It's Time for a New Ribbon! (almost 14 months)

Today I ran various errands for 4 hours which necessitated getting in and out of the car and walking into establishments.  For the first time since my surgery, I got out of the car and just started walking.  Usually I have to stand there for 20 seconds or so, or if I take off walking sooner, I look like someone who has had knee surgery or is in dire need of it!!  I cannot tell you how BIG this is.  I have not walked like this in almost 4 years!


To what do I attribute this great advance?  Diligence. Diligence in my rehab, and more recently, spending more time on my outdoor bike even when I don't want to do so. Riding outdoors is much more difficult than a stationary bicycle, and even though my sister laughs when I talk about the hills I have to climb (she is from East Tennessee), those little inclines are very difficult for me.  I know I am hysterical to watch because I almost come to a standstill trying to get up those little slopes in a seated position.  That, or I am veering back and forth like a child learning to ride a bike and keep his balance.


To all in the throes of rehab, DILIGENCE.

What I have learned

I cannot go long without doing my exercises.  Two days prior to leaving for our trip, I did not go to the gym for various reasons.  Add to that 7 days of not riding a bike, and I came back home with very stiff knees, in spite of the fact that I was doing stretching exercises every day.  Granted, when I came back I was hurting, but it took me a full 10 days to get over that trip.  The first day on the bike, my left knee was so tight that it took a full eight minutes of revolutions before my knee quit hurting.  It was 10 days before I did not have to do some warm ups of going around halfway on the pedals to work out the kinks before going all the way around the first time.  I also had to scale back on my time and intensity level on the bike and scale back on weights and repetitions on the leg machines.  Just short of a month of my return, I am just now regaining my previous level of strength.


I don't think this will always be my life, but it is right now, and I am more determined to stick with my rehab for the near future.  A man at the gym where I go had 2 knee replacements 4 years ago, and he told me that he has to exercise 3 days/week.  I could live with that--I could give up these 3 extra days!