This week marks 8 weeks post-op. My 2 month goal was to walk unassisted in my house, and I have reached my goal! The other day I was getting out of my bed, and I looked around and wondered, "Where is my cane? Surely I didn't leave it in the kitchen!" So I got out of bed, toddled to the kitchen, and hallelujah, there was my cane resting against the counter! Since then I have consciously walked around my house some without a cane every day.
Today I walked 3 laps on the walking path in 11 minutes. Before my PT setback, I had walked 2 laps in 10 minutes! I am feeling again like I have turned a corner. As long as I can keep my physical therapist from knocking me down, I feel like my progress is going to increase, not necessarily exponentially, but certainly at a steeper rate. Yay me!!
My journey before surgery and afterwards with the hope of helping someone else.
Surgery Date
SURGERY DATE-- NOVEMBER 29,2010
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
A reality of rehab (7 weeks)
It's been almost a week. Last Friday at physical therapy, my therapist worked me really hard. I knew I was in trouble when I could hardly walk out of there! I could not wait to get home and get in bed to wait for the throbbing to go away. For the next 4 days, I could barely walk. Both knees hurt with every step I took. If I had been sharper, I would have reverted to my walker, but that thought never occurred to me. I miserably walked around with my cane and left my walking sticks by the wayside. Going back to the cane was a real psychological setback. (I just realized that I have not mentioned my walking sticks prior to this--I'll post about them next.) I was in significant pain for a full 4 days, and the past 2 days have been less painful. I saw my PT yesterday, told her I was not a happy camper, and she said, "that's not supposed to happen, but sometimes it does." Makes sense that I have to be tested, but I truly feel like I was set back 3 or 4 weeks. The real bummer was that that very morning when I awoke, I realized that I had slept all night for the first time since my surgery!! I was elated and felt like I had turned a corner in my recovery. I was delighted that I had slept all night because I had not been bothered by pain. I went bouncing into PT and announced to everyone who came around that I was a new woman and that I had slept all night. I haven't had a good night since. I'm still taking 1 or 2 pain pills every day, and I'm really surprised that I didn't take 3 or 4 every day last week.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Trying to get straightened out (5 weeks)
I haven't done any posting about my pool exercise. I've been going to the pool sporadically over the past 2-3 weeks. When I left the hospital, my doctor in rehab really encouraged it as the best way to rehab. It requires a lot of energy to get dressed, get there, and come home and shower, but afterwards I'm always glad I did it. Exercising is tons easier in the water because the pain is so much less. I do my regular exercises, plus others I have learned in the past from water therapy for a back injury. My biggest problem at the present is my extension or straightening of my knees. The right is not so much a problem, but the left one is. I have really worked on the straightening exercises that are no fun on land, but are so much easier in water. I have been using a noodle under my heel to extend my leg and stretch really good behind my knee. I have also spent lots of time walking backwards in the water. My therapist was real pleased to hear that I had been doing that. (I read about walking backwards in my knee book that I recommend.) Two days ago, my therapist did a lot of stretching of my left knee that was definitely not fun and left me hurting the remainder of the day. So I was motivated yesterday to go to the pool and work especially hard on straightening my knees. Today I was rewarded with great measurements. The right knee measured 4 degrees--0 is the goal. The left knee measured 7 degrees-- down from my last measurement of 15!!
I belong to the Y, so I am using pools that belong to the Y. I have since learned that the Church Health Center has a heated pool that is therapeutic for arthritics. The Y is 84-85, but the warmer pools are about 5 degrees warmer. I would choose the warmer pools if I had a choice. By the way, my husband wanted to do a video to jazz up my blog. No way my blog is going to sport me in a bathing suit!
I belong to the Y, so I am using pools that belong to the Y. I have since learned that the Church Health Center has a heated pool that is therapeutic for arthritics. The Y is 84-85, but the warmer pools are about 5 degrees warmer. I would choose the warmer pools if I had a choice. By the way, my husband wanted to do a video to jazz up my blog. No way my blog is going to sport me in a bathing suit!
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