4 Months - WOW what a difference!

[AlaskanTKR]

Happy Turkey Day to all of you from the Last Frontier - My turkey is in the oven as i write!
(we actually celebrated on Tuesday while my hubby was home - he headed out to work today!)

Well - I am a few weeks past 4 months and the last 2 weeks have really been amazing - I wish the OS had told me to just wait till the 4 month mark for things to feel good! My knee is GREAT. I have two more PT visits this coming week and then I will move to a gym program they offer (until 12/18 and then i will play it by ear). I am at 125 with just a bit of effort - we think I may hit 130 this coming week - if we can't it isn't the knee's fault and we will get it after they fix my hip issues in December!

I barely notice the knee when walking - (now the hip..... - that's for a different post!). Swelling is very much in control. Stairs are getting more and more normal all the time. Life has improved dramatically. the only pain in the knee area is the quad after a wild PT session or the lower shin bone after a long day at work - NO KNEE JOINT PAIN at all!!!

Thanks for all your support these past months! i couldn't have held it together without all of your comments, advice and silly joke threads!

you are all the best!

Alaska is still cold and snowy - but at least we are no longer the only snowy state! Many of you have joined us in that department - they started skiing yesterday at Alyeska (our favorite hang out in the winter) - But i am standing firm - I am going to make sure everything is in proper workling condition and VERY strong b4 i venture to the slopes - NEXT thanksgiving (364 days to go!)

enjoy the upcoming Holiday Season!

Marianne (the grounded alaskan snow bunny!)

 

[Rowdy66]

Dear Marianne, Well, I can only say it is wonderful to hear you feeling so much better, at least with your knees. You really had a hard time. I have come to conclusion there is just no way to say who will recover quickly and who will take their time. I guess the important thing is we all, most of us anyway, heal in time.

Glad you had a nice Thanksgiving. We had to have our Thanksgiving early by one day as my husband never is home for a major Holiday. As we are older and no longer have small children in the home it only seems fair for him to let the ones who do have small children have that day to share with their loved ones. We still had a great dinner and enjoyed my two sons who live either with us or around the corner.

Guess it is really cold now in Alaska, huh? Can you believe there have only been a couple of days when I haven't had to run my AC for at least a part of the day? Here in Southern AZ it is unseasonably warm even for us but I seem to say that every year. Thought we might get some snow on the mountain tops around us this week when it cooled off and we got rain but nothing yet. Can you believe as warm as it is here there is skiing just about 20 minutes up the mountain? Not that I ski.

Hope you continue to feel great and that you continue to post, you are an inspiration to all who are having a tough time and for those who are doing well too.

Enjoy the Holidays, Rowdy

 

[Jamie]

Hi Marianne! I enjoyed your post SO MUCH!!! I know you struggled a little following your surgery and it is rewarding to hear how far you've come at only four months. I'm 9 months out now and I can definitely say it just gets better and better....you'll be there too, I'm sure. Glad you had a great holiday. Here in Kansas City we've had several unseasonably warm days, but it's supposed to be colder over the weekend. My husband and I are building a deck out back and we actually got to work on it the last few days. That's how we spent our Thanksgiving!!! Not too typical! ....Jamie

 

[Josephine]

Cool, Marianne (pun intentional!) Nice to hear these happy endings. Sometimes the pathways there are a bit like "Gone With The Wind" ~ those two memorable lines

"As God is my witness, as God is my witness this is not going to lick me. I'm going to get through this and when it's all over, I'll never be stiff again."(lightly paraphrased!)

and

"Tomorrow IS another day!"

 

[AlaskanTKR]

Well - Felt good this weekend - even after attempting to do the shopping thing with my lil one - Our rule is " 45 minutes in a store and then we are outta there!" - that's about all i can handle without things getting ugly - I am not the best shopper to begin with. We have been warmer - 32 degrees! this am i went out to the back yard and did the puppy clean up (my puppies have rather large "poop") - Sort of like picking up behind cows! Frozen is always better - however the family has sort of taken a vacation from the clean up since the smell is not there in the winter - so..... 5 3/4 full bags (we reuse the 40# doog food bags to double bag with ) of stuff later i was done - as the freezing rain fell and started to slick things up.... but the warmth was wonderful and then the snow began to fell and believe it or not - i stayed out for a little longer watching my malamutes revel in the big white flakes (I have 1 alaskn huskey - from a musher who runs the iditarod - and 2 mals - like the wheel dogs in the movie 8 below!) A bit sore now - but for a snow lover like myslef -it was great just to stand there and let the snow cake on my hair!!!

my knee actually feels SUPER - its the Hip that is whining - but - Ice will take care of that! if not there is always hydrocodone if necessary.

