been for nothing. Which is really how I feel. If I don't put as much work as I can into each appointment and each activity I do on my own then I'm basically not getting my monies worth. And now that the bills are started to come in, I want this all to be money well spent.
So at Moore Physical Therapy there are some really nice guys that are working there. They show a lot of dedication and care for all of the patients I have seen them work with. And that includes me. I so far have mostly been working with Mark, the owner and Austin one of the PT assistants. Both super nice guys. And the other PT James is awesome too. And although the tech, Bear helps them all out he's real quiet and just does whatever he is told. So there you have the commercial part of my blog post. lol. But this way too since I will be going to PT for a while you will know who I am talking about in future PT posts.
So back to my getting beat up....I had another great workout. At least that's how I felt when I left and what both Mark and Justin said to me throughout my different exercises. And although I have been told by a few people that I am ahead of where other people at this stage are I did see that today at the office. There was a guy who had TKR (remember? total knee replacement) about the same time I had had mine done. And if I had to guess I would say that we were about the same age. We were both doing the same exercises through the course of our appointments, and actually I think I had a few more then he did. But I was doing more reps then him, using more weight then him, not using anything for assistance, lifting higher, walking faster and basically kicking his ass. Part of that could have been for show too. lol But really overall I was further ahead then him. At the end of my appointment when Mark was doing my stretching I asked him when that guy had his surgery and he told me it was around when I had mine so that's how I knew we were on the same timeframe. Now here's the thing he followed that up with. You know you are doing great, as best as I've ever seen this early on with a new knee. And you really can't compare yourself to anyone. It's not that that guy is behind, but you are doing so well. Only I was comparing myself to him, cause I don't know how this is suppose to go. And sometimes when I feel good and then I see that I can kick some ass like I did today I want to do more. I want to be able to walk farther then 2 miles and not be hurting. I want to do some squats and leg lifts and not feel like I did get beat up. It's just crazy. Because after kicking ass and feeling good I hit this wall. And this wall hits hard. My knee hurts, I can't go down stairs, I walk slower.....this wall is where I get the biggest beating. Damn wall. And part of it is the fact that I don't want to read the writing on the wall that says...hello 26 days ago you were cut open and your joint was sawed out and we put this chunk of metal in there and then glued you shut. Now why would I read that? Haha I know right...because the damn wall keeps getting in the way.
So for now I'm just going to keep going back to get beat up, I'm gonna work on getting over or around that wall and just keep listening to.....you're doing great!!!!!
Another Walk 8-16-2014
Went out for another walk and again I could definitely feel it when I was done. I'm not sure how far I should go, the doctor said let pain be my guide. Well right about a mile and a half, maybe a little farther it started to hurt. But....I still had to get home. So it ended up bring a little over 2 miles. 
I'm still staying in my neighborhood and will for a while til I feel I can go longer and not worry about being too far from home.
New PT 8-13-2014
So today was the day I was starting my new outpatient PT. I had decided to go to a PT office not too far from my house that my friend Terri has gone to and recommended.
My day did not start out too good. I woke up kind of early and overall did not sleep good last night. Not too sure why, but I could totally tell. I got up and my knee was sore. So not only was I tired, but I was sore. I tried going down the stairs....holy crap that wasn't going to happen. My knee was sore. I had gone back up the stairs and crap that way is sore too. So how come? Was trying to take on the stairs making me sore? Did I walk too far? I don't know what it was, maybe it was just how today was going to be.
I had my PT appt at 10:30. When I got there I had to do the normal paperwork etc. Then I met Mark who is the owner of the PT facility and the one who I was going to be working with today. We started out with some basic questions, when was surgery, how is pain, what have you been able to do etc. Then he did some measurements and tested my resistance and mobility. Now we were ready to start the workout. He put me on a stationary bike for only about 8 minutes for some warm up. From there we moved on to doing some leg machines with weights, some balancing, and some walking drills. One of them being high knees. I started doing them and he said, wow you can get your knee up there with no trouble. I told him it was one of the exercises I do everyday, so then he decided he needed to add weights to my legs. Did make it a little harder, but I could still do them. I have to say, I was sweating when we were done, I had a good first workout. When all that was done, I got a nice stretch and leg massage then a 10 minute ice and muscle zapping.
All in all a successful PT appointment. And did I mention that he was very impressed with how well I was doing and how happy he was to see my knee and ranges in such great shape only 3 weeks post op!!!
When Kev got home from work we went swimming. This was my first time in the pool since my surgery. It felt great. I did all kinds of exercises with no pain. There is just something magical about working out in the pool. I did a variety of stuff for about 20 minutes. I was happy about that.
I'm still sore, quite a bit actually. I did some more ice cause that's what I'm suppose to do. But I'm going to say I'm sore from my hard work today!!
Neighborhood Walk 8-12-2014
Kev and I were going to go to the gym but we started doing some other things and before we knew it the gym wasn't going to happen. So I decided I would just go for a walk. This decision came to me at like 1:30 in the afternoon but it was kind of overcast so I figured it would be fine. And really the walk was fine but the overcast was gone within about 5 minutes so it got a little warm but hey it's August in AZ at 2:00 in the afternoon of course it's warm. No it's hot, but it was fine.
I walked just around the streets in my neighborhood. Basically just some loops through the streets. It was actually nice cause it was really pretty quiet with hardly any cars. By the time I had decided that I was hoing to head home I knew it was time to stop. I could feel my knee getting sore and just knew I needed to call it a day and get my leg up with some ice.
Not too bad for a little bit of a longer walk. If I had known I was so close to 2 miles I would have kept going lol but it was probably good I didn't. I guess my goal next time is to do 2 miles.
Upstairs & Downstairs 8-11-2014
I have been taking the steps one step at a time when I first came home from the hospital. What that means is having both feet on the same step at the same time. The PT at the hospital helped me learn this by saying good leg up, as in good going to heaven, and bad leg down, as in bad go to hell. I actually caught myself saying that so I would remember which foot to start with when I approached the steps. Sounds so simple to walk up or down stairs but with a bad knee or in my case a very recent new knee, it's very hard to do. Last week I started going up the stairs (the downstairs ones that only have 3) one foot per step. It was definitely a little harder but I was working at it. Then I decided a day or two later to start doing the other set of stairs (there are 9 of them) by taking one foot per step. This was even harder cause I had farther to go. I could feel my knee stretch more but it was doable and was going to take some practice.
