NEWSFLASH! THIS IS HUGE! (5 months)

What a gorgeous day for deep water aerobics!  The water was sparkly and blue, the water temperature and air temperature  were perfect, the sun was warm, and it was a thrill to get back in the water.  My Y pool has been closed for the past 3 weeks for repairs, and I sorely missed my water class.  So for the past 3 weeks, I have gone to the gym 6x's/week.  I did a mixture of recumbent bicycle, treadmill, recumbent cross trainer, leg curls, leg extensions, leg press, and 33 seconds on the elliptical  for which I was obviously not ready.


To enter and exit the pool, the Y has this handy chair lift that has a chair that I sat in, and I would gently go down into the water in the chair.  I had been fearful of slipping on the steps and bending my knees, so this was great.  Then the process was reversed--I sat in the chair already in the water, and then I would be lifted out.  Yeah, it was embarassing, but hey, I got over it in a hurry.


After 3 weeks of working on the machines, I GOT OUT OF THE WATER BY MYSELF!!  The lifeguard had set the extremely heavy chair up for me, and I told him that I thought I could get in by myself, but I might need the chair to get out.  After doing my stair exercises, I decided to see how many I could climb.  Two stairs were the most I could do the last time I tried.  Breaking that water barrier where my strength was required to do the rest was amazingly easy to do.  There was no one to share my joy with except the lifeguard, and I think he was bugged that he had lugged that heavy chair and set it up for me for no reason.  

(Keep in mind these are not the steps built into the pool that are straight up and down.  They are stairs that descend at a slope with 2 handrails.)

Can't walk and chew gum (5 months)

I'm not quite that bad, but since my left leg is weaker, I am a bit unbalanced when I walk.  I had no idea that balance was a problem since I was still using my cane some.  Until I can handle curbs and stairs without assistance, my cane goes out in public with me.  Walking on uneven ground also presents a problem.  My dear ol' cane has probably prevented many a spill!  I have been walking on the treadmill since my graduation from PT. When I first started out on the treadmill, I just walked holding on for dear life. (at a whopping speed of 1.2 mph)  Then I gradually would let go and let my hands hover above the hand supports because I needed them frequently.  I am proud to say that I am now walking 40 seconds out of every minute with my hands to my sides. (and smoking at l.4 mph)  BUT, here's where the title of this posting comes in, I have to give it my total concentration.  If I glance up at the TV, I teeter.  I have to think--heel first, roll to ball of foot, and left arm swings with right leg, right arm swings with left leg....

Things I ponder...

I'm always wondering if it's normal to not be able to do something or to feel something, so I will jot down some of these in case there is someone else wondering the same things.


1.  I wonder if my knees should still be this stiff?  It's a different kind of stiffness than I had before surgery, but I sure would like to come out of this with none.


2.  I wonder if there will always be some movements that will cause me pain.  There are times when I move around in bed that I am very aware of my knees.

3.  Will I be able to kneel?  Will I be able to squat?  Am I expecting too much?


4.  When will I be able to descend stairs without pain?  Going up isn't always a lot of fun, but going down is definitely not without pain in one knee.


5.  When will I be able to walk without listing to one side?  I really want to have a normal kind of walk.


6.  My left knee does not extend as well.  Will this always be the case or can I expect both knees to be more similar?


7.  Are most of my knee problems going to resolve with increased strength? 


8.  When will I have more stamina and be able to walk more than 6 laps on the track without paying for it later?


9.  When will I be able to get up out of a chair and immediately start walking without having to wait for my joints to lubricate first?


As you can see, my impatience is rearing its ugly head again. Afterall, it has only been 4 1/2 months since my surgery.  I plan to answer each question when I have an answer and repost this if and when I have the answers. 

BLOG update

I am so amazed.  Being the computer challenged person that I am, I only recently discovered the stats for this blog. As of today, there have been 1,011 pageviews from 10 different countries!  I realize that most of these pageviews are from people who know and love me, but the really crazy thing is that some people actually found this blog through Google and not Facebook!  I realize, too, that most of the people reading this do not have trouble with their knees, but my hope is that they will pass it on to their friends and family who do.  My sole purpose in doing this was to offer hope, encouragement, a little education, and support to another traveling this same road.  It helps to know that one is not the only person going through or has gone through something.

Knowing what I know so far, would I get knee replacements again?  Without a doubt.  Is it a lot of hard work?  Absolutely.  Do I get tired of exercising every day just to have to recuperate from my exercise? Yes, every day.  I delight daily in the new things that I realize I can now do or can do better than I could do last week.  Just today, I realized that my yoga routine was automatic again (less worry about my foggy brain) and that I could for the most part do this yoga position without too much discomfort.

I have tweaked the blog to make it easier to find articles which I have recommended for preparing for surgery. There is also a gadget at the top to make sharing the blog easier. I hope that these and other changes will make this blog user-friendly.

"Give me a 'K'..."

I'm beginning this post not sure that I will complete it or post it, but I'm thinking this stinkin' thinkin' might help someone else down the road.  Last week was a great week; I could really tell that my quads were getting strong and walking was so much easier.  The past 4 days have not been so great, and I'm not really sure why that it so. Maybe I am doing more than I realize.  Maybe my muscles are fatigued.  Maybe it was tromping around on the rugby field last week-end. (obviously as a spectator) Maybe it was too many repetitions on the machines. Maybe it's because I have gotten slack on my PT exercises, although I am doing some form of exercise everyday.  Consequently, I am feeling a little bummed--make that moderately bummed.  Crying would be cathartic.  Walking actually hurts some today.  It's been a long time since walking hurt. (just one knee, the slower healing one) I just get SO impatient.  I want to be totally well-- yesterday.  If I knew for sure that the ups and downs are normal, I could try to be more positive.  But I go immediately to the worst case scenario in my mind--that's just the way I am.  Drives my husband crazy.

OK, I'm going to post.  If you've had a knee replacement, I need some feedback here.  I could use a cheerleader about now!