Hobbling Along

Happy Thanksgiving!

 It's been a month since my last blog, I know.  But I have been a little busy.  A week ago I got a new knee!  I have been uncomfortable walking since this summer.  During the month we spent hiking in Utah on our trip back to Arizona from Colorado, I experienced increasing discomfort in my right knee.  Shortly after getting settled in our winter home, I visited my doctor and was sent for an MRI to see what was wrong.  

Several years ago, 2011 I think, I had surgery for a torn meniscus in my right knee.  At that time, John was told I had extensive arthritis in the knee. Over the years I have had shots in the knee to relieve some of the discomfort.  

When I met with my primary care doctor about the September MRI, he said I was bone on bone in that knee and I needed a knee replacement.  Since he had surgery to replace both of his knees over the summer and was doing well, I asked for the name of his surgeon.  

Once I met with the surgeon, there were many steps in the process of being cleared for the operation.  What an ordeal.  Blood tests, exams, an EKG.  It wasn't enough to get the initial referral from my primary care MD, I also needed a formal letter clearing me for the operation.

Finally, everything was in order and I was scheduled for surgery!  At 8 am last Wednesday, I checked into the hospital.  Of course, because of Covid 19 restrictions, John couldn’t come in with me.  He dropped me off at the front door and drove back home. 

We used face time to keep in touch.  A few hours after I was admitted, I was taken into surgery.  About 1 ½ hours later, I was in recovery.  I had PT in the hospital once that day and again twice on Thursday before I was released—about 28 or 29 hours after I got there.  

I can’t say, yet, I feel better than when I got there.  But I am hopeful.  They did a lot of work after making that 6-inch incision in my knee.  My body really didn’t like that and I have a lot of swelling and bruising. I am sore.

Every hour I am awake, I need to do some walking.  I have had PT twice since coming home and will be going twice a week for the next month.  I haven’t needed very much pain medicine. 

Already, I can bend the knee just over 90 degrees.  I can extend it to with 2 or 3 degrees of being completely flat.

From all I read and am told, I will take up to 6 months to be totally healed.  But I see the   sunshine ahead and really, really like my surgeon and my therapist. 

Now it is time to go outside and hobble around for a short walk.