So today I decided I was going to try going down and work on that as well. Haha, and I thought going up was hard. OMG the down is way harder. I did start with the set of 3 and then the set of 9. I can't really explain it, but it's hard. The steps are all around going to be alot of work and are going to take lots of practice.
Trip to the Gym 8-08-2014
Who says you have to have the perfect outfit for the gym? I can't believe I was out in public looking like this, but I was. 
I didn't realize it was as bad as it was until I saw this picture Kev took. But hey...I just had surgery 2 weeks ago. I wonder how long I can use that excuse....hmmmm.
But my put together self and outfit is not what this post is about. It's about me going to the gym and riding the stationary bikes. Yes, bikes. There are two different kinds so I wanted to try them both to see how I could do. It was a little tough to get started, mainly cause I was scared I could do something wrong. But I got to pedaling and I rode probably for 20 minutes between the two bikes. It was actually pretty funny cause at different times the bike would flash, start pedaling or pedal faster. And I was already pedaling and at this point going as fast as I felt safe to go. So it was a slow bike ride, but I'm not so much looking for a workout on the bike but really trying to get some good movement in. The workout part will come as I work harder to build speed and resistance. Overall, the bike riding went well. I know it is something I will be doing at PT each visit, but I'd like to do some biking and walking on off days as well.
Today was also my last day of PT and Karen had nothing but great things to say about how I've done for the past two weeks as well as some things to keep working on and very positive words of encouragement for my continued recovery. She was real nice and I was happy with our workouts. I'm sure going to miss my leg massages, but I will definitely be requesting them at the new PT office starting Wednesday.
I'm out of the Dungeon 8-06-2014
Kev called my bedroom downstairs the dungeon. There's really nothing wrong with the room, it's really nice. Well I guess there is one thing and that's the fact that it is a hot room, not sure why, but it is probably the hottest room in the house.
But after having the doctor say I didn't need to use the CPM machine anymore I decided I would just use it a few times a day and maybe right before bed but not sleep with it on. So what that means is that I can now sleep in my own bed. We are one of the few people that still have a waterbed and the machine for one takes up a lot of room in the bed plus should be on a firm mattress not a floating one.
So I decided I would move back upstairs and really the main reason is that I miss my husband. I miss being in the same bed with him. We are close sleepers so to not have any contact for the past couple weeks has really been lonely. It's weird, he would help me set up the CPM every night make sure I had whatever I needed and then say goodnight and go upstairs. It was sad :( But now I'm back in our bed. Hopefully we can sleep together again. lol
Follow Up Appointment 8-05-2014
I went to see my doctor today, Dr Wilmink, the one who did my surgery. It's so nice to have an appointment and wait only a few minutes and you get called in. Kev looked at me amazed. See my old knee doctor had horrible office practices. There were times I would wait any where from 45 mins to 2 hours to see him. I kid you not, 2 hours for my appointment. And never less then 45 minutes. I just could never understand how he ran his office like that. I liked him and he did great surgeries on me, Kev and Alicia but you always had to wait. I know Dr Wilmink is a new doctor for me, but the few times I have been to his office I've gotten in within 10 minutes of my appointment time. In fact today my appointment was at 11:00, I had an X-ray, talked to the doctor for a while, made a new appointment, walked to the truck and was on our way home by 11:40. It was awesome. But back to what happened at my appointment.
When I first got there I got called back to my appointment room and a guy came and got me for an X-ray. Kev and I sat there for a few minutes and the doctor came in with his transcriptionist. He checked out my leg, the incision, made me bend and straighten. And said this looks great! You have hardly any swelling, your incision is nice and clean, you have great range. You're bending at about 120 which is really good and you're really really close to a full straighten. He checked out my PT report and said that all looked good as well. He asked what she had to say and I told him I was an amazing patient!! He chuckled. We went over the fact that I only had 2 more PT appts but then he wanted me to continue with PT for 4 weeks at 3xs a week. Then I would have a follow up with him and he would decide from there based on how everything was going and what new PT had to say as to what will be needed from there. He also asked about how my pain had been and I told him it's really been pretty good. The worst is after exercising, and at night I sometimes get spasms. I got a refill to use when needed. Always good to have.
So then I asked him if we could talk about some stuff. I think he wished he had said no. lol I right away said "how come you never came and saw me in the hospital, after my surgery." And the conversation went from there. I said your PA came in everyday, and the hospital doctor came in, but you never did. He was a bit surprised, it was pretty funny. I told him it was fine if that's how it normally is for him but I just wanted to know. He said he was sure he saw me and I must have been sleeping. In his defense too, I went home early on Friday so if that was a day he came by I was already gone. Kev called bullshit lol, but it's ok. I really liked him the first time I met him, he did a great surgery, and he knows now I didn't like that he didn't come see me when I was awake.
Then we talked about the other things that I had questions about:
My CPM machine. I asked him how long I should be using it every day and what range should I get it up to. He said I could stop using it if I wanted to. He said it's really needed to get patients up to a 90 degree angle. I told him I was at 120. And he was like, if you like using it go ahead but you have definitely reached what I wanted. So much for my 135 goal. I checked the machine and 120 is as high as it goes. I am going to keep using it until next week when the scrip on it runs out. It can only continue to help my recovery.
Swimming. After one of my knee surgeries I did my PT in a pool and I loved it! So I would really like to add that in with my other exercises. Especially since it is so hot out. But he said to give it one more week. He'd like the incision to have a little more time to heal up. I'm ok with that, it will go by fast. And by then I'll be at a new PT office so I'll be doing new workouts there.
Bike Riding. He said that I could ride a stationary bike now. But not a regular bike for at least another 6 weeks. And that's for safety reasons etc. I totally get it cause I did fall off my bike in May and it was bad, so if something like that happened now with my new knee, I'd be screwed.
Icing. I have my ice machine til tomorrow :( I am really glad I rented that thing. It has been awesome. It's electric and does ice and compression on my leg on a 30/30 schedule. It runs cold water through the whole pack with compressions for 30 minutes and then turns off for 30 minutes. And then resets etc. It has been great and I am sure has a lot to do with how my swelling has been really good. Anyway, he says to keep icing. A few times a day if possible but it is really good to keep the swelling down and relieve any pain that may come up.