Got ALL of my christmas wrapping done - And last night finished my daughter's Bday stuff. not knowing what the oustcome of the Hip scope on 12/18 has made me really focus on getting things done early. Working on xmas cards this pm - no one ever told me how much a hip could hurt whil wrapping presents - UGHHH - Glad it is all done!!!

well - better go - Curling up in front of the window to watch the snow fall!

Thanks again for ALL your support!

you are all the BEST! -
Marianne

 

[Josephine]

Just remember - tomorrow IS another day!

 

[JudyS]

Marianne

I am so glad that your knee is doing so well. Same here with the hip. With my scope on the 17th, I knew I had to be all ready for Christmas by the 16th. But, you sure have me beat. I headed out one day and thought I accomplished so much. I came home and wrapped until I could take it no longer. Then I stashed everything away!!!
You did just motivate me to start wrapping again. I am not a shopper either and did not go near a store this holiday weekend. I will wait until monday!!

Enjoy that snow. I can't wait for some to fall in our local mountains. I usually can just hike up to it if it falls low enough. Maybe not this winter.

Take care
Judy

 

[Simon]

Judy, Marianne

I wish you the best on your upcoming surgeries. Marianne, do your crutches have grippers on them? You might want to look at a walker for a little more stability on the ice. I would hate to have you undo things because of a slip. A couple of years ago, I dropped my guard for a minute and slipped on the ice which ended up tearing the menscius which gave me a swollen knee for 2 years.

I am at 5 months and this year I could actually go to the craft fair and enjoy it. I actually shop all year long as I never knew what shape I would be in.

It is snow at the moment and I have been watching it from the porch. I do enjoy this time of the year.

Simon

The knee itself is ok, just having problems with inflammation of the lateral collateral ligaments (the cortisone worked until I went back to exercise) and the hips come and go depending on what exercises I do.

The other great thing, is that it is so much easier to keep the weight under control when you can move.

Simon

 

[AlaskanTKR]

Simon -
i will get the ice picky things the day of surgery - they are pretty standard up here in the winter months! Very easy to get. I am the most careful person outside these days - I feel like an old lady waddling out to the truck after school - At the house the truck is indoors and I go right out through the house so know snow till I hit school. I park pretty close in the am so it is just a short - slide into the building.

All is wrapped and ready to go here for the holidays and my lil one's birthday on the 29th! And now - very unexpectedly - my husband will be home for a while. I guess I will try to see it as a good thing - I will have a driver and won't be stuck totally in the house for however long it ends up being - still hoping for 1-2 weeks if microfracture isn't needed - thinking positive here!
Mr. mom has no clue what he is in for!!!!

i once tore the LCL - it was definitely NO picnic - very sore - worse than the meniscus sometimes!

We are in for another dump of snow tomorrow into Thursday! It is very pretty - but this next storm has wind which will knock all the snow off the tree branches! I really need to take a picture b4 that happens! it has looked like a christmas card up here the last 3 days!

i can sympathize with the hips totally - I was soooo sore after pt and we really just worked - no bending for ROM - but I did steps - A lot of steps! up a high step - owie on the hip - the knee was FINE - but aghhhhh

Ok - I still have HOMEWORK to get done - better run!
Marianne

 

[JudyS]

thanks Simon

I can tell you that entering the knee world is really scaring me!! The right new hip is awesome, now the left one is scaring me. I have greater range of motion in the new one. When trying to do the same motion on the left , it hurts and just can not get there.
I guess I will have my doc check it out next week. We may have a long relationship between my 2 knees and remaining hip!!!
Two weeks left of freedom for me.
Judy

 

[Josephine]

I can imagine, Judy. But it's best to know the truth going in and that's what people get here - the plain unvarnished truth. No surprises for you then, except if it's actually better than predicted!

 

[JudyS]

Jo
I am hoping to follow your path with the knee or knees!!
My favorite hiking trail just closed yesterday as the conservation corp will be working on it for the next 3 months. We had a fire go through in April,we survived our first rains last week, but they are still going to do some serious work on it.
I took it as another sign that having the scope and possible microfracture is the way to go as my playground will be closed the same amount of time I will be off trails!!!
Now if they had waited 2 more weeks........
Off to get more coffee
Judy