So my follow up appointment went great. Dr Wilmink says I'm probably 2 weeks ahead of schedule. Pretty awesome huh? I'm anxious to continue my PT and then start my new PT and see how much more progress I can make.
PT Butt Kicking 8-04-2014
Oh man.....am I sore. Karen came for PT today and again we did a lot of resistance exercises. In my mind I am telling myself that I'm going to show her just how strong I am and that she can't stop me. lol It's a good thing it's in my mind cause it doesn't really happen that way. She says I'm doing great and she can totally tell that I am trying very hard to push through her resistance but it's still not happening. But it will, I know it will cause I can tell there has definitely been improvement. So we did resistance exercises and some quad exercises and then some walking exercises. They were actually taking big backward steps, so not really walking. I did a lot of these all around the pool table. It's a whole different stretch on my knee. It stretches the back of my knee as it straightens. And it's funny because these exercises do not last very long but they give me the most pain. It's good pain, Karen reassures me of that, but I'm looking forward to being able to do these with no pain. She did remind me that some of the quad exercises that we do used to hurt me real bad when I first started them and now they are still difficult but they don't hurt. So that is progress. Before she left she gave me a report card to give to my doctor at my follow up appointment tomorrow. It's all good news, I've been an excellent patient.
So tomorrow is my follow up appointment with my surgeon. I'll have some answers to a few of the questions I have for him and then find out what will be happening from here. I'm anxious to see what he says as far as all that and also how he thinks I'm doing, how my incision looks, what's to come etc. Big day out tomorrow!!!!
0-120 8-03-2014
I have reached the angle of 120 on my CPM machine. I'm thinking this is a pretty big accomplishment, even though I don't know how high it goes or what I should be at. Just from what the nurse at the hospital said when I first started and my PT has said when she's here, I am doing great on getting to higher angles. But I do know I had somewhat set a goal for myself to get to 120. I met that goal this morning. No pain at all and it ran at that level for about an hour and a half.
When I go to the doctor on Tuesday, the CPM is one of the few things I want to check with him about. When the machine was delivered, the guy told me it had a scrip written for 3 weeks. So I need to check on how much longer I will be using it. I actually like it, it stretches my knee and feels good. Plus when I am done my knee is very bendable. The other things I need to check are how long should I be on it each day, and how how do the angles go and what angle degree should I get to. For now, my next goal is to reach 135.
My New Assignment 8-02-2014
My PT told me to do something fun this weekend, it was my assignment she gave me yesterday before she left. So my plan was to do what I do on so many other Saturday mornings and that is go out to breakfast with my friends Meredith & Dave. This is something we started doing a couple years ago. We would go to a Weight Watcher meeting and then go out to breakfast. Or something new has been if we do a morning race like a 5k, 10k or any race we signed up for we will go out to eat afterwards.
After we ate and sat for a while, I was ready to go home. I was kind of tired and my knee was a little sore. So once we got home I sat and did my ice machine. It was a fun couple of hours, and I had completed my assignment :)
Last Saturday was only one day after I had gotten out of the hospital and I was not going anywhere so they brought breakfast over for everyone. It was delicious french toast from a great little restaurant that we do go to sometimes for our Saturday breakfast days. But to do my assignment I decided I was going to go out. Kev was up north for the weekend so I was home by myself so I thought it would be a great treat. Meredith came and picked me up and then we stopped back at their house to get Dave. I was out of the house again!!!!
We decided for breakfast we were going to one of our favorite places, Kokobelli Bagels. This is a great bagel shop that was the beginning of our breakfast trips. We went there every week and then one day we decided to try some different places. So now we have a few different places that we will go depending on whether someone has a craving or not for something in particular. The bagel shop was this weeks choice because we like their food and because it's real casual and I knew I'd be able to get in and out easy as well as pull an extra chair yo our table to put my leg up.
After we ate and sat for a while, I was ready to go home. I was kind of tired and my knee was a little sore. So once we got home I sat and did my ice machine. It was a fun couple of hours, and I had completed my assignment :)
Leg Massage 8-01-2014
First thing when Karen, my PT lady does is give me a leg massage. Actually it's the first thing she does after she takes my blood pressure, listens to my heart and then does my oxygen. (I think that's what that thing is that they put on your finger) Anyway, we go down to my room and I lay on the bed, (this is starting to sound dirty, but don't go there) and then she kneels on the floor and just rubs my surgical leg all around where my surgery was. She basically gives me a deep tissue massage underneath my knee, on the sides of my knee and then the rest of my leg. She'll straighten my leg and then work on my knee cap as well, that actually hurts a little. But overall, it just makes my whole leg feel good and warms me up for the exercises that we are going to work on the rest of the time she is there. I told Kev how I loved the massage she did I think after the 2nd time she was here and he said that I should have her show him how to do it. So then the next time she came, she did. And she told him not to be gentle, which was funny cause then we talked about how you wanted to be able to feel it. Like when you ask someone to scratch your back, they should draw blood with a good back scratch if you're going to feel it. lol So she showed Kev, and then there were a couple times the rest of the week, like on the days she didn't come, that he'd come over and give me a leg massage. I told Karen that it was my favorite part of PT and I thought she should do a massage when she got there and then before she left. So now she does, just not as long and as detailed as when she gets there.
I had a little bit of a break down at PT today while I was getting my leg massage. I told Karen how I had been feeling the last few days and of course for whatever reason, I was crying. I tell her how I'm just frustrated that I feel good, yet I'm hurting. And then I feel like I'm making progress, and I hurt again. And I can't remember what else came out in between the tears. She assured me once again that I was doing amazing and I need to give myself a break. She also said that the way I'm feeling is completely normal after surgery, having anesthesia and pain pills, all that stuff. Sometimes people just have to work through it. So she continued with my massage, I got the tears under control and then we started the hard stuff. On Wednesday when she was over, she added some new exercises and I told you how they were hard and somewhat painful. We got to those and they were tough again, but I knew they would be. We are doing stuff with resistance now and she is not holding back. I lay on my stomach and let my legs from about my calf down hang over the edge of the bed. She holds my leg at my ankle and then tells me to bend my knee. I am not real weak, so this is something I should be able to do, but I can't. I am pushing like crazy and she does not budge an inch. She holds me back and holds me back and then will ease up just a little bit and then I bend my knee. Just the bending my knee part hurts so throw in there the resistance she is putting on, it hurts more. Then we also do the opposite where my knee is already bent and she is holding it and I have to push it down. In a normal situation, I could take her....lol but like this I really struggle. But it's all in a good way cause she is really making me work hard and strengthening my knee with what she's doing. I wouldn't want her to be easy, but I'm still going to admit it hurts.
This was the last day of my first week of PT. I have one more week which will be Mon, Wed and Friday with PT coming to my house. I see the doctor on Tuesday to discuss what happens after Friday etc.
But before Karen left she tells me I have a new assignment for the weekend and that is to have some fun. Forget about my knee and do something other then my CPM, my ice machine and my exercises. No she didn't say don't do that stuff at all, she said do something fun as well. She made me agree that I would.
I had a little bit of a break down at PT today while I was getting my leg massage. I told Karen how I had been feeling the last few days and of course for whatever reason, I was crying. I tell her how I'm just frustrated that I feel good, yet I'm hurting. And then I feel like I'm making progress, and I hurt again. And I can't remember what else came out in between the tears. She assured me once again that I was doing amazing and I need to give myself a break. She also said that the way I'm feeling is completely normal after surgery, having anesthesia and pain pills, all that stuff. Sometimes people just have to work through it. So she continued with my massage, I got the tears under control and then we started the hard stuff. On Wednesday when she was over, she added some new exercises and I told you how they were hard and somewhat painful. We got to those and they were tough again, but I knew they would be. We are doing stuff with resistance now and she is not holding back. I lay on my stomach and let my legs from about my calf down hang over the edge of the bed. She holds my leg at my ankle and then tells me to bend my knee. I am not real weak, so this is something I should be able to do, but I can't. I am pushing like crazy and she does not budge an inch. She holds me back and holds me back and then will ease up just a little bit and then I bend my knee. Just the bending my knee part hurts so throw in there the resistance she is putting on, it hurts more. Then we also do the opposite where my knee is already bent and she is holding it and I have to push it down. In a normal situation, I could take her....lol but like this I really struggle. But it's all in a good way cause she is really making me work hard and strengthening my knee with what she's doing. I wouldn't want her to be easy, but I'm still going to admit it hurts.
This was the last day of my first week of PT. I have one more week which will be Mon, Wed and Friday with PT coming to my house. I see the doctor on Tuesday to discuss what happens after Friday etc.
But before Karen left she tells me I have a new assignment for the weekend and that is to have some fun. Forget about my knee and do something other then my CPM, my ice machine and my exercises. No she didn't say don't do that stuff at all, she said do something fun as well. She made me agree that I would.
It's That Big? 7/31/2014
That's what Kev said when we took the bandage off my cut. He was like....OMG I didn't know it was going to be that big. I laughed. Seriously? What part of he will cut me from here to there made you think that I wasn't going to have a surgical cut and scar that big? I didn't even know I could take the bandage off. I had taken a shower and one part of the bandage was basically not sticking anymore so it got wet underneath. I called to check if I should do anything special or what, and the nurse said just go ahead and take it off. She said I really only had to keep it on for 7 days and this was the 8th day. So I started taking it off little by little. Kev said to do it like you do a band aide and just do one quick pull. Umm, no thank you, this is going slow cause I'm kind of scared of what's underneath.
I got this far and then it started to get a little tougher to pull off. It was really sticking. Between the glue that they seal my cut with and then the glue the use for the bandage to make it waterproof, this part was stuck.
But then I was down to the end. And this is when Kev started to really look at it. At first he was just taking pictures as I peeled the bandage away but now it was time to check it out.
So there you have it. It starts just above the knee and goes to just below it. There are no staples or stitches on it that have to be removed. The ones that are on the inside will just dissolve and then it was sealed with some heavy duty glue of some sort to keep it from opening up. It's really pretty amazing. I can leave it unbandaged and can still take a shower, I'm just not supposed to sit there and let the water just hit it directly for a long period of time. I really wasn't shocked or overwhelmed when I saw it because it's pretty much what I was expecting. Kev on the other hand couldn't believe it was so big.
Walking 7/31/2014
I have been walking around the house pretty good, and most of the time it is without my walker. I really only use the walker when I do my laps. I have a lap circle around the kitchen and then one around the pool table. I like using the walker for these because it helps me to stay centered. And what I mean by that is that when I use the walker I walk in between the two legs on it and in order to do that I have to walk in the center of the walker. This keeps me straight and doesn't really give me the room to favor one side or the other or to limp. I have to think about taking normal walking steps and walking straight. The walker is my physical conscious that will get in my way if I don't do it right. It's really easy to get around doing things the right way since it may hurt a little, or may take more effort etc. But I want to take it slow and do it right, I don't want to start any bad and lazy habits that will end up hurting my rehab instead of helping. So aside from the laps I do, I still have the exercises that the PT showed me to do that I work on as well.
I am feeling a little better today and part of that may be the fact that Kev and I went for a walk this morning. We talked about it last night and decided we would go once I woke up before it got too hot out. I was asking him if he wanted to go to the mall since they open that up early so people can go walk there, but he said that we should just do what the PT said which was to walk a couple of houses on the block and then just keep adding to that before I try to do too much or go too far that I can't get back.
So we set out to walk on the block for a few houses. I used my walker because like I said I want it to help keep me centered but also because it was my first time being outside of the house and I was going to go a little further then some laps around the room. It felt good just being outside, and it felt good to be walking outside as well.
I am feeling a little better today and part of that may be the fact that Kev and I went for a walk this morning. We talked about it last night and decided we would go once I woke up before it got too hot out. I was asking him if he wanted to go to the mall since they open that up early so people can go walk there, but he said that we should just do what the PT said which was to walk a couple of houses on the block and then just keep adding to that before I try to do too much or go too far that I can't get back.
So we set out to walk on the block for a few houses. I used my walker because like I said I want it to help keep me centered but also because it was my first time being outside of the house and I was going to go a little further then some laps around the room. It felt good just being outside, and it felt good to be walking outside as well.
I walked to the end of the block where our mailboxes are and then turned around and then went past our cul de sac and went to the other end of the block. It was a very slow and thought out process. But Kev just walked with me at my pace and a couple times he even said how awesome I was and how great I was doing. It was really cute. And part of that is because he walks super fast and I have a hard time keeping up, but he never went ahead of me and just walked right with me and made sure I was feeling ok. By the time I got to the end of the other block I was tired, but still had to walk back to the house. Which was fine, I made it, but it's just crazy how much that little bit of walking took out of me. But I felt good. I got out, my walking was good, my knee felt good, everything was good. Now I was ready for my ice machine.
Kev wanted me to show everyone how I kicked that walkers ass!! It won't be long before I'm not using it and with the way things are going, it won't be long before I am walking down and around and back around the block even faster.
One Week Since Surgery 7/30/2014
Hard to believe it's been a week already since I've had my TKR. ( that's medical talk for total knee replacement) Am I glad I did it? Yes, of course I am. Only I want it to be 6 months from now. Since Monday I have been in a little bit of a funk. I feel good, I feel like I am making good progress, I am doing more and more exercises, I can run my CPM at 105, and I seem to be getting around (the bedroom, bathroom, family room) a lot better. BUT, you knew there would be a but, I feel like I should be doing more. And like I said Monday I think I am actually being too hard on myself. I am hurting today. Pretty much all day. Not sure if it's the addition of more new exercises, if it's from the way the new exercises hurt, or that I am trying to do too much cause I do overall feel good. Once again.... It's been a whole week from my surgery and i don't know why but I feel like I should be fixed. Where is this impatience coming from? I'm just really struggling with that.
So basically today is my 7 day post-op and I am hurting. That's on one hand. On the other, did you read that I am up to 0-105 on my CPM machine? Started at 0-70 just 7 days ago, that's good :) Getting around somewhat better, that's good too :) and you know my PT says I'm doing phenomenal. Another good thing. I just need to keep looking at the good stuff. So what....I'm hurting today. There's going to be days like this. Tomorrow's another day :)
Sock Tricks 7/29/2014
I had support hose put on my legs on my right leg, before surgery and then on my left leg when I was all done with my surgery. I was told that they are good for keeping your legs from getting blood clots as well as helping with overall circulation. I have had them on since my surgery. I did get them taken off when I took a shower before I came home but then they have been on since. At least til yesterday. I took another shower so I took my socks off and also had them washed since they were off. I had asked Kerry (my nurse sister in law) how long I should leave them on. She told me that I really should leave them on for about two weeks but could take them off at night. So I didn't put them back on yesterday cause I thought I'd wait til morning.
Once I got up and moving I asked Kev to put my socks on for me. I could probably manage my right left but would need help with the left so I just let him do both. Plus have you ever tried to get this type of sock on? It's not easy, they are super tight and take some work.
Kev learned this handy little trick at the hospital when they were putting them on me. Then today he tried it and it worked and I got my socks back on.
You put a small bag over your foot.
Then you gather up the stocking to get them ready to put on. You put the whole bundle over the bag on your foot and that helps them slide on.
Then all you have to do is get them adjusted and evened out and they are all set. You reach thru the little whole at the end and pull the bag out.
WA-LA....socks on the easy way!!! Well I may have had some help but it's easier this way for anyone :)
Feeling Tired 7/28/14
Not exactly sure why I felt tired all day, I had another good night of sleep. I left the CPM machine on and it worked out great. But thru the course of the morning and even this afternoon I felt tired. I even took like a 2 hour nap today. I guess I have to come back to the fact that I just had major surgery not even a week ago. I think I have been doing so good that I feel like I should just keep improving and doing more without any struggles. The other night my sister in law, who is a nurse, said that I needed to make sure I healed on the inside as well. And i don't think I'm letting it all come together, and it's all part of the outcome.
I had PT again today and was definitely sore when I was done. I have been doing the exercises that I was given on Saturday and then today I got some new ones and learned how to do the ones I'm already doing in a different way. This is one of those things that in one way is showing improvement and then in another I look at how far behind I am and how far I have to go to do simple tasks. Just weird for me. And I don't want to feel this way because this is going to be a long process especially if I am going to do all I need to do to have the best outcome. It's going to be small steps, small accomplishments and big results.
Again....I have to tell myself it's only been 5 days and stop being so hard on myself. Because really, I'm actually farther along then a lot of other people at this stage normally are. It shouldn't matter if I'm tired. Just go take a nap.
CPM Sleep 7/27/14
Last night I slept with my CPM machine running. The CPM machine is the contraption that hooks up to my leg and is electric. It bends and straightens my leg continuously once it's turned on.
I can adjust the angle that it bends and I have done some adjusting on it since I have used it in the hospital. When the company I rented it from came over and gave me a demo he said I would most likely start at 0-45. Well the first day they put it on me at the hospital the nurse said my order was written for 0-70. At first I was thinking there is no way that's right, but then again I'm the patient and what do I know. So the nurse put it on and the first couple bend and straightens hurt a little but then, like I've said in a previous post, it felt good. I liked the stretching. That same day when I was getting it put on again for another run of it, a different nurse looked at it and said, " you ran this thing to 70?" And I said yes and she said "you're a rock star!!" That was pretty cool, made me happy to think I was doing better then they thought I could.
I am suppose to be on it for 6 hours a day, and that can be in any combination that works. I have pretty much been doing it in 2 hour increments. I asked about sleeping with it on and was told it could only help if I felt ok with it on. So I told Kev I wanted to try it. He has to help me with it cause I can't lift it up on the bed and get strapped in. I was all ready and hoping for some good sleep. It actually felt more comfortable then just laying with my knee flat. And the good news is, I slept. I woke up around 2:00 to pee and was going to call Kev to come help me, but I managed to be able to reach the straps and could release them so I could get out. When I came back to bed I could get back in and strapped like I needed to be and I started running it again. Within a few minutes Kev came downstairs to see if I was ok, was I sleeping or needing any help. lol No problem, got it all worked out. So I fell back to sleep with the CPM running and didn't wake up again til almost 5:30. This was good news for me. I haven't been sleeping good and this was the most straight thru sleep I've had in a while. Plus when I actually was fully awake and unhooked the machine my leg felt great. My knee felt relaxed and flexible. Of course it tightened up and had some pain come back once I did some exercises and started working with it, but leaving it on and running was successful. I am going to try it again tonight to see how it goes again. I am still using it throughout the day, so I am definitely making it work. Oh and I am up to 0-85!!! Which I think means I'm making great progress.
Gold Star 7/26/14
I got a call last night about physical therapy and was told someone would call me to set it up. Within an hour a lady called and we made an appointment for her to come today about 9-9:30. For the first two weeks I am home I will have a home health care PT come to the house to give me physical therapy. After that I will go to a PT office for several weeks. The amount of weeks and how many times a week will depend on how well I am doing and my improvement etc.
I was up early cause I once again didn't sleep very well. I'm sure I just need to find a comfortable position, one that I can tolerate and not forget that my knee is sore. I ended up getting up three times to pee and I was ok with getting out of bed and using my walker to go the few steps to the bathroom. And I managed to get back in ok as well. Kev initially was sleeping in the downstairs bedroom with me but he couldn't take it that the bed is smaller then our usual one and the room is way hotter. I was joking with him that he took great care of me upstairs while I was downstairs. But so far he really is. I feel bad cause he has to do everything for me. I need some water, where's my phone charger, can you get me a snack? And he does it all. He's so awesome.
My PT, Karen came around 9:15. Kev answered the door and told her I was down in the dungeon, she didn't laugh. I'm sure in the next couple weeks she'll figure him out. So she came in and we did some paperwork, which she said was easier then usual because she didn't have to do any Medicare forms. Evidently I am one of her younger patients. After the paperwork she gave me a great massage. I was really worried when she started rubbing my leg that it was going to hurt, but it didn't, it felt great. I would have been happy just to have her do that the whole hour. But we moved on to other things. A couple of exercises are ones I have been doing since before my surgery and she was happy about that. One of them was to tighten my quad and then try to lift my leg off the bed. Try.....haha, well I lifted it. And a fairly good heighth. She was very impressed. And then I even did it a few more times. Yes I did it, but it hurt. Pretty much everything hurts to do, but the final outcome will be that nothing hurts and that will be awesome. After the exercises we did on the bed we went into the playroom so she could see how I walked and got around. Plus we did an exercise where I sat in a chair and had to stand up without using any armrests. Strictly the muscles in my legs. She said no one can so this after surgery but not to worry cause today was also an observation day of what I could do and then checking improvements from here on out. Well...not only did I get up, I did it 5 times!!! Again, she was really impressed. And I was feeling pretty good. We did a few more things and then the last one was to see how I do climbing the stairs. We walked over to them and I went up all three without any help from her or hanging on to the wall. I just went up one by one. Wow I was having a great day!! So then I went back down and she said she loved to see how far I already was and that I was going to have a great recovery. Normally the fist week after surgery she told me, a patient has PT every day and then they cut it back to 3-4 days the 2nd week. But Karen said I was already doing so well that she thinks I only need 3 days next week. Yippee!! I was on my way. When she left, Kev was upstairs with my sister and some friends and she said I did awesome, so good that I had earned a gold star!!!
Day 3 Post-Op 7/25/14
A little bit of a rough morning. I got up out of bed to go for a walk with the PT lady. It was kind of early and my breakfast had just arrived but I decided I wanted to walk first. We were out walking the halls and were also going to conquer some stairs as well. We were just about to the hallway to do the stairs and I started to feel sick. I told the therapist I needed to go back to my room. When we got back I sat in the chair and then between her and the nurse they tried to make me feel better. I had a cool, wet cloth for my head and then some nausea pills to help get rid of that sick feeling I had. Not really sure where it came from but I was not happy about it. I had been doing so well not feeling sick because on other times I've had anesthesia I have gotten sick . This time I didn't, I didn't even feel sick once. And then this. But it worked it's way out. I sat for a while and ate a little bit of breakfast and then went back to bed. There was a chance that this was going to hinder whether I got to go home or not. I was hoping it wouldn't but if I was sick and not able to handle my pain meds or use the toilet it could happen. We think it was because I didn't get good sleep again , plus I had taken pain pills thru the night and hasn't eaten yet either. Who knows? The nurse asked if it was because I was feeling anxious about going home. One of the other people that clears me to go home also said I didn't have to if I wasn't ready. I was ready but I wanted to make sure I was going to be able to somewhat get around.
The rest of the morning got better. I was feeling better, the PT came back in and we went for a walk and I did awesome. Then we tried out the stairs and I didnt struggle at all. She said I was ready and she would be happy to release me. We talked about some other situations I may need to work on. One would be using the toilet and another getting in and out of the shower as well as a car. Also talked to the hospital doctor and let her know how my pain had been doing. She stressed to me what I had talked about yesterday which was to stay on top of any I was having and to also let my doctor know if I needed something stronger or different to take. I had a great nurse today and she was really helpful and wanted to make sure I was ok with going home. She told Kev and I what we needed to do once we got home and with follow ups etc. I got my drainage tube taken out as well as my catheter and then I got to take a shower. I had no idea I'd be able to take a shower so soon. The nurse had taken off my big bandage and padding and underneath that is a waterproof bandage. So I can shower and not worry about it. The stitches are self dissolving so I don't have to worry about doing anything with them either. Now the only thing left was to pack up and go. It was definite, I was ready to go.
I have to be honest I was a little worried about leaving. I think I just wasn't sure how everything would go and how I would do. At least at the hospital everyone is right there. But as the day had gone on and I saw and talked to more people they all assured me that I was going to be fine and was in great shape to work on what I needed to work on at home. Kev has a few weeks off and I know he is going to be very supportive and take great care of me.
We packed up, I signed forms and Kev got my prescriptions and we headed home. Once we got home I went down to my room and relaxed. I was now home and ready to work hard to get my new knee in great shape.
Day 2 Post-Op 7/24/14
The day did not start off too good. It actually all started in the middle of the night. I had a tough time sleeping. It was really broken up for short periods of time here and there. I did ask for my pain medication a few times and then had to ask for more to top it off. I felt bad cause Alicia had spent the night so she kept waking up to see what I needed etc. I finally just accepted the fact that I wasn't going to sleep. Around 4:00 am the nurse came in to put me on the CPM machine. The first couple of times it pulled back it hurt but then it started to feel good. It's a nice consistent movement that helps to keep my knee bending and stretching.
As the day went on I did more icing as well as more time on the CPM machine and some PT. The pain again has been good and bad. The key is to stay consistent with pain meds so it doesn't get real bad and then I'm trying to catch it up. Plus different things seem to take more out of me which will set it off as well. In all the things I read before my surgery everything really stressed that I do what they tell me. They, meaning the nurses, doctors, physical therapists, anyone that is involved with what I have gone through and has anything to do with my rehabilitation. Some of the important ones are 1) to take care of the pain. Like I just said, it's easier to stay on top instead of catching up. 2) keep doing the breathing exercises. These seem so simple but are really important. It's very easy after a major surgery to catch pneumonia because of fluids building up in your lungs due to not working on deep breathing.
3) do the suggested exercises. I looked up on line what I was going to need to be doing right away after surgery and actually started doing them before I went it. Then when the PT came in, I knew what she was talking about and the importance of what exercises are needed for what. One exercise that is really important is not really for the rehab of my knee but it is to keep good circulation in my legs to keep blood clots from forming. 4) stay hydrated. Drink water, water, water. All day yesterday and today my mouth has been so dry. That's mainly from the anestisia and the pain meds, but to help that I have been drinking a ton of water. Plus. It helps to flush all that stuff out of your body as well. 5) rest. Whether it be resting to go to sleep or just resting because I just had major surgery, there has to be time to let my body adapt to my new joint and basically breaking it in. Overall those are some of the things I have learned not only from previous surgeries but also from the information I have read and heard in order for my surgery to be successful.
I'm supposed to go home tomorrow so we'll see how tonight and the morning go. I still have a drainage tube in as well as a catheter so I have to get those removed before that can happen as well. Now that I am trying to move around a little more the catheter is bugging me. Although on the other hand it's been nice not having to try to get up and use the bathroom. It's hard work getting in and out if bed.
New Knee for Me Day 7/23/14
The day started bright and early by leaving the house at 4:30 am. I had to sign in at 5 am for my 7 am surgery. I wasn't feeling too nervous which was surprising to me. Usually in a situation like this I am extremely nervous, sweaty, emotional, you name it. But today I was good. I was ready. Kev and I got to the hospital and checked in and Alicia met us there. We waited in the waiting room for a few minutes and then I was called in to finish up my registration, get my wristbands and of course pay my co-pay. It was just a short time after that that a nurse came out to get me and we all went back to the pre-op area for more preparations. I had to change out of my clothes and put on the lovely gown which was now going to be my outfit for the nest couple days. Different nurses came in and asked different questions, verified what I was doing there and basically did more preparations. The anestisologist came in and talked about what she would be doing to take care of me in the surgery room as well as how I would be getting a spinal block and light anesthesia so that I would not have any pain or be awake. This was now about the time I started to get nervous. I think she could tell because she was very reassuring that I wouldn't feel anything and would have the surgery and then wake up in the recovery room. The nurse told me I was the doctors first surgery that morning so we were just about ready to get started. I had an IV put in and then I had my spinal block put in. Although it was not as easy as I just made it sound. I had to swing my legs over the side of the bed while I hugged a pillow and the nurse held me. This was the preferred method of getting the block in. Try # 1 fail. Try # 2 fail. Try # 3 fail again. Finally try # 4 was a success. There were times this hurt, a lot. I remember the nurse getting a tissue and wiping the tears from my eyes. The anestisologist couldn't get it in. My body was not cooperating. Evidently I have arthritis in my back and she could not get the needle to go in past it. I felt sharp pains here and there and that is what brought on the tears. Plus I think I was just getting super nervous. So she tried again and again still with no luck. By the end of the third try she decided she would wait for the head of the department who was right across hall with a different patient. He came over and got it right in.
I don't remember too much from here but I do know I saw the doctor and introduced him to Kev and Alicia and then told Alicia to take our picture.
Later in the afternoon one of the physical therapists from the hospital came in and got me up.
I had a walker to use and wasn't really sure how to use it. I was trying to use it like crutches and was picking it up and then scooting it and was just doing it all wrong. You really are just supposed to slide it and stay in between it. It is good to keep as a guide as well as a stabilizer. We walked two doors down the hall turned around and came back. I was exhausted. This hurt quite a bit but was definitely tolerable. It was shocking to me and everyone else that I got up and walked on my new knee right away. But for it to be successful you need to put it to work right away. The PT gave me some exercises to do while I was just sitting in bed and assured me that although they may hurt they are necessary for recovery. Honestly I figured anything from here on out that I did was going to hurt.
Through out the rest of the day I was monitored to see where my pain level was at and given what I needed to help get it under control. I was getting morphin shots in my IV but that was something that they did not want to keep doing. It's very strong and very addictive. I liked it cause it works very well. They started to just give me some pain pills which worked at times and other times had to be backed up with an IV shot.
Surgery was a success so far. Overall the day went well. They do say that day two can sometimes be harder because everything is now wearing off. But we'll see. Right now I just need to make it thru the night.
Through out the rest of the day I was monitored to see where my pain level was at and given what I needed to help get it under control. I was getting morphin shots in my IV but that was something that they did not want to keep doing. It's very strong and very addictive. I liked it cause it works very well. They started to just give me some pain pills which worked at times and other times had to be backed up with an IV shot.
Surgery was a success so far. Overall the day went well. They do say that day two can sometimes be harder because everything is now wearing off. But we'll see. Right now I just need to make it thru the night.
Tomorrow is the Big Day 7/22/14
Wow....I am having my knee replacement surgery in the morning. I can't believe it's finally time. I did work today and since I was going to be home bound for a while Kev wanted to take me out to eat. After dinner we went home and then I decided I needed a haircut. I've been wanting one, but for some reason I had to get one tonight. The salon at the mall was open and a girl took me right away. I think I got 6 inches cut off. It feels great and is going to be way easier to deal with in the hospital and at home since I can't shower for a while.
After I got home from work and before we went to dinner, a guy came by to drop off and show me how to use my electric ice pump and CPM machine. (continual passive motion) The pump is a wrap that goes all the way around my leg, it is attached to an ice chest filled with ice and water. You turn the pump on and it pushes cold water into the wrap and automatically ices my knee. How cool is that?
The motion machine will be hooked up to my knee and just keep bending it. It starts at a certain angle and then through time at the hospital and at home the angle will get better and better. The guy that brought it over measured it for my leg and then showed me how to use it. I even got to test it out.
No eating or drinking for the rest of the night. Have to be at the hospital at 5 am for my 7am surgery.
Two Days to Go 7/21/14
Here it is Monday and surgery is Wednesday!!! I went to a preoperative class at the hospital this afternoon. It had a lot of good information. To start the class off the Chief Nursing Officer told us all about the hospital, how it came to be, it's mission and values. And he joked how a lot of people had the same reaction when their surgeon said they were going to have their surgey at Oasis Hospital, Oasis what??? It was too funny cause that is exactly what I thought. My doctor did explain to me the type of hospital it was etc so I did know some of the information.
Oasis Hospital is strictly an orthopedic hospital. All patients are there because they are choosing to have surgery to improve their quality of life, not because they are sick. It is a well hospital that was constructed by surgeons that wanted to be able to use their own procedures and practices not the ones that are regulated by group hospitals. They do only orthopedic surgeries so the hospital is specialized in patient care and recovery. As well as the information about the hospital, each of the different departments that anyone deals with came and talked to us. From the time we walk thru the door and sign in until we are picked up on the curb at discharge, we were told step by step what to expect. Alicia went with me because they encourage you to bring someone that will be helping in your care. They are all about patients having a "coach" that will help them to do what they need to do to have a successful recovery. I got a great handbook that has all the information as well. I really had only one complaint about the whole class, and that was that it would have been nice to have gone to it a few weeks earlier, just to be able to have known some things in advance. I did talk to the women running the class and she agreed, but I also did tell her that I did some research online so I knew about some of the things that I would be dealing with before and after.
I also had been given a list of stuff I would need to do before surgery from the doctor. I am talking about different tests and lab work, that kind of stuff. Did you know you need to get a clearance from your dentist to have surgery? I found this so odd. But then the nurse from the doctor's office explained it to me when she called, as well as a friend in my bunco group who is a dental hygienist. They told me that since this is a surgery involving a joint replacement they have to be sure I have no infections of any type. Your mouth is a big bacteria, germ and infection carrier. So to keep any infections to possibly travel to your new joint, this is something that needs to be checked before surgery. Other tests included blood work to check all kinds of different counts, an EKG, urinalysis, chest x-rays, and I'm sure a few others I can't remember. The week before surgery and up until surgery you cannot take any aspirin, vitamins, fish oil or anything along those lines, only prescribed medications. Plus you also have to wash with a specific anti bacterial soap. I did run into some glitches with getting some of my tests done, but completed them and now have two days to go.
5 Days and Counting 718/14
It's been a long time coming, at least I think it has been. I started having knee issues when I was in high school. I remember my dad taking me to the doctor to have my knee drained, the old "water on the knee." The doctor poked me with a syringe needle and pulled out this blob of gel. It was the weirdest thing. And just the beginning of many visits to a knee doctor. Through the years and up to date I have had four surgeries on my left knee and one on my right. The left one for reasons you can guess is the one that gives me pretty much all of my problems. I have had 3 cortisone shots, countless doses of ibuprofen, ice packs, and prescribed pain relievers. At one time I even got weekly shots of a medicine called Supartz which basically is a joint fluid therapy. It was a shot I got directly into my knee to help with pain and swelling and overall just masking the problem. They worked for a while, everything worked for a while. I have no cartilage left in my knee and I am pretty much sick of trying to work around it. My knee doctor continued to tell me every time I saw him for a new Vicodin prescription that I was too young for a knee replacement. It has been years that I have been asking him to just get it over with and give me a new one. Yet he continued to say no. Finally in April when I saw him, I think he just wanted to shut me up, he told me he was going to send me to see another Orthopedic Surgeon. He said if Dr Wilmink thinks you should have a replacement then you should have it done, because he is one of the best and he'll take care of it.
So on May 15th I had an appointment to see him. I took the MRI I had had done in March from my previous doctor with me and was ready to beg for a new knee. Dr Wilmink came in, we talked about what was going on and why I was there. He looked at my MRI and said I was a perfect candidate for a knee replacement, my left knee is bone on bone. He then sent me down the hall to have an x-ray which shows some different details to what the MRI shows. The medical term for all that's going on in there is Osteoarthritis. I have no cartilage and my knee cap is crooked as a result. I started to say I wanted to be able to rehab my knee and continue to be active and not wait til I was 65 etc etc and he was like, I completely agree. I barely got to plead my case. We talked a little more about everything that was entailed with a knee replacement and the procedure that he uses and how it works etc. And to be honest I kind of forget what else he was saying cause all I wanted to do was give him a hug cause he was going to give me a new knee. I left the office with some paperwork of everything I needed if I decided that this was the route I was going to take. I really just wanted to say, "I'm in, what date can he do it?" But in all the paperwork it explained what I needed to do to proceed as far as getting different tests done, authorizations, blood work etc. Within a couple of days I got a call from Dr Wilmink's office verifying that I was going to have the surgery and then I started making appointments to get it all going.
Here is an article I found about my doctor and the procedure that he uses for knee replacement surgery. It's really interesting.
Dr. Michael Wilmink, an Arizona Orthopedics Associates surgeon, said Baby Boomers and others with weak knees are seeking knee replacement surgery to maintain an active lifestyle.
"My patients want to run and tee off at the golf course for the next 15 years," Wilmink said. "Things have changed and people want replacements now."
Wilmink and the other doctors at their new hospital, Oasis on Van Buren and 40th streets, have adopted a new type of knee replacement surgery: the Signature Knee.
The Signature Knee technology still uses the same metal-on-metal replacement joint, but it customizes the procedure to the patient's bone structure.
"We're not making a replacement for the bell curve of average measurements," Wilmink said. "We're doing personal, accurate replacements that match."
With the Signature Knee technology, an orthopedic surgeon looks at a patient's MRI or CT scan digitally. Then with the assistance of an engineer, the two detail a precise measure of each bone cut and the best angles to drill into the femur and tibia in order to secure a replacement joint.
These plans then go to a mold manufacturer in Belgium, where a laser model of the knee joint and the placeholder for drill holes is created.
The mold must be used within about six months because a patient's knee joint may shift or wear down further.
The Signature Knee advertises a more accurate surgery, shorter surgery time, less blood loss and less chance of infection.
So here it is 5 days before the date my surgery is scheduled for, which is next Wednesday, July 23rd at 7:00 am. I am still at the point where I am really excited to get it done. I am sure on Tuesday I will be freaking out, and then on Thursday be wondering why I did it. LOL
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